The law requires the planner and the contractor to comply with a detailed system of standards and instructions. Built of thousands of clauses and sub-clauses, this system exists to protect the resident and the apartment in all its complexity.
An apartment can pass every quality test at every stage, from the plumbing to the finest finishing touches, and still contain many construction defects that stem from poor planning.
A window may turn out smaller than the standard allows, causing ventilation problems. A balcony railing that looks upscale may turn out to be lower than the permitted height, or to have gaps between its posts that are too wide, failures that can be dangerous in a home with children.
Other defects come to light when owners discover, to their disappointment, that the shower room they planned so carefully, choosing the ceramic cladding and modern sanitary fixtures with care, is simply too cramped to use comfortably.
Here too the legislator thought about protecting the resident, and set minimum distances between sanitary fixtures in bathrooms. Skeptics might object: didn't the buyers see the plans before moving in and agree to the design? How can they complain now?
The answer is that residents are not required to know the planning requirements the law sets. So even if they signed plans that violate the standards, they can still claim their right to a proper apartment under the law.
The engineers of Arad Bedek Bayit, led by building engineer Ron Arad, whom courts appoint as their own expert on construction defects. The company has been inspecting apartments and buildings since 2001. Engineer Ron Arad · More about the company