Netanya court largely rejects homeowner's renovation lawsuit, orders her to pay contractor

Netanya Magistrate’s Court has resolved a long-running payment dispute between a homeowner in Herzliya and the renovation contractor who worked in her apartment. In a ruling by Judge Hilmi Hajjoug, most of the homeowner’s claim was dismissed, while the contractor’s countersuit was accepted almost in full. The judge criticized the homeowner for unilateral deductions and for disrupting the contractor’s work, and ordered her to pay his legal costs and attorney fees.

The dispute began in August 2022, when the homeowner, an insurance agent, hired the contractor for major renovation work. The two first signed a handwritten document, then exchanged a detailed email contract, and later agreed to additions and changes. The main fight was over pricing, with the homeowner insisting the agreed amounts included VAT and the contractor saying VAT was extra.

The homeowner alleged severe negligence, claiming hundreds of thousands of shekels in defects and missing items, including air conditioners and doors. The contractor, through his lawyer, argued that she was a difficult client who blocked completion of the final finishing work, refused to let him inspect complaints in real time, and repeatedly avoided paying the balance. He also said she came to other work sites, shouted at him, and once entered a mosque where he was working.

By agreement of both sides, the court appointed an engineer as expert witness. The expert rejected most of the homeowner’s claims and valued the real defects at only 6,500 shekels plus VAT. The court accepted that finding, rejected her claims about damage to underfloor heating, and said she had not substantiated them with solid evidence.

Judge Hajjoug also found that she acted on her own when she withheld money over furniture that was not supplied by the contractor, and that her conduct prevented him from fixing any remaining problems. He ruled that the contract prices did not include VAT and that she raised the issue only late in the process. After offsetting the defects against the unpaid balance, she was ordered to pay about 34,000 shekels, including VAT, plus interest and linkage from the date of the countersuit. The court also ordered her to pay 15,000 shekels in attorney fees, along with the court fee and expert costs.