Developer Loses Appeal Over Delayed Apartment Delivery in Ariel
Translated & summarized from Bizportal by baba
A Tel Aviv court ordered developer Kaham Investment Company to pay NIS 107,925 to a buyer for a 13-month delay in apartment delivery in Ariel. The developer's claims of a verbal agreement to postpone delivery and a valid reason for delay were rejected due to lack of evidence and misrepresentation. The court also awarded NIS 20,000 for legal costs, dismissing a claim for emotional distress.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- A court ordered developer Kaham Investment Company to pay NIS 107,925 for a 13-month apartment delivery delay.
- The developer's claim of a verbal agreement to postpone delivery was rejected by the court.
- The court found the developer misrepresented the contract signing date and permit timeline.
- The buyer received compensation based on the Market Law (Apartments) and legal fees.
- A claim for additional compensation for emotional distress was denied by the judge.
A Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court has ruled against a developer, Kaham Investment Company, in a case involving a 13-month delay in delivering an apartment in Ariel. The buyer had sued for approximately NIS 173,000 in compensation. The developer claimed the buyer was not entitled to compensation, arguing that a delay in obtaining a building permit allowed them to cancel the deal. Instead, they contended, the parties verbally agreed to postpone the delivery.
However, Judge Ronen Ilan rejected the developer's version of events. He noted the absence of any written documentation to support the claim of a verbal agreement and criticized the developer's conduct. The judge pointed out that the contract explicitly stated any changes required written confirmation, a clause designed to prevent such disputes. Furthermore, the developer's own correspondence suggested the buyer had not responded to their initial notice about the permit delay.
The court also scrutinized the timeline of the building permit. The buyer presented a permit dated June 30, 2020, which was within the one-year window stipulated in the contract for either party to cancel if the permit wasn't secured. The developer's lawyer acknowledged this was the permit for the project but also presented a later permit from October 2021, which was for an additional floor and did not justify delaying the original delivery date. The judge also found that the developer had misrepresented the contract signing date in their correspondence, suggesting an attempt to create a false impression of a delay.
While the buyer argued the apartment was uninhabitable until late October 2022 due to issues like lack of electricity, the judge found insufficient evidence for this claim. Minor defects noted in the delivery protocol did not render the apartment unlivable. Ultimately, the court awarded the buyer NIS 107,925 in compensation, calculated according to the Market Law (Apartments) as it stood before a 2022 amendment, plus linkage and interest from the delivery date. The developer was also ordered to pay NIS 20,000 in legal fees and court costs. A request for an additional NIS 20,000 for emotional distress was denied, as the statutory compensation was deemed to cover such damages.
