Water Company Pursues Former Owners for 8-Year-Old Debt of 46,000 Shekels in Bat Yam

Three siblings who sold their parents' apartment in Bat Yam eight years ago are being pursued by the local water company for an unpaid water bill of approximately 46,000 shekels. Despite the property being sold in June 2018 and the new owners registered for municipal taxes, the water company continued to hold the siblings responsible for the debt accumulated by the new owners, due to a failure to officially transfer the water account ownership.

The siblings claim they repeatedly asked the water company to act fairly and charge the actual debt holders, but the company insisted on pursuing them legally. They were unaware of the debt until about a year ago, when the water company contacted them claiming a 33,000 shekel debt. The siblings say they never received prior notices and that the water company never shut off the service to the new owners despite the unpaid bills.

Legal proceedings followed, including dozens of bank account and pension fund seizures against the siblings. They hired a lawyer but lost in court due to filing their opposition late. The court recognized procedural flaws and encouraged a settlement, but no agreement was reached. Recently, the water company finally transferred the account to the new owners but continues to demand payment from the siblings for the accumulated debt.

The water company stated it repeatedly contacted the registered owners over the years without response and acted according to the law and court rulings. It emphasized the importance of timely payments for maintaining water infrastructure and urged residents to update account details promptly during ownership changes.

The siblings plan to continue appealing, seeking the water company to drop claims against them and pursue the actual debtors based on property sale documents and registration records.