“Shocking attitude, no rules”: Rental prices in Tel Aviv are soaring, and some choose to leave

[ad_1]

Tel Aviv is becoming more expensive, and some young people are giving up on the dream of living there. “We paid NIS 7,700, and the landlord found someone to pay NIS 10,300,” said Yael. John, who immigrated from Los Angeles, declared in the Ynet studio: “More expensive here than in Beverly Hills.” Experts point to price increases mainly in the partners’ apartments: “It is easier to find 3 people who will share NIS 11,000”

Even before the rise in rental prices, Tel Aviv was defined as the most expensive city in the world – and in recent months quite a few young people have chosen to leave it, after feeling that they can no longer afford the rent. At this stage, we emphasize, this does not seem to be a phenomenon: according to all the data, the apartments do not stand empty, and are soon filled with new tenants who are willing to pay the high prices. However, the Tel Aviv Municipality is also aware of the problem and is trying to promote solutions that will allow broad populations to live in the city, but for now without any success.

According to data from the Madeleine website, in 2022, the prices of 3- and 4-room apartments in Tel Aviv rose by an average of 6% and 7.74%, respectively. However, there are places where prices have risen even more: for example, in 2021 a three-room apartment in the old north was rented for an average of NIS 7,640, and in 2022 for NIS 8,460. A 4-room apartment in the same neighborhood in 2021 cost NIS 9,220 a month, while in 2022 it rose to NIS 13,750 a month – an increase of 49%.

In Florence, a three-room apartment in 2021 increased by an average of 6,510 per month, while in 2022 the price rose to NIS 7,020. A 4-room apartment in Florence cost NIS 8,580 a month in 2021 on average, while in 2022 the average cost jumped to NIS 12,000 a month – an increase of about 40%.

John Paul Pono, who immigrated to Israel about two months ago from Los Angeles in the United States and wanted to settle in Tel Aviv, realized very quickly that he could not cope with the high rental prices there. “It is very difficult to find apartments here,” he told the Ynet studio. “The prices here are much higher, more expensive than Beverly Hills. There you can find a very nice apartment for about $ 2,500, with two large beds. Here I found a small, unfurnished and old studio apartment at that price.”

“I’m staying at the hotel right now.” Said Puno. “People offer me to go to Ramat Gan, Givatayim. I want to go to Jerusalem, but I am open to many places because I can work from anywhere.”

The one who still could not afford the high rental prices is Zion Bar Ben Hamo, a Jerusalem chef who came to the big city a few years ago but recently decided to leave it. “Very expensive here,” he said. “It’s very difficult to live in Tel Aviv at the level I’m used to. The demands of the landlords are completely angular, I got to talk to someone two weeks ago who asked for NIS 6,000 for a room and a half. I asked why there is no picture of a kitchen, and he said the sink is in the garden, outside. “This person, because he will find someone to pay him. These are things that are repeated.”

Yael (31) came to Tel Aviv from Raanana about a year and a quarter ago. Under the auspices of the Corona and the departure of young people from Tel Aviv following the closures, she found an apartment together with two other partners. She recently returned to live with her parents in Raanana, after the landlord wanted to increase the rent by NIS 3,000. “When I went through it all looked great,” she said. “We fell for a renovated apartment at a price of NIS 7,700 with three partnerships. It was a Corona bargain because people left the city and went back to their families.

“A month before the contract ended, the landlord said she was raising the rent by several thousand. We told her it was not possible to find another apartment in a month, so she agreed to extend our contract for another three months with an additional payment of NIS 1,700. She brought in a realtor who promised her she could “To get 12-11 thousand shekels for the apartment and it worked less, and in the end she found someone who agreed to pay 10,300 shekels. An American guy who probably does not understand that they are working on him.”

Yael returned to Raanana as stated, and sees no possibility of returning to Tel Aviv. “I went back to my parents because you can’t find an apartment at a time like this,” she said. “I’m still in school and it was very difficult for me to find a house. Rental prices have gone up and it does not make sense to pay them. Shame that the landlords are doing what they want. It’s not only the rent, there are also angled requests, “The apartment even though we did not get the house whitewashed. I thought it ended there, but she asked us to replace the stove. Either we do whatever she asks, or she will pay someone at the expense of our deposit. We came innocently and did not think she would take that money out of us.”

Tal (25), who was Yael’s partner in the apartment, came from Eilat to the big city – and returned to her hometown following the rise in prices. “The air conditioner is not repaired, the houses are at a very low maintenance level,” she said of the search for a new apartment in Tel Aviv. “It’s not normal. Everyone is exploiters and thieves in this city. Realtors and landlords use it for people to flock to the city, give tenants a shocking treatment and raise prices. Everyone does what they want, there are no rules.”

“The main rise – in the shared apartments”

In the shadow of the tenants’ plight, the professionals actually point to the simple fact: even the current high prices are available to those who are willing to pay. The former chairman of the Chamber of Appraisers, Ohad Danos, has a different angle – and he claims that the increase focuses mainly on the partners’ apartments. Spring. Precisely in the small apartments there was a certain moderation with a decrease of about 7%. The explanation for this trend is that there is a demand for larger apartments because of partners who are willing to pay more. “Homeowners love the partners’ patent because it is difficult to find one tenant who will bring in NIS 11,000 a month, and it is simpler to find three partners who will share this amount, and thus they maximize the output from the property.”

According to him, the increase in the prices of shared apartments is also due to several factors, including the ability of several people to share in the high sums, the corona and urban renewal. He said, “The departure from the corona and the return of young people to the vicinity of entertainment and the workplace, as well as urban renewal projects in Tel Aviv that bring residents to look for apartments, and ‘just’ pigs of apartment owners, is what caused the increase in shared apartment prices. I know one shared apartment. “The landlord wanted to increase the rent from 10.5 thousand to 12 thousand. The tenants left and he rented the apartment to three new partners, at the price he asked. Even if there is a departure of young people, new young people come, and because of urban renewal the developer pays them part of the rent.”

“It is much more difficult for an individual to pay these amounts if he does not improve housing,” Danos added. “The partners’ patent is reflected in the large and probably old apartments and the apartment owners are taking advantage of it. At that moment you dismantled the apartment into three apartments and it was easier for people to pay, and suddenly you increased the income by 100%.”

Erez Knobler, owner of an apartment brokerage office in Towers in Tel Aviv, explained that the main and significant increase in apartment prices began about six months ago. “I’ve been in the field for 8 years, and I’ve never seen such a sharp rise in such a short period of time,” he said. “There is a very great demand for apartments because fewer people can buy houses and choose more to rent, to see if prices have gone down. There are also a great many apartments that are becoming unattractive due to evacuation-construction and TMA. When homeowners see in the media that prices are going up, they do not want to come out suckers and stay behind. Apartments that I left for NIS 8,000, apartment owners increase to NIS 10,000. They raise a price – and get it. ”

According to Knobler, young people who experience price increases do revolt, but do not always have a choice. “You see it’s outrageous, and rightly so, a lot of tenants,” he said. “They are trying to find another alternative, but it is not only their landlord who raises the price – but a lot of landlords. I saw many cases where a landlord raised the rent by 1,000 shekels, but because the tenants did not find another option, they stayed in the apartment and absorbed The aliyah. There are a lot of cases of pigs. I know a family building that pays NIS 10,000 for a four-room apartment, and the owner of the apartment decided to raise it to NIS 13,000. I also came across quite a few cases of young people leaving Tel Aviv and returning to their parents. Who are moving to neighboring cities, but much less. ”

“I talk to apartment owners on a daily basis and tell them that the increase is unrealistic,” Knobler stressed. “It’s really disproportionate. I tell them it’s true that they’re talking about prices going up, but not everything is money. It’s more important to have a good tenant who keeps the property.”

Tel Aviv Municipality response

“The mayor and the various municipal officials have long been concerned about the housing crisis and the exorbitant prices in the rental market in the country and in Tel Aviv-Yafo. We are doing everything we can to stop these trends and keep all shades of the population in the city.
“It should be noted that in Israel the housing sector is regulated almost exclusively by the government, and not by local authorities, so we contacted the Ministry of Construction and Housing several months ago with a bill to regulate the private rental market in Israel, the main ones being: At least 4 years; conditions for raising the rent during the contract according to the consumer price index or according to what is determined in advance when signing the contract; and conditions for raising the rent at the end of the contract, if prices in that area have risen significantly, Or a new tenant.

“In addition, last month we announced a municipal housing policy that deals almost entirely with discounted housing solutions from the world of rent. This is a long-term policy, which will offer a variety of solutions that will be adapted to all income deciles. For income deciles 3-1; long-term lease at market price, by creating a new land designation of housing for rent and establishing a municipal housing administration, subject to the mayor, implementing housing policy and managing the discounted housing pool in the city.

“Beyond that, the municipality works through the youth unit and offers subsidized legal advice and assistance to the city’s tenants, who make up about 80% of the city’s young people. The advice is given on various issues and at various stages, both around signing a contract and throughout the lease. The municipality has a recommended rental contract that was recently updated following the approval of the Fair Rent Act, and it is written in clear and accessible language and provides an answer to the main issues related to renting an apartment.

“Fortunately, from the most up-to-date data published by the CBS and despite the housing crisis in the country, the number of young men and women in the city maintains a positive and rising balance.”