Planning and Construction Lawyers
Procedures for combining and dividing
Property owners are affected and may even suffer significant harm as a result of the “consolidation and division” procedure.
We will discuss in general terms the following topics in this section relating to consolidation and division:
- How do unification and division occur?
- Consolidation and division: what are the reasons and purposes?
- Consolidation and division with or without the consent of the owners
- Legislation restricting consolidation and division without the consent of the owner
- In a consolidation and division proceeding, legal support is essential
By Igal Mor, Adv. & Notary
Accuracy in Legal Advice. Excellence in legal support.
How does the consolidation and division process work?
Consolidation and division is a legal procedure whereby lots are divided and land designations are changed within a certain area.
Usually, the consolidation and division procedure involves two stages: in the first stage, all the plots in the area designated for one lot are combined (the consolidation procedure), and in the second stage, this area is re-divided (the division procedure).
Why should a consolidation and division procedure be conducted?
According to the ruling, “the unification and division mechanism is intended to serve two main purposes: firstThe purpose of this mechanism is to fulfill planning needs when it is necessary to carry out a more efficient division of plots within a certain area in order to meet planning requirements. of this mechanism is a just distribution of the damage and improvement among land owners within the scope of a plan (High Court of Justice 9402/03 Buchnik v. The National Council for Planning and Construction).
Clearly, one of the main reasons for undertaking a consolidation and division procedure is to improve the real estate through its redevelopment. When this is the intent, the process will, in the vast majority of cases, be initiated by the landowners. Furthermore, not only the land owners may initiate a consolidation and division process, but also the local planning and construction committee, within whose jurisdiction the land area lies.
A consolidation and division procedure will be initiated by the planning and construction committee for two primary reasons. As a starting point As part of the committee’s plans for changes in the area in question, The second reason is During the consolidation and redistribution of the land, the committee desires to change the designation of part of the land from private to public, in order to avoid the expropriation of the land from its owner, and as stated in the ruling:
“In accordance with section 26 of the [Planning and Construction] Law, the local committee may obtain real estate either by expropriating it or by another means. There has already been a ruling that consolidating and dividing land is a legitimate method of acquiring property that is imposed by the local committee on the land owners; As long as the purpose of the procedure is solely to take away the land that she needs for the realization of public goals from the real estate, she is permitted to resort to such a procedure without having to pay compensation for expropriation… (בג”ץ 4914/91 איראני נ’ שר הפנים)”.
The consolidation and division of a business with or without the consent of the owner.
Owners interested in a new division of their property can initiate the consolidation and division procedure on their own initiative. The landowners in such a case must submit to the Planning and Construction Committee a draft containing a breakdown of the current land division and the request for a new land division. Details should include the plot numbers, the areas, the borders, and the access roads. As a condition for approving the consolidation and division procedure, the planning and construction committee may request additional requests.
Although the land consolidation and division procedure may be initiated by the local authority itself, it is not necessary that the landowners will oppose it. Suppose that the consolidation and division plan initiated by the local authority gives each of the owners land of similar value to the land they previously owned, or alternatively compensates them in another manner for the ground they lost.
However, the process of unifying and dividing the land can proceed even when some or all of the land owners are opposed to it. Whenever this is the case, whether by request of some landowners or on the initiative of the local authority, the special instructions outlined in Section 122 of the Planning and Construction Law 1965 apply.
In some cases, all the landowners may only consent to part of the consolidation and division plan. It is often advisable in such cases to divide the plan into two different complexes so that the plan for one complex may be completed with the full consent of the owners, while the plan for the other complex may be completed without their consent and subject to the rules described below.
Legislation restricting consolidation and division without the consent of the owner
As mentioned above, in the case of a consolidation and division procedure conducted without the owner’s consent, the restrictions contained in Section 122 of the Planning and Construction Law apply. In accordance with the first ruleBased on the previous land distribution route, the reassignment of lots within the divided area will be one where each land owner is assigned a lot that is as close to where their previous lot was located as possible.
According to the second rule , the re-allocation will assign to each of the land owners a lot with a value as similar as possible to the value of the lot he owned according to the previous land distribution. In the event that it was not possible to maintain the proportional distribution of the land between the different owners, the person who received a lot with a value lower than the value of the previous lot he owned, will be entitled to receive from the local planning and construction committee the value of the difference, when this payment is called a balance payment . In contrast, the person who receives a plot with a higher value than the previously owned plot will be required to pay the difference to the local planning and construction committee.
The law is outlined below: Law No. 5655 of 1965 on Planning and Construction
With or without consent, consolidation and division
121. It is also permissible to set instructions in both the local outline plan and the detailed plan
(1) Consolidation of lots with and without the consent of their owners;
2) Regarding the division of lots among their owners, both into jointly owned lots and separately owned lots, both with and without their consent (hereinafter, new division);
As to consolidation or division as mentioned in paragraphs (1) and (2), which include a three-dimensional lot, provided that the provisions of section 69(a)(1a) are met.
Unconsented division
122. When a division has not been approved by all the owners concerned, these special provisions will apply:
Each lot that is allocated will be located as close as possible to the previous location of the recipient’s lot;
The value of the lot that will be allocated according to the division will be, as far as possible, the value of the previous lot of the recipient of the allocation relative to the total value of all previous lots;
In case it was not possible to maintain the full relativity as stated, the recipient of the allocation whose value of the new lot is lower than that of his previous lot will be entitled to receive from the local committee the payment of the difference, while the recipient of the allocation whose value of the new lot is greater than that of his previous lot will be required to pay the local committee the difference.
(2) The planning institution authorized to approve the plan will determine whether and to what extent it is possible to maintain the relative value of the newly assigned lot or the proximity of its location to the previous lot. The planning institution, however, may determine that a decision regarding the rights of the owners of the lots included in the plan prepared in accordance with this point will be made by an arbitrator that they both agree upon. The owners of the lot and the local committee; If the lot owners and the local committee did not agree on an agreed upon arbitrator, the chairman of the appeal committee will determine him in consultation with the chairman of the district committee; The arbitrator’s salary and duties will be determined by his appointment, whether by agreement or not. As a result of this, the Planning Institution or one of the parties may request justification of the decision regarding the eligibility of the debtors; The provisions of the Arbitration Law, 5578-1968, will apply to the arbitration under the conditions set forth in this section;
(5) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as if it is permissible in a new subdivision plan to deviate from the provisions of a mandatory outline plan .
The legislation also states that in the case where the consolidation and division procedure is carried out without the consent of the owner, the local planning and construction committee (or the landowners who initiated the consolidation and division procedure) must appoint a real estate appraiser, who will draw up allocation and balance tables in accordance with the criteria established in the planning and construction regulations (consolidation and division plan ) 2009. According to these tables, the real estate appraiser divides the plots among the owners and determines the balance payments, if any.
It is important to note that the balance payments that are receiving as a result of the consolidation and division process will be considered “exercises of rights” in the land, and therefore, the recipient will have to pay the improvement levy.
In a consolidation and division proceeding, legal support is essential
This statement illustrates how complex the consolidation and division procedures are, which can sometimes result in significant financial loss to landowners.
Therefore, it is essential that the owner of land who wishes to consolidate and divide their property obtain legal assistance from an attorney specializing in real estate, planning and construction, whether or not the procedure is initiated or consented to by them.
At Adv. Moore & Co., the real estate, planning and construction department has extensive experience in accompanying planning and construction efforts. Our lawyers work with a team of experts, such as architects, appraisers, surveyors, etc., to achieve the desired and efficient results for our clients.
