Maintenance Obligations: Landlord vs. Tenant Responsibility

Before 2017, apartment owners in Israel would print a classic void clause such as "Tenant takes on everything – if the floor collapses from old age, the tenant pays." The Fair Rental Law changed the game entirely. It created cogent ("compulsory") rules obligating the landlord to repair, regardless of what the tenant signed.

Legal Disclaimer: The main distinction stands between "a defect in the leased property itself or natural wear and tear of time" (landlord's responsibility) versus "a defect caused by malicious unreasonable use or as a result of the tenant" (tenant's responsibility). Updated: March 2026.

1. The Basic Rule: What MUST the Landlord Repair?

A landlord in Israel bears the legal and maintenance obligation (according to section 7 of the law) to produce a proper living environment. Meaning that the "aging / systemic" things carried on the back of the house are incumbent upon them to open, as well as the rule regarding "natural" systems that are damaged by time:

Landlord Duties in Israel (Repair Examples):

• Infrastructure Systems of the House: Burst pipes (green/rusty), leaking roof in winter, gutters clogged as a result of building dirt and rain, electrical wires that wore out in the old panel.

• Whiteware and Objects: A water heater that died / solar panels clogged (limescale). Replacing an AC motor that failed (if the AC was part of the "inventory list" at the time of handing over the key unless agreed otherwise prior to the law). All these are considered Normal wear and tear and the costs of purchasing a new one and repairing it depend solely on the landlord.

• When must it be repaired? The Fair Rental Law set target times to cut down stalling:

  • Urgent repair (preventing living in the apartment, for example, a flooding pipe burst or total loss of electricity) – must be repaired within only 3 days!
  • Regular repair and other defects – the repair shall be done within a reasonable time from the time of the tenant's demand, but no more than 30 days.

What happens if the landlord did not meet the time limit? (A sharp legal offset): The law (Section 9(a)) gives the tenant far-reaching authority: In the event that the landlord does not rush to send a technician, the tenant warns in writing. If the 3 or 30 days have passed, the tenant is entitled to order an official "professional" on their behalf, pay them with their credit card, and then completely offset the invoice automatically from the payment fund to make a reduced payment on the next rent! Do not let this happen. Do not avoid repairs.

2. Tenant's Responsibility (Unreasonable and Current Use)

The system is not only aggressive towards landlords. There are many things the tenant is obligatorily required to repair out of pocket!

• Malicious Spoilage or Negligence: The tenant exited forcefully and completely broke the cylinder door lock because they forgot a key? Funding the break-in and the cylinder falls exactly on them. Threw towel scraps into the toilet and it overflowed because of their direct fault? The plumber's bill for clearing localized clogs falls on them. (As opposed to an external building sewage clog).
• Trifles: Unless defined otherwise in the contract, end-use items (replacing a burnt bulb, fixing a single blind that detached because they pulled it too hard) are replaced during the maintenance of the Israeli dynamics of property management.
• Ongoing maintenance of personal gardening, building maintenance (house committee, etc.) - directly to the tenant.

Peace of Mind with Built-in Fault Diagnostics (Landager HelpDesk)

A client texted you on WhatsApp: "I have a pool under the sink at 2 AM, can't wash dishes." Until today you would answer confused, send a plumber, pay 500 ILS just for a "false alarm visit", for a pipe they accidentally broke with their foot. Landager's Maintenance platform stands guard. The tenant will open an organized "fault" ticket in the app attached with a live photo. The internal AI, synchronized with Israeli law, will directly ask them: "Is the drip from the main connection or as a result of a blow to the tube?" - when the system documents that a necessary "Repair" call backed by the landlord's responsibility has been collected, Landager automatically drops it into the dashboard of the plumbers the manager clicks to work with. Legally tracking expenses, and optionally a correct and approved offset, not a unilateral one.

Back to Overview: Residential Tenancy in Israel.