The Marker, Gili Melnicki, 19.03.2020

The Planning Administration and the Ministry of Justice have been working in recent days to formulate an agreed text for emergency regulations for the construction industry, which seeks to amend restrictions relating to schedules set in the Planning and Building Law and to create a series of eases in obtaining Form 4 (a final certificate) - all in order not to delay delivery and progress of projects.

Although the construction industry has been defined as an essential sector for the economy and has been exceeded by many restrictions imposed on the economy as a whole, the area has in recent days faced many problems related to the dysfunction of planning committees and licensing bodies - in a way that delays projects in the construction industry. To this end, there have been increased efforts in recent days by the planning director, Dalit Zilber and the legal advisers team, with the Ministry of Justice and the Prime Minister's Office, with a view to passing emergency regulations to freeze time and ease for the industry. It is estimated that the regulations are in the final stages of consolidation and are required for approval by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is expected to sign them by the end of the week. The main regulations are expected to address three acute issues.

Licensing authorities in the local authorities will be able to grant a series of reliefs in the provision of Form 4, which is required for housing. TheMarker has learned that the reliefs will not be granted as much as it is necessary to obtain the certifications of the safety officials, such as the fire department, but if no approvals are obtained from the conditions that are a condition of obtaining a permit and are more "cosmetic", such as the approval of the UAE and the traffic department, which are unsuccessful Issuing permits due to a minority of personnel, subject to health guidelines - can still be granted a permit.

It is estimated that any local authority will be able to decide for itself which non-safety components will be eased for the site. A senior construction official told TheMarker: "We cannot afford delays in delivering apartments because the local authorities have no personnel to deal with us and give permits. The significance of a delay in delivering apartments can entail payments of tens of thousands of shekels. This privilege. "

Freeze the schedules set by the Planning and Building Law - both for the applicants and for the authorities and program testers. The Planning and Building Act contains clear timetables for various planning and permit procedures.For example, once a plan is published, 60 days can be presented for objections or 45 days for submitting amendments to the program discussed by the committee. In the event of failure to meet deadlines, some plans may be frozen or return to very early stages of planning - which will result in significant delays at the beginning of projects.

Therefore, in the context of emergency relief, the Planning Administration will probably seek to freeze throughout the period of the Corona virus proliferation of the seas to produce certainty in the industry and the possibility to conduct processes in a decent and transparent manner. On the other hand, senior planning officials make it clear that freezing schedules should not encourage planning institutions not to hold discussions, but vice versa. If all materials have arrived - try to get together and have the necessary discussion.

In addition, the issuance phases seem unlikely to be eased. This means that construction starts are likely to be hit, creating a chain effect that could be difficult for the construction industry - if they are unable to control the Corona crisis in a matter of weeks.

A third and significant problem concerns the conduct of discussions at the local and provincial planning and construction committees and the appeal committees, as these include a large number of participants - who cannot convene these days. The Planning Administration is looking into what technological means can adapt and replace a "real" discussion. Also, consider how to legalize online tools to prove that it has given all participants the right to voice their opinion and the opportunity to hear and be exposed to all the information.

In the meantime, another move advanced by the Planning Administration in the last day concerns the definition of the licensing system's employees and inspectors in the construction industry as essential workers for the economy, so as not to slow down their operations. The control institutes and material testing laboratories on construction sites were also extended, in the light of joint work of the Planning Administration and the Local Government Center.