2024: A Record Year for Urban Renewal in Israel, With 30,500 Permits

2024 will be remembered as a record year for urban renewal in Israel, with building permits for approximately 30,500 apartments as part of evacuate-and-rebuild (Pinui-Binui) plans and TAMA 38. According to data from the Government Authority for Urban Renewal at the Ministry of Housing and Construction, about half of the new apartments built this year were part of urban renewal, an all-time record.

The war in the north and the threat of missiles helped speed up the issuing of permits, as tenants rushed to sign agreements that guaranteed them protected apartments. At the same time, government grants became an important motivating factor: NIS 25,000 for each apartment that received a building permit under the government's subsidy programs, or NIS 30,000 where local authorities waived betterment levies.

Tel Aviv led the field in the number of permits, but received no grant. Jerusalem, on the other hand, received the highest amount (NIS 81 million) thanks to programs focused on evacuate-and-rebuild projects. Netanya and Beit Shemesh came second and third, with grants of NIS 47 million and NIS 35 million respectively.

The numbers
In 2024, 143 urban renewal plans were approved, including 56,782 planned housing units.
20% of the planned apartments are in evacuate-and-rebuild plans promoted by the Government Authority for Urban Renewal.
That is a 59% increase in permits issued compared with 2023, and a 29% jump compared with 2022.

Urban renewal outside the center

This year the Urban Renewal Authority is placing particular emphasis on expanding its activity to peripheral cities. In cities such as Beit Shean, Yeruham and Afula, large-scale plans were approved with the aim of improving housing quality and attracting new residents.

Elazar Bamberger, Director General of the Government Authority for Urban Renewal, stressed that "activity in the periphery will be a lever for the rehabilitation of the cities of the south and the north. We see a future in which every resident will receive a modern, protected apartment, regardless of where they live."

What comes next?
With TAMA 38 plans coming to an end in most local authorities, the focus in the coming years will be on evacuate-and-rebuild plans. The government is already advancing plans for the rehabilitation of the northern and southern areas, with an investment of hundreds of millions of shekels in new and protected construction.

The main challenge now is to make sure local authorities keep advancing programs even without immediate financial incentives. 2024 showed that with the right subsidies and government momentum, extraordinary results are possible, even in difficult times.