Israel's High-Rise Boom Outpaces Building Management Regulations
Translated & summarized from Calcalist by baba
Israel's rapid construction of high-rise residential towers is outpacing the regulation of their management, according to Kfir Shitrit, CEO of Hazit Group. While construction is strictly regulated, the oversight of building management, which now involves complex systems, is lagging. Shitrit calls for mandatory professional regulations, including training standards for managers and clear responsibilities, to ensure the safety and proper maintenance of these modern structures. The state also needs to address the affordability of maintenance costs for residents.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Israel's high-rise construction boom is outpacing the regulation of building management.
- Building management has evolved into complex oversight of engineering systems, requiring specialized expertise.
- Existing professional guidelines are insufficient, and mandatory regulations are needed for tower management.
- Residents struggle to assess management quality, and hidden system failures pose risks.
- Increased maintenance costs may lead residents to cut corners, risking future damage.
- Professional regulation should include manager qualifications, maintenance standards, and supervision mechanisms.
While Israel enforces stringent regulations for the construction of high-rise residential towers, a gap exists in the oversight of their post-occupancy management. The nation is experiencing a surge in vertical construction, with older, low-rise buildings being replaced by modern towers, transforming urban landscapes. However, the professional regulation of building management has not kept pace with this rapid development, leading to a situation where 21st-century buildings are often managed with outdated approaches.
Kfir Shitrit, founder and CEO of Hazit Group, an organization specializing in tower management, highlights the evolution of the field from basic cleaning and maintenance to the complex oversight of sophisticated engineering systems. He notes that the distinction between managing a small building and a large tower housing hundreds of people is often blurred. Modern towers require proactive maintenance, regular system checks, vital system monitoring, and rapid emergency response capabilities, including addressing issues like underground parking floods, pump failures, power outages, and cyber threats to smart control systems.
In 2022, the Israel National Urban Renewal Authority published guidelines for managing and maintaining buildings with extensive systems, a step Shitrit acknowledges as important but insufficient. He argues that professional guidelines do not replace mandatory regulation. While some laws and standards exist for specific safety and maintenance aspects, there is a need to examine the qualification, training, and supervision requirements for those responsible for the overall management of these towers.
Shitrit points out that residents struggle to assess management quality, as visible aspects like cleanliness are easier to judge than the proper functioning of critical, often hidden, systems. This lack of transparency makes it difficult for residents to understand the value of their management fees. Furthermore, the increasing complexity of buildings leads to higher maintenance costs, potentially pressuring residents, especially vulnerable populations, to cut corners on essential upkeep, which can result in more significant future damage.
He calls for professional regulation of residential tower management, including establishing training and experience requirements for managers, mandatory preventive maintenance standards, supervision mechanisms, and clear responsibility allocation. Additionally, the state must consider residents' ability to afford long-term maintenance costs. Israel's success in building upwards must be matched by its ability to effectively manage these structures, as responsibility for a tower begins the moment the key is handed over.