I used to think construction defects meant negligent construction of the building, something bordering on dangerous: collapsing floors, or shaky foundations that could bring the whole house down on the people living in it. As it turns out, that's not what most construction defects are.
To be honest, I didn't understand why anyone would need to check for construction defects after buying an apartment. We'd already bought it, so what did it mean that it might be dangerous? What even are these defects? Could the floor actually collapse? It was only after we hired a company to check for exactly this that I finally understood. Believe me, it's a whole world of its own.
First, a serious-looking engineer came and spent a long time going over the apartment from top to bottom. I remember following him around and wondering what he was even doing: we'd talked about construction defects, and instead of checking the foundations, he was checking the plaster, the wiring, the flooring, the bathroom, and more.
At the end, I told him how puzzled I was by this kind of inspection. He was kind about it and not at all surprised by my questions, and after a fifteen-minute conversation I knew everything I needed to know about construction defects. Here it is:
The law defines a construction defect as a "non-conformity" between what actually exists in the apartment and the building standards and regulations, the technical specification, and the apartment's plans. What these defects have in common is that they occur at some stage of construction, before it, during it, or after it, and the contractor is the one legally obligated to fix them.
There are three types of construction defects:
Design-level defects make up about half of all construction defects and stem from poor planning: a bathroom window facing a service balcony, crowded sanitary fixtures, or a safe room (mamad) smaller than the standard allows. These can be a safety hazard, but they can also cause wear, a drop in the apartment's value, and other headaches.
Execution-level defects make up about forty percent and come from poor supervision by project managers and poor coordination between the different trades: electricians, tilers, plumbers. Think dampness problems, flooring problems, or uneven plaster.
Defects in parts and products make up the remaining ten percent and come from low-quality or unsuitable materials: second-grade flooring, unsafe window glazing, non-standard doors, cheap sanitary fixtures.
Who has to fix construction defects? The contractor. Under the Sale (Apartments) Law, the contractor must repair them. Each type of defect carries its own legally defined warranty period during which you can require the contractor to make the fix, so if your apartment has construction defects, it would be a shame to let that period run out.
So what do you do? Check it, fix it, and that's that.
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