Central District Appeals Committee Rules on Safe Room Betterment Levy Exemptions
The Central District Appeals Committee ruled that signing urban renewal agreements after plan approval does not disqualify safe room betterment levy exemptions for developers.
The Central District Appeals Committee for Planning and Building has ruled that signing a urban renewal agreement after a profitable plan is approved does not disqualify the exemption from betterment levy for safe rooms (mamad). The ruling applies the exemption to all safe rooms in a project, including developer apartments.
The Yehud-Monosson Case and Betterment Levy
The decision was issued in an appeal filed by the Yehud-Monosson Local Planning and Building Committee regarding a pinui-binui project at the Mohliver complex in the city. The appeal was fully dismissed, and the decisive appraisal remained unchanged at a betterment levy of 970,575 NIS, compared to approximately 3.4 million NIS without the exemption.
The local committee argued that the exemption should not apply to safe rooms in developer apartments, partly because agreements were signed after plan approval. The appeals committee rejected this, ruling that the agreement must be examined as part of the entire urban renewal execution.
Legal Context and Developer Impact
Attorney Anat Biran, who represented A.G. Ofek Holdings, noted the significance of the ruling:
This is a very important decision that can save many urban renewal projects. The question of the safe room exemption can amount to millions of shekels and directly affect project economic viability.
The committee also ruled that substantial claims not presented to the decisive appraiser cannot be raised for the first time during the appeals stage to retroactively alter the calculation basis.
