On the one hand buildings are declared dangerous and on the other hand the tenants are frustrated because there is no permission to carry out urban renewal
Residents in Haifa complain that they receive letters from the municipality requiring them to renovate their residential building after it was found to be unsafe, but at the same time does not allow them to start an urban renewal project in those exact buildings.
As you may recall, last week the Ramat Gan municipality informed the residents of a residential building in the city that they must vacate their apartments within a few minutes, due to the immediate danger of its collapse. There was also a municipal library in the building, that is, part of the building belongs to the municipality, and therefore, apparently, the municipality has responsibility for its part in the building and for maintaining its integrity.
The residents, for their part, claimed that they had sought for years to obtain permission to carry out TAMA 38 in the building, in order to strengthen it and renew it. It is possible that if the permission had been received and the building had been rebuilt by a contractor, today the tenants would be in new and safe apartments. Now, to their astonishment, those tenants saw the house Theirs is collapsing and they had to find somewhere to sleep at night, because they were left without a roof over their heads.
Old buildings in an unsafe condition are found all over the country. In the almost absolute majority, these are buildings that were built shortly after the establishment of the state and do not last about 70 years after their construction. But there have already been cases in which a building or part of it collapsed, as happened in the Ramot Ramez neighborhood in Haifa, in Zalman Shnior and Borla in February 2021. (see link)
In October 2021, it was decided that 6 buildings in Kiryat Ata should be evacuated, due to the risk of collapse. The buildings were evacuated and the municipality offered alternatives to the tenants. One of the tenants who kept many dogs in her apartment, then told a Hai Fe reporter that she already prefers to stay with the dogs in her apartment until the ceiling collapses on her head because she doesn't know where she can go with all her dogs.
In Haifa, only a few months ago, hundreds of tenants received letters from the municipality, in which they are required to correct defects in their residential building, and then present proof that the defects have indeed been corrected. It must be said that these buildings are located in a neighborhood where the economic situation of the residents is not well established to say the least. The requirement that every apartment owner spend thousands of shekels and sometimes even tens of thousands to repair the building is often unrealistic.
"How can residents of Kashi Yom be required to spend thousands of shekels?"
"I received a letter from the municipality in which it was written that an engineer came to the building and found a large amount of defects in it and now we the tenants are asked, at our own expense, to repair what requires repair and to bring a document that proves this," said Lahi Fe, a resident who lives with his family in the Shaar Aliya neighborhood, on Hinanit Street. "My financial situation is reasonable, my wife and I work, but when we received the price estimate from the repairman we brought, we didn't believe it. He talked about a very, very expensive renovation, and the craziest part is that we paid for it, but what are old people supposed to do who are barely living and all their income is a pension? Can they bring 15,000 NIS? They said they would rather have the building collapse on them. In the building there are also new immigrants who arrived in Israel a few years ago, barely know the language, hardly have a normal job, where will they get such sums?"
"For now we hope for the best"
"Of course, we had no choice and we brought in an engineer to understand what we were dealing with. He talked about a very serious renovation, because really the building is in bad shape. There are cracks in all kinds of places and I understand why the renovation is needed. I went among the neighbors, and as I observed, there was no Cooperation. Their situation is really not good, it's not that they have it and they don't want to give. In the meantime we are doing nothing and hoping for the best."
There are more serious cases of buildings that have received a letter with a demand to correct defects in the building, when the tenants have been requesting approval for TMA 38 for years. And they claim that it is unreasonable to require them to pay thousands of shekels that they do not have, when in any case they are just waiting for the municipality to approve them for a TMA, so that the building will be demolished and replaced A new building will be built. In the event that there is approval for the TMA, the contractor builds additional apartments, hence his profit, while the tenants do not need to add money and receive a more invested apartment in a new building.
Is TMA even the best way to renew the old neighborhoods?
In recent years, they began to realize that the TMA also has its shortcomings and began to think about additional and perhaps better ways of urban renewal. For example, on Habiva Reich Street in Ramot Ramez, which was one of the first streets in the city where TMAs began to be carried out on many buildings that replaced previous buildings with a few floors, They became high-rises, so much so that the quality of life of the residents was greatly affected. A similar thing is also happening in the Carmelia neighborhood. Over the years, more and more TMAs have been approved, which burdens the traffic in the neighborhood and the infrastructure. In addition, the construction in the neighborhood that has been going on for years, is accompanied by a large number of trucks going up and down the roads, and it also causes damage to the quality of life of the residents and damages.
A few months ago, a Facebook group was opened, which calls for a halt to the expansion of real estate on the Carmel. According to its members, the character of the Carmel neighborhoods is changing for the worse and deteriorating as a result of the accelerated construction. The group wrote over and over again that damage is done to trees as a result of the construction and also that the appearance of the streets is changing as a result of the new construction , which creates "Another Carmel".
As mentioned, today a rethinking is being carried out all over the country about more efficient ways with less potential for damage on the various levels, which, among other things, take into account the protection of the environment.
First aid with support beams
About a year ago, the municipality came to the conclusion that the building at 25 Achava St. in Kiryat Eliezer was not safe and its residents were evacuated. Later, the tenants returned to the building, after the municipality added support to the column floor in the building, with the help of beams. The tenants were evacuated from the building because it was determined that in its condition, it is not safe for habitation.
A constructor from the Department of Hazardous Buildings in the Haifa Municipality examined the building after the beams were added and determined that the tenants could return to it. In this case too, one option was the repair that remained there since the event in September, and the other option was to embark on an urban renewal project and build a new, beautiful and safe building, in place of the old one.
"Really worrying"
"What is happening with this building is simply unbelievable," said Dodi Miblom, a social activist who has been involved in real estate in Haifa for many years, "years ago the municipality asked the tenants to renovate the building, because it had cracks and it was unsafe for living. The tenants brought in a contractor who renovated the building. In September, the municipality came to the conclusion that the structure must be strengthened, and it itself made the necessary repairs. Is this renovation enough for the building to be safe? It's hard to know. What is certain is that the municipality should in such cases, and this building is not the only one in such a situation in Kiryat Eliezer, is to immediately approve TAMA 38. It would be best for everyone if the residents would leave the building, demolish it and build a new building in its place. I was in one of the apartments In the building, Miblom says, and when you are inside the apartment and see the cracks, it really causes concern."
Years of watching and no hope in sight
The Neve Shanan neighborhood also includes the Jezreeliya neighborhood, which many of the city's residents are not even aware of its existence. Abba Hillel Silver and Ratner streets are part of the Jezreeliya neighborhood and Hanita Street separates the two neighborhoods. 7 buildings on these streets are awaiting TMA approval, and during the wait the tenants received a demand from the municipality to correct deficiencies in the building. This is a huge project, which if carried out will eventually offer 1,000 new units. These are buildings at 73-101 Abba Hillel Silver Street and 41 Ratner Street. The tenants claim that they have been wronged because, according to them, some of the damage caused to the buildings was not their responsibility at all. The residents believe that the cutting of the Carmel tunnels near the buildings had a significant impact on their situation, therefore it makes no sense to oblige them to repair them, when apparently, the damage was not caused by them and not due to poor maintenance on their part.
"It is not possible to oblige the tenants"
The one who has been following the project for several years is Rotem Tapiro, who said in November of last year that it is impossible to issue a dangerous building order to the building, when the tenants have been begging for years to allow them to carry out an urban renewal project. Tapiro also claims that the construction of the Grand Canyon, in addition to the excavation of the Carmel tunnels, played a role in the condition of the buildings, and it is impossible today to demand that the tenants try to repair the damages, certainly when there is a solution that will make the apartments safe for living, without the tenants having to reach into their pockets and repair the defects at their own expense.
Tapiro describes a Sisyphean process since the days of the previous mayor, Yona Yahav Shelva, in many meetings and conversations with the director of engineering, who, according to her, has so far only brought heartache to all involved. It is important to understand what kind of financial investment is involved on the part of the developer until a TAMA project gets underway, many working hours, meetings, creating simulations, etc., until sometimes years pass, no decision is made not to approve urban renewal, but there is also no approval to start the project.
"disheartening situation"
Lawyer Lior Detz, who is accompanying the project, said to Lahi Fe: "The situation will only get worse over time, instead of us starting to see progress. The municipality is doing nothing, and is currently formulating a policy for urban renewal that has no way of making the Pinoy Binoy project economically viable. Regarding this plan On Abba Hillel Silver and Ratner Street, in the master plan they intend to divide the area in two, part of the complex will be designated for conservation and regarding the other part they have not yet decided what to do. It's a really discouraging situation."
In Haifa, in the old neighborhoods where there are old buildings that need repairs, most of the population lives with a low socio-economic ability to say the least. An established population is often found in newer and better maintained neighborhoods. When the municipality appeals to people whose economic situation is moderate or below, the chance that they will be able to spend tens of thousands of shekels, and sometimes even only thousands of shekels, is low.
In a situation where the municipality turns to an established population with a demand to pay for the repair of defects in the residential structure, the residents often also knew that if possible they could turn to legal aid, and many times they would manage to avoid the demand. A weak population in many cases does not know their rights and does not consider it worthwhile to consult a lawyer and find a way not to pay for the repairs, or contact the housing culture association and get help from them. When the municipality is aware that it is making such a demand to the residents of "weakened" neighborhoods, many of whom live on allowances and barely "scrape" the money for the medicines they need, is this a reasonable demand?
"The licensing procedure for TMA 38 is complex due to objections from residents"
The Haifa Municipality responded:
"TMA 38 is promoted at high rates in Haifa in the neighborhoods of Carmel, Kiryat Haim and more. These are hundreds of projects that are being built at the same time. On the other hand, the licensing procedure for the TAMA project is complex due to the fact that it is a massive construction within a tissue with an existing population that sometimes opposes the nearby construction. These objections, which often go to appeal committees and courts, take time. At the end of the procedure, balanced and sustainable decisions are made."
want to get results
I want to know when there will be a eviction building at 25 Haifa. Because you can't repair the house every 10 years.
Just stop paying property tax. All residents of Haifa should stop paying property tax together
There is one address for all failures, his name is architect Ariel Waterman and he should go home a long time ago.
Severe planning failures such as Navot Peres and Habiva Reich.
Severe enforcement failures in the State Comptroller's reports and we have seen the burning of asbestos from illegal roofs in front of El Hachikr Street
Failures in building permits are invalid in Tama 38 for people not authorized as architects
Failures in the proper development of second prize... and its poor planning
Failures in promoting priorities for Tama and evacuation of construction for dangerous railway housing instead of real estate projects in the Carmel neighborhoods
Waterman, go home, you are causing enormous damage to Haifa!!
The municipality of Haifa instead of promoting with all its might the procedures of building evacuation and urban renewal... drag the residents to high expenses for absolutely nothing! Why wait for something to happen???!!!!
The city engineer needs to go home, it is not possible for middle class residents to be mistreated like this.
For years, the same apartments have been in the process of being approved by the municipality, which rejects and frustrates everything possible.
Until now, the claim that there were no projects in Kiryat Eliezer is a lack of finances for the developer.
Now the municipality has added a 25 percent improvement tax.
The city engineer and the mayors stand every few years on the podium of the bad school and make promises without coverage.
We must help the residents to live
It is not possible to ask an underprivileged population to repair buildings for tens of thousands of shekels, who would think of it!!
Weak cliché! And doing nothing, only the evacuation of construction will save this difficult situation and the municipality must help the entrepreneurs in every way to renew the buildings!! Especially in lower glory!
These are exactly the cases in which every local authority should take care of its residents. Tick the procedures of TMA 38 or eviction-construction according to each case and get going.
Enough hiding behind bureaucracy.
For the Haifa municipality, it is financially beneficial for the contractors to build in Carmel, where there is a lot of money. In neighborhoods of economically weak populations, the municipality has no interest except sending the letters to the tenants in order to escape its duty. Who is the engineer who inspected, where is the inspection report, were any of the apartment owners present during the inspection????
It is very sad that we have reached such a situation. Half of the buildings in the city are in a dangerous condition and simply look bad. The time will come when the Haifa Municipality will demand from the Housing Culture Association to fund a significant budget for renovations from its huge coffers instead of funding them for offices, jobs and budgets!!!! Why should our building that they gave us a dangerous building have to To pay the association thousands of shekels a year to be one of their members, for an engineer to come, tens of thousands of shekels for the supervision they demand from us, and the worst thing is that the Haifa municipality continues to condition the acceptance of renovation loans on membership in this illusory association??? Why??? This is illegal discrimination!!!! Pays property taxes like everyone else and we also deserve municipal loans without being charged tens of thousands of shekels to an association that has no agreement with the municipality? Someone for God's sake understands and knows how to answer me by what power they operate in the municipality and receive funding of hundreds of thousands of shekels a year? Where does the money go??? But they are returning him to us??? That someone will give a solution to this matter before we shake the whole country around this shesha'ariah!!!!! You Haifa Municipality does not have a mandate for this discrimination!!! It is illegal and immoral!!! We are people who live on National Insurance who want Live with dignity and that the building will not collapse on us!!! If something happens to Nan, it will be on your head and on the head of this speech culture association!!!!!!!
Michal Grover Hi. Good morning. I forwarded your article on this matter to the city engineer of the Haifa municipality for processing. Thank you Michal. Have a nice day.
The value of these apartments is a huge fortune of billions of shekels, all of which will fall straight into the pockets of the Haifa entrepreneurs and contractors, who will buy "at risk" apartments at half price, because the municipality is toying with its citizens by means of the Dov service. The municipality's Sodom and Gomorrah treatment of dangerous buildings plays straight into their pockets.
A. Why does an engineer who came to inspect the building not coordinate with the tenants?
on. The Haifa Municipality will stop procrastinating with the eviction of a building. We are in the process on King Yehuash Street for about ten years and more. This is definitely disrespectful to the residents.
Evacuation and construction should be expedited.
It is not possible for residents to invest tens of thousands that they do not have in a building designated for evacuation if Tema 38 is completed.
This is what the municipality should take care of as soon as possible and not the letters intended to cover... and throwing the responsibility on the tenants
It is not possible to ask an underprivileged population to repair buildings for tens of thousands of shekels, who would think of it!!
Weak cliché! And doing nothing, only the evacuation of construction will save this difficult situation and the municipality must help the entrepreneurs in every way to renew the buildings!! Especially in lower glory!
On the slopes of Carmel, the neighborhoods of K. Shaprintsek, Shaar Aliya, Ein Hayam, Yazmip are not interested in investing in Tama 38 because they do not have enough income from the project, and in Haifa it is the most beautiful place, in the whole world the apartments by the sea are the most expensive, only in Haifa they are cheaper because entrepreneurs do not want to go there
Just for general information, Ahava Street and Meginim Street are in the Kiryat Eliyahu neighborhood and not Eliezer as the article states. And there is also a process of eviction of a building in which the residents who rent the apartments and the Haifa municipality and the lawyer who is supposed to represent the residents who live there and who are barely surviving today, do not really care. Eviction will not help them under any circumstances if they cannot live in the new apartment, they do not have the financial ability to meet the additional payments that will come with the new apartment, property tax, more electricity and much more house board. But none of you bothered to check what happens if these are the same tenants who went to eviction and how many of them were really able to continue living in the new house they were given and how many of them had to sell and go live again in the neighborhood or in a dangerous building.
But overall a great article
Everything is rotten and corrupt in Haifa from the top down only where there is money and envelopes something moves because someone got something and where there isn't then nothing moves because in their view the buildings will collapse on their seats full they live in Carmel or in new and reinforced buildings and the weak will stay like this until the rot in the head flies away Kibinimat
Full of interested parties hiding in this article, and what makes them interested? Money, big money!
The city engineer and the engineering director are aware of all the problems that exist for the workers
For the benefit of the general public and the city.
Dear commenter, before you type your unclear nonsense, go out and learn proper Hebrew, or else go herd sheep in a meadow.
A responsible municipality would stop all 38 TMAs in the Carmel neighborhoods and offer the contractors only the removal of construction in the weak neighborhoods and of dangerous buildings according to municipal and not greedy prioritization of the largest percentage of profits.
But since when in Israel have municipalities with responsibility or sense?
Kahlon Pahlon budgeted tens of billions of shekels for new edge neighborhoods on agricultural land and finalized urban renewal in most cities in Israel. Everything got stuck because the contractors got cheap land at a price per inhabitant. The buyers moved to these neighborhoods instead of buying in a construction clearance and leveraging the lack of apartments for a huge renewal that will rescue half a million Israelis from dangerous railway housing buildings.
What Kahlon did is destructive and they continue it. There are 1600 approved construction evacuation plans in the cities of Israel and only 50 of them have been implemented when the average time to promote such a project is 9 years. Go think what percentage is your chance of achieving urban renewal in the next decade? Also in Haifa, Givat Zemar, Neot Peres B and C, Morot Harofeh = thousands of units that will bury the evacuation plans and construction in the coastal neighborhoods for the next twenty years.
dear tenant If you received a dangerous building notice signed by an engineer from the Municipality of Haifa, first check whether the signed engineer is registered in the civil engineering branch in the buildings section. Only those who are registered in the buildings section and have a valid license can give an opinion about the stability of a building. For example, if he is Dr. He is not allowed to give an opinion on dancing.
Dear Zalman,
Glad to see that there are more experts in the field and your appeal to the tenants is certainly correct and welcome.
I will add to your correct words, that the municipality of Haifa does not have a single structural engineer and therefore the municipality uses a well-known and well-known external constructor, who during his "advanced maturity" specialized in allegedly false statements. In return for his unqualified "loyalty" over many years to the municipal manipulations in the affairs of TAMA 38 in the Carmel Ridge, this urban engineer is entitled to "urban renewal" in the employment contract with the municipality.
It is not impossible that in about a year and a half this "urban legend" will also disappear from the horizon along with his friends in the municipality and a new era will be renewed in Haifa.
The responding constructor probably has an account of some sort with another constructor that the municipality took over for Tama/38 matters. This is not relevant for dangerous buildings. The municipality can help in its own way, with whoever it wants.
And two clarifications for the readers:
The first constructor is the designation of an engineer registered in the constructions section.
The second in the judgment of the Honorable Judge Dr. Daniel Mahamokhi in Haifa Tel Aviv 26999-06-11
The opinion of an engineer who, although he was registered in the buildings section, had not yet passed the training period necessary to give him a license was rejected. That is, he was registered and not licensed.
Therefore, check whether the dangerous building engineer of the Municipality of Haifa, who requires you to carry out structural repairs and poses as an expert for this purpose, does indeed have the skills to do so, or whether his sublime skills, however great they may be, have not been recognized by the State of Israel as sufficient for licensing in the Buildings Section. According to the Halacha cited The court will reject reliance on such an engineer.
Dr. Menachem Raniel
Dear Zalman,
For your information and for the knowledge of all the residents of the Carmel Ridge, the account with the failed municipal engineer belongs to all the tenants neighboring the monstrous TAMA buildings, who were harmed by the allegedly serial false statements of that municipal engineer.
The subject is well known among all those engaged in building engineering in the city.
The damage and destruction that that municipal engineer caused to the city with his false statements, in close cooperation with the top of the municipality and the engineering administration, are required to be investigated by the authorities in charge of law enforcement.
Dear Zalman, you are wrong and misleading!
There is a by-law for Haifa Hazardous Buildings 1983 - 1, and in section XNUMX there is a definition for an engineer:
"As defined in the Engineers and Architects Law, 1958, the municipal council has been appointed to be an engineer for the purpose of this by-law, including those to whom the engineer has transferred in writing his powers according to this by-law, in whole or in part;"
Engineer only! registered or licensed.
Technically, an industrial and management engineer also meets the above definition, and he can authorize a dance doctor if he has done so in writing.
Indeed, a committee for rethinking should be established in Haifa
to examine the mapping of the disadvantaged neighborhoods and help them rehabilitate and strengthen the buildings,
In the expensive neighborhoods on the Green Mountain, the buildings must be preserved and buildings in need of reinforcements will be able to benefit from a budget fund through criteria that will be determined.
The Municipality of Haifa specialized in granting construction permits according to TMA 38 in the entire Carmel Ridge in sound buildings that comply with the earthquake standard, relying on allegedly false statements of a well-known and well-known municipal engineer.
Really dangerous buildings are not treated properly and are a constant danger to their occupants.