Bnei Bayit

Sheltered housing agreement and disclosure document: what the law requires, section by section

Check the disclosure document and agreement in sheltered housing: deposit, fees, trial period, nursing ward, leaving, with the law section for each item.

Before moving into a sheltered housing home (דיור מוגן) you receive two documents: a disclosure document (מסמך גילוי), followed by an agreement. The Sheltered Housing Law, 5772-2012 sets out what must appear in each of them. In the list here, each item gives the section of the law that requires it. In the law, the operator of the home is called the "holder of an operating licence". Here we write "the licence holder" for short.

We are an information board. We do not check a particular agreement and we do not recommend a particular home. The difference between sheltered housing, a nursing home and a nursing ward is explained in the guide on sheltered housing and nursing homes (in Hebrew).

Before you start: where to find the text of the law

The law was published in the Official Gazette (Reshumot) on 03.06.2012. It was amended in 2018, when sections 27a to 27i (27א עד 27ט) on securing the deposit were added, and in 2026, in sections 27a and 27b. The links to the sections lead to the Official Gazette files on the Knesset website. The law page on the gov.il website links the original 2012 text, without the amendments.

The form of the disclosure document is set by regulations of 2018, which were amended later. The law requires a disclosure document in section 17(a).

1. Check that the home has a licence

  • According to section 2, it is forbidden to operate a sheltered housing home without an operating licence for that home.
  • According to section 12, the Commissioner for Sheltered Housing keeps a register of the homes that received a licence. The register also lists homes whose licence was cancelled or suspended. The register is open for inspection at the Commissioner's offices, and according to the law it is published on the Ministry of Welfare website.
  • On 03.11.2026 the list page of the Ministry of Welfare on gov.il was empty, and it said: "No licence has yet been granted to sheltered housing homes. The matter is awaiting approval of the sheltered housing regulations in the Knesset." So a home may not yet be able to give a licence number. Details are on the page of questions for a phone call.
  • According to section 17(a)(2) (סעיף 17(א)(2); in this guide the letters a, b, c… stand for the Hebrew א, ב, ג…), the disclosure document must state the licence number, whether the licence is permanent or conditional, when it was granted and its period of validity.

The sheltered housing homes in our catalogue are in the search.

2. The disclosure document: when you receive it and what is in it

  • When. According to section 17(a), the licence holder hands over the disclosure document "a reasonable time before the agreement is concluded", in the form set by the Minister.
  • Signature and validity. According to section 17(b)(1), the licence holder or someone on their behalf signs the document, and the document states the date on which it was handed over. The document is valid towards the licence holder for 30 days from the day it was handed over. The 30-day validity does not apply to the home's code of conduct.
  • Language. According to section 17(b)(2), the document is written, as far as possible, in the language the applicant speaks and understands. At their request, they can receive it in Hebrew, Arabic, English, Russian or Amharic. The licence holder may write the document in Hebrew if, at their own expense, they give the applicant a translation into one of those languages or into another language the applicant asked for.
  • No commitment. According to section 17(c), the disclosure document alone does not oblige either party to sign an agreement.

What must appear in the document. Section 17(a) lists 19 matters. The payments, the trial period, the nursing ward and the right to cancel are detailed in the next chapters. Also on the list:

  • Who the licence holder is and who manages the home, with ID numbers, the corporation number and ways to make contact (paragraph 1).
  • The licence holder's rights in the land, and if they are not the owner, who the owner is (paragraph 3).
  • The conditions for admission to the home, including conditions on the medical condition (paragraph 4).
  • A description of the apartments you were interested in and of the public areas, and the conditions for using them (paragraphs 5 and 6).
  • A caregiver living in the apartment, an animal, and the code of conduct in the home (paragraphs 13, 14 and 17).
  • Clearing belongings out of the apartment at the end of the engagement, including after a death (paragraph 18).

3. The agreement itself

  • Approval by the staff. According to section 15, a resident is admitted only after the home's multidisciplinary team has approved that they are able to take care of their needs and run their household, even with partial assistance.
  • In writing and in a language they understand. According to sections 16(a) and 16(c), the agreement is drawn up in writing, with the same language and translation rules as the disclosure document.
  • What is attached to the agreement. According to section 16(b), the agreement includes the matters of section 17(a), as they appeared in the disclosure document. Attached to the agreement are a specification of the apartment, in the form set by the Minister, and a copy of the disclosure document.
  • Time to read. According to section 16(d), the licence holder gives a reasonable opportunity to study the agreement before signing, and hands over a copy after signing.
  • No end date. According to section 16(e), the agreement is for an unlimited period.
  • Services. According to section 19 (as worded in the 2018 amendment), the licence holder provides the mandatory services listed in the First Schedule to the law. These are eight services, among them a human response to a call for help and first aid at all hours of the day, health services provided by a nurse and social work services.
  • Reducing services. Mandatory services may not be reduced during the agreement. Services added in the agreement on top of the mandatory ones can be reduced only with the resident's written consent, given at the time of the change.
  • Optional services. Optional services are provided only if the resident chose them in advance and in writing.
  • No payment that is not written down. According to section 26(a)(1), it is forbidden to charge a payment that was not specified in the agreement. According to section 26(b), the exception is optional services that the resident agreed to in advance and in writing.
  • The apartment. According to section 25, it is forbidden to make the resident's apartment smaller. It is forbidden to move them to another apartment without their consent, except for a move for a reasonable period of repair.
  • A caregiver in the apartment. According to section 33, a resident may house a caregiver in the apartment, at their own expense, with the licence holder's approval and under the conditions in the section.
  • A representative. According to section 34, a resident may appoint a representative for matters of the home. The power of attorney is signed by the resident and attached to the agreement.
  • Clauses against the law. The law has no list of "void clauses". The rule is in section 50: "The provisions of this law may not be waived except in favour of the resident". In other words, an agreement may give the resident more rights than the law, but not fewer.

4. Deposit

  • What a deposit is. According to the definition in section 1, a deposit (פיקדון) is a payment that the licence holder must return, in full or in part, at the end of the engagement, less amounts deducted under the agreement and the law.
  • What the disclosure document specifies. According to section 17(a)(9)(a): the amount of the deposit, set-off from the deposit if there is any, how it is returned, which amounts are deducted from it, when it is returned, and linkage to the index.
  • Deductions. The law does not set a deduction rate. It requires the deductions to be specified in the disclosure document.
  • Security for returning the deposit. The security (בטוחה) is specified in the disclosure document (section 17(a)(10)).
  • Mortgage. According to section 27(a)(1), the licence holder may not hold deposit money in an amount above 7% of the deposit paid for the resident or ILS 70,000, whichever is lower. A higher amount is allowed only if they registered a first mortgage in favour of a trustee chosen by the residents, or, in the cases in the section, in favour of the resident.
  • Alternatives to a mortgage. According to section 27b, instead of a mortgage it is possible to give a bank guarantee or, according to the 2026 amendment, a "guarantee from another guarantor" (ערבות מנותן ערבות אחר), that is, another authorised body that gives guarantees. Another option is to transfer 40% of the deposit to a trustee, in a trust contract in which the resident is the beneficiary.
  • A home still being built. According to section 27a, if the home is being built and is not yet occupied, someone who paid a deposit receives a bank guarantee. Under the 2026 amendment, a guarantee from another guarantor is also possible.
  • Who pays for the security. According to section 27d(a), the licence holder bears the cost of the security and may not pass it on to the resident. According to section 27d(b), a resident may not waive the security.
  • When someone else pays. According to section 27d(d), if another person paid the deposit for the resident, the provisions on the security apply to that person, and the security is registered in their favour.
  • When it is returned. According to section 28(a) (as worded in the 2018 amendment), the deposit is returned in accordance with the agreement, no later than the day the apartment is returned or the day the agreement ends, whichever is later.
  • An amount that stays in trust. According to section 28(b), the licence holder may leave up to ILS 10,000 of the deposit in trust, to cover debts that the resident did not pay. This is the base amount in the law, and it is updated by the consumer price index on 1 January each year.
  • After a death. According to section 28(c), the deposit is returned to the heirs no later than 30 days from the delivery of an inheritance order, a will probate order or an order appointing an estate administrator.
  • Linkage. According to section 28(d), the deposit is returned together with the rise in the consumer price index, from the day of payment until the day of return.

5. Monthly maintenance fees

  • What the disclosure document specifies. According to section 17(a)(9)(b), maintenance fees (דמי אחזקה) are a periodic payment for the services in the home, which the resident has no practical option to waive. The document specifies the amount, the payment dates, how they are updated and which services are provided for them.
  • Updating. According to section 26(a)(2), the maintenance fees may not be raised by more than the rise in the consumer price index, except according to a change in the home's ongoing operating costs. Even then, not more than the maximum rate set in the agreement. So look in the agreement for the maximum rate.
  • Itemisation with every bill. According to section 26(c), every demand for payment is accompanied by a written document with the components of the payment.
  • Other payments. According to section 17(a)(9)(c), for every payment that is not in the maintenance fees, the document specifies: the amount, the dates, how it is updated, and the right to cancel the service.

6. The trial period

  • Length. According to section 18(a), the first three months are a trial period. The parties may extend it, up to one year in total.
  • Cancelling during the trial period. According to section 18(b), either party may cancel the agreement by written notice, at least two weeks in advance.
  • Payment. According to section 17(a)(7), the disclosure document specifies the length of the period and the payment for it.
  • Return of the deposit. Section 18 has no separate provision on returning the deposit during the trial period. The conditions for return and the deductions are those in the disclosure document and the agreement.

7. Nursing ward and moving to nursing care

  • What the disclosure document specifies. According to section 17(a)(12), (15) and (16): whether the home has a nursing ward and what the nursing care arrangement is; the conditions and the payment for moving to a nursing ward or a medical institution, and the return of the deposit in such a case; and how the apartment is kept during a temporary hospitalisation, and at what price.
  • Large homes. According to section 20, in a home with at least 250 apartments, the licence holder must ensure that a nursing ward operates in the home, and allow a resident who needs hospitalisation to be hospitalised in it. The Commissioner may grant an exemption from this if a nursing ward operates nearby and there is an arrangement with it, and also there are special reasons not to set up a ward in this home (section 20(b)).
  • The ward itself. According to section 56(1), the Sheltered Housing Law does not apply to the part of the home that serves as a nursing ward. Who supervises a nursing ward is explained in the guide (in Hebrew).
  • Transfer because of a health condition. According to section 29(a)(3), the multidisciplinary team may determine that, because of the health condition, the resident must be moved out of their apartment, for their benefit or because their stay in the apartment harms other residents. According to section 29(b), notice is given at least 90 days before the date of eviction. According to section 29(e)(2), an appeal can be made before the District Physician within 21 days of the day the decision was given. The District Physician decides within 14 days, and until the decision the resident is not evicted. According to section 29(e)(1), in an urgent need the District Physician may bring the dates forward and allow eviction before the decision on the appeal.

8. Leaving, cancelling and eviction

  • The resident may leave. According to section 18(c), a resident may cancel the agreement at any time, with three months' notice. Section 28, on the return of the deposit, applies to the cancellation.
  • No payment for the mere fact of leaving. According to section 26(a)(3), it is forbidden to charge a resident a payment only because they are leaving.
  • In the disclosure document. According to section 17(a)(11), the document specifies the right to cancel.
  • When a resident may be evicted. According to section 29(a), a resident may be evicted only on one of five grounds:
    1. The licence holder cancelled the agreement because of a fundamental breach, the resident was given an extension and did not remedy the breach, and the agreement includes a term on eviction in such a case.
    2. A court decided to cancel the agreement.
    3. A decision of the multidisciplinary team because of a health condition (in chapter 7 above).
    4. Liquidation of the licence holder's company: the court allowed the liquidator to sell the property, because it cannot be realised as a sheltered housing home, and suitable alternative housing was found.
    5. The agreement was cancelled or ended under section 18 (during the trial period, or by the resident's cancellation with three months' notice), and the resident did not vacate the apartment.
  • Notice. According to section 29(b), notice of the eviction date is given at least 90 days before the eviction. According to section 29(c), the resident, their attorney or their guardian can ask to continue living in the apartment for up to four more months, until alternative housing is found. This does not apply to ground 1 and ground 5. According to section 29(d), in an urgent need the Commissioner may bring the dates forward, except for ground 3.

9. An agreement signed before the law came into force

This part is for someone who lives in a home with an old agreement. According to section 57(a), the commencement day of the law is six months from the day it was published, and the law also applies to agreements signed before it, except for these exceptions:

  • Section 57(c): section 19(a)(2), on reducing services under the agreement, does not apply to them.
  • Section 57(d): a deposit that was linked in the agreement to a different index is linked, from the commencement day, according to section 28(d).
  • Section 57(e): section 16(e), under which the agreement is for an unlimited period, applies to an old agreement only if the period set in it is at least 20 years.
  • Section 57(f): in an old agreement with no maximum rate for updating the maintenance fees, section 26(a)(2) applies without the requirement of a maximum rate.

10. The Commissioner, supervision and complaints

  • Who the Commissioner is. According to section 47, the Director General of the Ministry of Welfare appoints a Commissioner for Sheltered Housing from among the ministry's employees.
  • Inquiries. According to section 49, the Commissioner or someone on their behalf handles inquiries from the public, including from residents, about a violation of the law. The name, the office address and the contact details are published on the Ministry of Welfare website, and also in a prominent place in a public area of the home. If a violation is found, the Commissioner may order the licence holder to correct it.
  • Name of the ministry. In the law: "the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs". Today on gov.il: the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs. According to the residents' rights page, the ministry is responsible for supervising private sheltered housing homes. The page gives the details for contacting the Commissioner.

Ministry of Welfare information pages

All the pages are on the topic page "Sheltered housing":

The information here is not legal advice. For a question about a particular agreement, turn to a lawyer or to the Commissioner for Sheltered Housing according to the details on the residents' rights page.

Sources

All pages were read on 03.11.2026.

See in the catalogue→

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