The first and last day in an apartment are worth thousands of shekels

Two people stand on the day of departure in front of the same scratch on the parquet. The tenant is sure it was there on the day they moved in, the landlord remembers a perfect floor, and between them are three years. What will decide the matter is what was filmed at the entrance, not what each of them remembers. A deposit is not a fine and not a prepayment. It is a security intended to ensure the tenant's obligations under the contract, and the law defines both its amount and the cases in which it is permitted to touch it.

For security provided in cash, the ceiling is the lower of one-third of the rental period or three months of rent, so in an annual contract for an apartment of 6,500 shekels, one can demand up to 19,500 shekels. The difference between a deposit, a bank guarantee, and a promissory note also changes both the realization path and the cost to the tenant.

Only three grounds open the security:

1. Rent not paid on time — the realization is limited to the amount of the debt plus linkage and interest according to the contract.

2. Defects that the tenant is responsible for repairing and did not repair — the realization is limited to the actual cost of the repair.

3. Failure to vacate the apartment at the end of the period — in the amount determined in advance in the contract.

Before any realization, the landlord must notify the tenant a reasonable time in advance and give them an opportunity to repair what needs repair.

On the day of entry, before one piece of furniture has entered, a continuous video from the door through all the rooms documents walls, floor, windows, shutters, cabinets, kitchen, marble, sinks, showers, air conditioners, and the boiler. After it, focused photos of every defect that already exists: a crack in the sink, a scratch on the parquet, an old moisture mark, a crooked cabinet door. The files carry a date stamp, and that is what makes them evidence. On that same day, three numbers are recorded: the electricity meter, the water meter, and the gas meter, in a photo that shows the digits clearly. Alongside them is a short list of what is handed over, how many keys, how many remotes, which appliances remain in the apartment, and in what condition they are. The handover document is signed by both parties.

Three years later, a deduction of 4,200 shekels arrives: 1,800 for painting the apartment, 1,500 for replacing a cabinet door, 900 for cleaning. Without documentation from the entry, the three items rely on memory, and in such an argument, the one who holds the money wins. With an entry video showing the crooked cabinet door, 1,500 shekels are deducted from the deduction at that moment. Paint that has worn out from three years of normal living is wear and tear and not damage.

The return of the security or its balance is done up to 60 days from the date the apartment was returned to the landlord's possession, or from the date the tenant's debts were paid, whichever is later. If the money was deposited in a savings plan or yielded any profit, the profit returns together with the principal. The amount limit applies to securities provided in payment, meaning cash, a bank check, or a bank guarantee. A promissory note and a third-party guarantee do not involve paying money in advance and therefore are outside that ceiling, but their realization goes through the Execution Office or through the court.

On the day of departure, the same process returns in reverse order: a video of the empty apartment, a photo of the three meters, counting keys and remotes against the list from the entry, and written confirmation from the landlord that the apartment was received. This confirmation is what starts the 60-day count. Transferring the electricity meter, closing the water account, updating the municipal tax (Arnona) to the new holder's name, and paying the building committee fee until the end of the month are what prevent a debt that will pop up two weeks later and be offset from the balance.