The Israeli Government today agreed to implement the central recommendations of the Trajtenberg committee with respect to housing.
As part of those recommendations, the Government will plan to build 187,000 housing units across the country in the next five years.
The aim is to increase the housing supply, which will then allow housing prices to fall and make buying their own home a more realistic option for young couples and others who are at the bottom of the housing ladder.
In addition to building more housing units, the Trajtenberg committee recommendations also include fines for developers who delay construction on land to which they have building rights, and higher taxes on homes which are empty for most of the year. The idea is to encourage absentee owners to rent out their apartments rather than pay higher municipal taxes. This could cause an influx into the market of thousands of new rental properties and ease the rental housing shortage.
Other housing recommendations include help for the disabled and new immigrants, extra money for rental assistance for those in need, and the building of more purpose-built homes for the elderly.
