Tel Aviv Property Glossary: the Hebrew Terms Foreign Buyers Meet

An Israeli property purchase runs on Hebrew terms — Tabu, mas rechisha, mamad, heter iska — that most English guides use without defining. This glossary defines 27 of them in plain English, the way we use them across this site, with each entry linking to the full guide where the topic is treated in depth.

Terms

Tabu — טאבו

The Israeli Land Registry (Lishkat Rishum HaMekarke’in), where privately-owned real estate is recorded as full freehold title. Property registered in the Tabu carries no lease, no annual fee, and no state reversionary interest, and can be bought by any foreign national. Tabu (land registry) →

Nesach Tabu — נסח טאבו

The official extract of a property’s Land Registry record. The buyer’s lawyer pulls and reads it as the first step of due diligence: it shows the registered owner, the land status (freehold or lease), and any mortgages, liens, or notes registered against the property. Tabu (land registry) →

Minhal (Israel Land Authority, ILA) — מינהל

The Israel Land Authority (Rashut Mekarke’i Yisrael), which administers state- and Jewish-National-Fund-owned land — roughly 93% of land in Israel — as long-term leasehold rather than freehold. Foreign nationals generally cannot lease ILA land unless they would qualify under the Law of Return. Leasehold vs freehold →

Mas rechisha (purchase tax) — מס רכישה

The Israeli one-time property purchase tax paid by the buyer on a real-estate acquisition, charged on a progressive bracket schedule that differs for a resident buying a single home versus a non-resident or additional-property buyer. Purchase tax guide →

Hora’at sha’a (temporary order) — הוראת שעה

A time-limited legislative provision. In the purchase-tax context, the 8%/10% rate schedule for non-residents and additional-home buyers currently runs under a temporary order in force through 31 December 2026 — which is why buyers signing near its end should confirm the rates still apply. Purchase tax guide →

Mamad (safe room) — ממ"ד

A reinforced security room built into the apartment — thick reinforced-concrete walls, a blast-and-gas-sealed steel door and window, and independent ventilation — designed to shelter occupants during rocket fire. Since a 1992 change to Israel’s building code, new residential construction must include one, so a mamad is effectively standard in newer buildings and largely absent from older stock. Safe rooms by neighborhood →

TAMA 38 — תמ"א 38

Israel’s national outline plan for the seismic reinforcement of buildings permitted before 1980, in force from 2005. It granted added building rights in exchange for earthquake-proofing an existing structure (38/1) or demolishing and rebuilding it (38/2). It stopped accepting new permit applications nationally in October 2022 and was wound down through August 2024, with urban renewal moving to municipal plans and pinui-binui. TAMA 38 for buyers →

Pinui-binui — פינוי-בינוי

A large-scale Israeli urban-renewal track in which existing buildings on a plot or block are cleared (pinui) and redeveloped at higher density (binui). Residents relocate during construction and return to new units. It is one of the principal frameworks succeeding TAMA 38. TAMA 38 for buyers →

Heter iska — היתר עסקה

A rabbinically-approved profit-sharing (joint-venture) agreement that recharacterizes a bank loan’s interest as an investment return, allowing an Israeli mortgage to comply with the Torah prohibition on charging interest (ribbit). Standard on every Israeli mortgage, including those granted to non-residents. Mortgages for non-residents →

Dmei hivun (lease capitalization) — דמי היוון

Capitalization of an Israel Land Authority lease: the lease fees for the full 49- or 99-year term are settled upfront rather than paid annually. Most modern residential ILA leases are capitalized, so renewal is generally automatic and without a further capital fee — which is why the state treats such long leases, in practice, much like ownership. Terms have changed repeatedly, so a lawyer should confirm the status of a specific lease. Leasehold vs freehold →

Mashkanta (mortgage) — משכנתא

The Hebrew word for a mortgage. Israeli mortgages are usually split across several tracks (fixed, prime-linked, index-linked) rather than one rate, and carry the heter iska structure. Non-residents borrow from the same banks but under a lower loan-to-value ceiling. Mortgages for non-residents →

LTV (loan-to-value)

The mortgage amount as a share of the property’s value. Under Bank of Israel macroprudential rules the cap is roughly 50% for a non-resident buyer (treated like an investor), versus up to 75% for an Israeli resident buying a first home — the single biggest financing difference a foreign buyer meets. Mortgages for non-residents →

Tivuch / metavech (brokerage / agent) — תיווך

Real-estate brokerage and the licensed agent who practices it. The buyer-side commission (dmei tivuch) is customarily around 2% of the purchase price plus VAT where an agent is used. Israeli agents are individually licensed; our agents index shows each tracked agency’s public license number where verified. The agents index →

Kablan (developer/contractor) — קבלן

A building contractor or developer. Buying "from a kablan" means buying a new apartment from the developer, usually off-plan or during construction, under a different contract and payment structure than a second-hand purchase. The buying process →

Arnona (municipal tax) — ארנונה

The municipal property tax paid by the occupant (owner or tenant) to the city, billed by apartment size and zone. Rates are set per municipality — budget for it as a recurring holding cost and check the current Tel Aviv-Yafo rates directly with the municipality. Arnona in Tel Aviv →

Va'ad bayit (building committee) — ועד בית

The colloquial name for the representation of a condominium (nezigut ha-bayit ha-meshutaf) and for the private fee it collects to run the common property — stairs, lift, cleaning, shared electricity. Land Law s.58 makes the apartment owner, not the tenant, the one who must pay. There is no official citywide tariff. Va'ad bayit in Tel Aviv →

Polisa taknit (standard apartment-insurance policy) — פוליסה תקנית

The official Schedule wording that every Israeli apartment-and-contents insurance contract must follow under the 1986 Supervision of Insurance Business regulations. It sets terms — earthquake default-on, war excluded — not a shekel premium. Home insurance in Tel Aviv →

Bituch dira (apartment / structure insurance) — ביטוח דירה

Chapter A of the standard policy: cover for the residential building named in the schedule, including fixed parts and, in a condominium, the insured’s share of common property. Structure underinsurance (Insurance Contract Law s.60) does not apply to this chapter. Home insurance in Tel Aviv →

Nizek milhama (war damage) — נזק מלחמה

Physical damage to the body of an asset caused by war operations of the enemy’s regular armies, or by other hostilities against Israel, or by war operations of the Israel Defense Forces. It is a Compensation Fund track, not a peril on the standard apartment-insurance policy. Home insurance in Tel Aviv →

Shamaut (real-estate appraisal) — שומת מקרקעין

A licensed opinion of a property’s value under the Real Estate Appraisers Law, 5761-2001. It is not the listing price and not a registered sale. Paid work is reserved to a person on the Council of Real Estate Appraisers’ register. There is no official shekel tariff. Appraisal (shamaut) in Tel Aviv →

Shamai mekarka’in (real-estate appraiser) — שמאי מקרקעין

A person entered in the register of real-estate appraisers. Section 13 of the 2001 law reserves the paid practice and the title to that register. The same person may not also broker or lawyer the property except after a three-year cooling-off. Appraisal (shamaut) in Tel Aviv →

Yoetz mashkanta (mortgage consultant / broker) — יועץ משכנתאות

The person who shops a housing-loan file across Israeli banks. The title is not reserved: the 1996 Brokers Law licenses land introductions, the 1995 Investment Advice Law licenses securities advice, and the 2016 credit-services law licenses granting credit. There is no official shekel tariff. Mortgage broker for foreign buyers →

Zichron devarim (memorandum of terms) — זיכרון דברים

A market name for a short written note of an Israeli property deal. The Land Law never uses the phrase. Section 8 still requires a written document for an undertaking to transfer land, and a memo that is definite and intended can already be that writing. There is no official deposit tariff. Zichron devarim in Israel →

Bedek bayit (physical / engineering survey) — בדק בית

A private engineering survey of an apartment. The Engineers and Architects Law reserves the title registered engineer; it does not create a licensed home-inspector profession, a statutory inspection contingency, or a municipal survey tariff. There is no official shekel fee. Due diligence on an Israeli apartment →

Asking-vs-closed spread (our metric)

Our signature metric: (median asking ₪/sqm − median closed ₪/sqm) ÷ median closed ₪/sqm × 100, per neighborhood — how far current asking prices sit above or below recently registered sale prices. Published only where both samples reach n ≥ 20; indicative, not a paired comparison. Asking vs closed prices →

Days on market (our metric)

The days from a listing’s first publication to the date our tracker detected its removal. It is the closest observable proxy for time-to-sell — a removal can also be a relisting, a rental switch, or a withdrawal, and detection lag adds days — so we never present it as a verified sale time. Days on market →

Tracked listings (our unit of measurement)

The listings our pipeline observes and follows on the open market — the sample behind every statistic we publish. "Tracked" means what we saw in a stated month with a stated sample size (n); it never means a complete census of the market or of any agency’s portfolio. Methodology →

How to use these definitions

These are plain-language orientations, not legal definitions — the terms carry precise legal meanings that depend on your transaction, so treat this page as the map, not the territory. The load-bearing topics each have a full guide: eligibility and title in the can-foreigners guide and leasehold vs freehold, the tax schedule in the purchase-tax guide, financing in mortgages for non-residents, and our own measurement terms on the methodology page.