A contractor tendered apartments to the purchasers and they were used for their residences for over a decade, during which entire period the apartments were connected to electricity, but the electricity supply through the Israeli Electric Company was regulated only after a decade. The purchasers considered the whole period as a delay in the delivery of the apartments and sought compensation from the contractor.
The Court rejected the claim and held that despite the inconvenience to the purchasers, the apartments were handed over to the purchasers and they are not entitled to compensation. Under Israeli law, compensation can be demanded from the contractor for the delay in the delivery of an apartment. In some cases, it is possible to demand the compensation even though possession of the apartment was actually handed over due to significant defects in the apartment but for this it is required to show discrepancies that are so fundamental that the apartment can not be considered suitable for living. Here, the defect is not such that it does not allow living in apartments at all in terms of "life without electricity", but there were complaints from the purchasers regarding the quality of the electricity connection and the inconvenience caused to them. Under these circumstances, as the purchasers used the apartments for living for a decade, the apartments cannot be considered as 'not delivered' and therefore their claim was rejected.