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Buying Land in Israel: Zoning and Agricultural Land Checks

Q: How can I verify a parcel's zoning myself?

Ask the local planning committee for the planning information sheet on the parcel and have an Israeli lawyer or planner read the plans it lists; the designation comes from the approved plans, not from maps or marketing.

Q: Can a foreign resident buy Israeli land?

Private land can generally be bought by non-residents; state land leased through the Israel Land Authority has its own rules on transfer and eligibility. Ask the lawyer to confirm for the specific parcel.

Q: Is rezoning of agricultural land ever guaranteed?

No. Approval of a plan is a decision of the planning institutions following a public procedure, and no seller or marketer can guarantee its outcome or its timing.

Aerial view of farmland next to a town boundary with planning maps overlaid

The value of a plot of land in Israel is determined by what the approved plans allow to be built on it, not by what a seller says might be allowed one day. The Planning and Building Law 5725-1965 creates a hierarchy of plans, and a parcel's permitted use is whatever the lowest approved plan in that hierarchy says. Land designated for agriculture can only be used for agriculture until a plan changing that designation is approved. Offers of 'agricultural land near a city that will be rezoned' are common and are the most frequent source of disappointment for foreign investors, so the checks below are not optional.

The plan hierarchy

National outline plans (TAMA) set national policy, for example for infrastructure, open space or earthquake strengthening.
District outline plans (TAMAM) set the framework for each planning district, including where urban growth is allowed.
Local outline plans set the designation of land in a municipality: residential, commercial, agricultural, open space and so on.
Detailed plans set the specific rights on a parcel: number of units, floors, building lines and conditions for permits.

A building permit can only be issued on the basis of a detailed plan that permits the construction. Land that appears as 'residential' in a district plan but has no local or detailed plan cannot be built on until those plans are approved by the relevant planning committees. Each approval is a public procedure with objections and appeals, and its timing depends on the committees, not on the landowner.

What 'agricultural land' actually means

Agricultural designation under a local outline plan means the land can be used for farming and for the limited structures the plan allows. Changing it requires a new plan approved through the planning institutions, which may also need the consent of bodies responsible for preserving agricultural land and open space. A plan may be initiated by a local authority, by the state or by owners, but initiation is not approval. Until approval the land remains agricultural, and the owner also remains liable for betterment levy under the Planning and Building Law once any plan does add rights.

Who owns the land and under what right

Much of Israel's land is state land administered by the Israel Land Authority under Basic Law: Israel Lands 5720-1960 and leased rather than sold. Agricultural land in cooperative communities is often held under lease arrangements that do not give the farmer a freely transferable right. Private land exists and is registered under the Land Law 5729-1969, but is frequently held in undivided shares by many heirs. Before anything else, establish from the Land Registry extract and, where relevant, the Israel Land Authority what right the seller holds and whether it can be transferred to a non-resident buyer.

Checks before buying land for investment

Obtain the planning information sheet for the parcel from the local planning committee listing every plan that applies to it and the current designation.
Ask for the plan number of any plan said to be 'in process' and check its status directly with the planning committee; a deposited plan is not an approved plan.
Confirm whether the land is private or state land, and if state land, what the Israel Land Authority's position is on transfer and on future use.
Check the Land Registry extract for co-owners, caveats, mortgages, attachments and expropriation notes.
Ask whether the parcel is subject to a reparcelling scheme (unification and redivision) in a plan, which changes which land you end up holding.
Ask a tax adviser about purchase tax on land under the Real Estate Taxation Law 5723-1963 and about the tax consequences of a later rezoning or sale.
Do not sign a contract that describes the land by its hoped-for future designation.

Marketing schemes to treat with caution

Offers to buy small undivided shares in a large agricultural parcel, sometimes with a plan allegedly being advanced by the marketer, combine two risks covered elsewhere in this series: co-ownership in undivided shares under the Land Law and dependence on a planning approval that has not happened. Ask who controls the plan, who pays the betterment levy and the planning costs if it is approved, and what you own if it never is. The honest answer to the last question is a fraction of a field.

Common mistakes

Buying on the basis of a district plan while no detailed plan exists.
Treating a deposited or proposed plan as an approved one.
Not checking whether the land is state land with transfer restrictions.
Buying an undivided share and assuming it corresponds to a marked lot.
Ignoring future betterment levy when a plan is eventually approved.
Relying on the seller's planning consultant instead of your own.

FAQ

How can I verify a parcel's zoning myself?