Supervisor of Land Registry (PHope) 217/24 Cohen Yehuda v. Asraf Uriel Yochai

Israel

Ministry of Justice

Petah Tikva

Judgment

The lawsuit before me places two weighty interests at stake: the right of an apartment owner to expand his living space, and in particular to add an essential safe room, as opposed to his neighbor's property right, so that his apartment will not be substantially harmed.  The plaintiffs, who own an apartment in a condominium, are seeking to expand their apartment and establish a safe room, and claim that they have won the necessary majority from the apartment owners.  The defendants, the owners of the apartment below them, are strongly opposed, claiming that the requested extension will block windows and damage a children's room in their apartment.  As part of the ruling, the boundaries of the principle of the majority in the condominium will also be examined as opposed to the protection of the right to private property.

The facts needed in a nutshell

1. The parties are apartment owners in a condominium at 5 Be'eri Street, Givat Shmuel, known as Plot 574 in Block 6189 (hereinafter: the "Condominium"). The plaintiffs are the owners of the rights to apartment number 7, which is located at entrance B on the second floor of the condominium (hereinafter: the "plaintiffs").  The defendants are the owners of the rights to apartment number 5, which is located at entrance B on the first floor below the plaintiffs' apartment (hereinafter - the "defendants").
2. The condominium has not yet been registered in the Condominium Register, so that it has not yet been registered in an agreed bylaws, and therefore the provisions of the common bylaws in the addendum to the Land Law, 5729-1969 (hereinafter: the "Common Regulations" and the "Land Law", respectively) apply to it.

The course of the discussion in a nutshell

3. On April 8, 2024, the plaintiffs filed a statement of claim, in which they petitioned for an injunction against the defendants, instructing them to adjust the construction that was carried out in accordance with the permit plans at the back of the condominium, as well as to allow them to complete the renovation and expansion of their apartment, including the construction of a safe room, construction on the first floor, the construction of a room on the roof and a pergola.
4. On July 18, 2024, the statement of defense was filed on behalf of the defendants, in which the plaintiffs' claims were denied, and inter alia, the Supervisor was asked to order the dismissal of the lawsuit in limine due to the lack of a cause of action and the absence of rivalry.
5. On November 18, 2024, a hearing was held in the presence of the parties (hereinafter: the "Hearing"). As part of the hearing, the parties requested a 14-day stay in order to examine an outline that could lead to an end to the dispute, with a commitment to submit an agreement that would end the dispute by December 2, 2024.
6. The Ottoman Settlement [Old Version] 1916On December 22, 2024, after the parties' attempt to reach agreements was unsuccessful, a decision was issued giving effect to the procedural arrangement submitted by the parties, according to which the parties' claims would be decided on the basis of written summaries. I will now present the summary of the parties' arguments in their summaries.

12-34-56-78 Chekhov v.  State of Israel, P.D.  51 (2)