Questions for a phone call with a nursing home or sheltered housing, before a visit

This is a page of questions for a phone call with a nursing home (בית אבות) or a sheltered housing home (דיור מוגן), before you travel to visit. You print it and mark it up during the call. Each question is given in Hebrew with its translation, so you can read it out on the call as it is.

How to use the page

1. Print the page. The printout has only the heading, the questions and two QR codes: to this page and to the catalogue.
2. Choose the part that fits the type of place. In a place that has both sheltered housing and a nursing ward, ask from both parts.
3. Write the answers on the page, next to each question.
4. After the call, check each answer against the official source. Below the sheet, each question has a short explanation: what it is based on, and where to check.

We are an information board. The questions do not rank places and do not decide what suits a family. The information here is not legal advice.

Why ask: the official basis for each question

1. According to the Ministry of Health classification table, nursing (סיעודי) corresponds to a "nursing ward", mentally frail (תשוש נפש) to a "ward for the mentally frail", and frail (תשוש) to a "home for the elderly, ward for the frail", and the classification is set by a "committee for classifying chronic patients" at the District Health Office.
2. According to the Ministry of Health, its database lists nursing institutions "operating under a Ministry of Health licence" and the "validity period of each institution's licence"; according to the Ministry of Welfare, every nursing home "must have a management licence" from the Minister and is supervised by inspectors of the Senior Citizens Administration.
3. According to the Ministry of Health, "most institutions are under an agreement with the Ministry of Health", and in these institutions it is possible to receive assistance in funding the hospitalisation ("hospitalisation with a code") in the nursing wards and the wards for the mentally frail, according to the financial situation.
4. According to the Ministry of Health, "you can view the institution's inspection reports published on the ministry's website", in the ministry's inspections database.
5. According to section 17 of the Sheltered Housing Law, the licence holder hands over a disclosure document "a reasonable time before the agreement is concluded", and the document is drawn up, as far as possible, in the language of the person who asks to become a resident, or at their request in Hebrew, Arabic, English, Russian or Amharic.
6. According to section 2 of the law, it is forbidden to operate a sheltered housing home without an operating licence, and according to section 17(a)(2) (סעיף 17(א)(2)) the disclosure document includes the licence number, whether it is permanent or conditional, the date it was granted and its period of validity.
7. According to section 15 of the law, a resident is admitted only after a multidisciplinary team has approved that they are able to take care of their needs and run their household, and according to section 17(a)(4) the disclosure document specifies the admission conditions, including conditions that relate to the medical condition.
8. According to section 17(a)(9) and (10), the disclosure document specifies the amount of the deposit and the security for its return, and according to sections 27 to 27d (27 עד 27ד) the security is a mortgage, a guarantee or the transfer of 40% of the deposit to a trustee, and the resident may not waive it.
9. According to section 17(a)(9)(a), the disclosure document specifies how the deposit is returned, the deductions from it and the return dates, and according to section 28 the amount due is returned no later than the day the apartment is returned or the day the agreement ends, whichever is later, together with the rise in the consumer price index.
10. According to section 17(a)(9)(b), the disclosure document specifies the amount of the maintenance fees, the payment dates and the updating mechanism, and according to section 26 they may not be raised beyond the rise in the consumer price index, except in line with a change in ongoing operating costs, and not more than the maximum rate set in the agreement.
11. According to section 18, the first three months of residence are a trial period. It can be extended up to one year in total. During this period either party can cancel the agreement by written notice two weeks in advance. According to section 17(a)(7), the disclosure document specifies the length of the period and the payments for it.
12. According to section 17(a)(12) and (15), the disclosure document specifies whether the home has a nursing ward or another arrangement for nursing care, and the conditions for moving to it, including the payment; according to section 20, in a home with at least 250 apartments a nursing ward must operate, and the Commissioner may grant an exemption under the conditions in the law.

How to check the answers

Nursing ward and ward for the mentally frail. In the Ministry of Health institutions database you search by name, locality and types of wards. According to the Ministry of Health, the database also shows the types of wards in each institution, the agreements with the ministry and the validity of the licence. Inspection reports are in the inspections database. How to read such a report is explained in the guide to reading an inspection report.

Nursing home for the frail and the independent. In the Ministry of Welfare list of nursing homes, each home shows: name, address, locality, telephone, the manager's name and the type of ownership.

Sheltered housing.

• Supervision. According to the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs, the ministry is "responsible for supervising private sheltered housing settings". According to section 12 of the law, the Commissioner for Sheltered Housing keeps a register of the homes that received a licence, and the register is published on the Ministry of Welfare website.
• The list on 03.11.2026. The list page was empty, and it said: "A licence has not yet been granted to sheltered housing homes. The matter is waiting for the approval of the sheltered housing regulations in the Knesset."
• Financial stability regulations. In May 2026 the ministry published that the Minister signed these regulations, and that under them meeting the criteria "will be a threshold condition for receiving an operating licence or renewing it".
• What this means for the call. According to the page, no licences have been granted yet, so a home may not be able to give a licence number.
• Ministry of Health. According to the Ministry of Health, the law does not require a sheltered housing home to receive a licence from the Ministry of Health as well, but some places do have such licensing. A nursing ward is, according to section 1 of the law, a medical institution, and it is looked up in the Ministry of Health database.

According to section 49 of the law, inquiries about a violation of the Sheltered Housing Law are handled by the Commissioner for Sheltered Housing or someone on their behalf. What the law requires to appear in the agreement and in the disclosure document is detailed in the guide to checking a sheltered housing agreement. The differences between types of settings are in the guide on sheltered housing and nursing homes (in Hebrew), and the terms are explained in the glossary of terms.

Sources

All pages were read on 03.11.2026.

• Knesset, Official Gazette: Sheltered Housing Law, 5772-2012, Book of Laws 2361 (PDF)
• Knesset, Official Gazette: Sheltered Housing Law (Amendment), 5778-2018, Book of Laws 2739 (PDF)
• Knesset, Official Gazette: Economic Plan Law (Legislative Amendments for Implementing the Economic Policy for the 2026 Budget Year), 5786-2026, section 32: amendment of the Sheltered Housing Law (PDF)
• Ministry of Health: Finding a nursing institution
• Ministry of Health: Institutions database
• Ministry of Health: Choosing an institution, the classification table
• Ministry of Health: Supervision and inspection of geriatric institutions
• Ministry of Health: Ministry of Health inspections database
• Ministry of Health: Assistance in funding nursing hospitalisation (code)
• Ministry of Health: How to choose sheltered housing
• Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs: Nursing homes
• Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs: Sheltered housing homes
• Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs: Residents' rights in sheltered housing
• Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs: Announcement on the financial stability regulations, 24.05.2026