Purchasers of an apartment as part of the "Mehir Lamishtaken" governmental housing program were required to pay additional linkage differences in the amount of approximately ILS 15,000 as a precondition for receiving the apartment, after the contractor become aware that the base index specified in the contract with the purchasers is incorrect and does not correspond to the index specified in the tender according to which the contractor was awarded.
The Court accepted the purchasers' claim and held that the additional interest charged from them is to be repaid by the contractor. Contracts are interpreted according to the parties’ intentions, as is evident from the language of the contract and its circumstances. However, not all contracts are equal, and it is also necessary to examine who are the parties and in which circumstances they entered into a contract. Here, the language of the contract was clear and stated that every payment on the account would be linked to the index from the day the agreement was signed until the day of payment while the rate of the base index is January, 2021, but according to the terms of the tender, in which the contractor won the opportunity to establish the project and market it, the linking of the base price was supposed to begin November, 2020. However, because the purchasers were not a party to the tender and were not exposed to the many documents included therein and bearing in mind that all the data and professional knowledge were with the contractor's staff, who have superior resources and means over the purchasers, such circumstances are not justifying a deviation from the language of the contract, to the detriment of the purchasers, who are the weaker party in this transaction. Therefore, the contractor must refund the purchasers.