Have you ever wondered what is going to be built in front of your house? or why the area at the end of your road has never been developed?
These questions can have a dramatic impact on the value of your property.
You might be surprised to know that you have a way to get an answer to these questions.
So what can you do to prevent this from happening to you?
It all comes down to one word - 'Taba'.
Israel is very organized when it comes to building regulations and every piece of land in the country has specific zoning by law. This designation is detailed in a 'Taba', which is the initials (in Hebrew) of a 'city building plan'. (תוכנית בניין עיר)
The master plan consists of two legal documents, a written document (תקנון) and a blueprint (תשריט). The blueprint is a map on which the different colors of the designations of the land are marked. The regulations state what these designations of land are.
This is the blueprint of Neve-Shamir, in it, you can see that each plot is marked by a special color. On the top of the right-hand side is a 'color key’ which explains what each color is referring to.
In the above picture, the focus is on lot number 312 which is marked in yellow. This lot is in the front row, and you might think it has an unobstructed view. However, if one looks carefully, in front of lot 312, is lot 504 which is marked in purple stripes. According to the color key, these colors mean a 'commercial area'. So instead of having a forest in front of you, you have a shopping mall.
You may say, ok, there is a shopping mall in front of me, but my apartment will be on the 5th floor. To know how high the shopping center will be, you would need to open the written document and look up the specific lot number. There you can find exactly how many floors the shopping center can include.
How can you get hold of the Taba? It is available online on the ILA website, or you can request a plan from the municipality engineering office. If you are using an agent, he should be able to get hold of it for you.
Don't make this common mistake. people often confuse 'Taba' with another real estate-connected word - 'Tabu'. (טאבו). Tabu deals with the registration of rights in real estate, which hopefully we will deal with in the future.
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