Together, We’ll Make Homeownership Possible for More Israelis
A National Plan to Solve the Housing Crisis and Bring Down Housing Prices
Israel’s housing crisis is not inevitable. It is the result of poor management that has created a chronic housing shortage, stifling bureaucracy, and lengthy planning and construction processes.
All of this has led to soaring home prices and rents, severely hurting young couples and working families.
The B’Yachad Party has developed a practical plan to address the crisis, based on far-reaching structural reform: we will significantly increase the housing supply, dramatically shorten planning and permitting processes, transfer authority to local governments, build 100,000 homes for long-term rental, and provide targeted benefits for reservists and people who settle in the periphery.
What's the problem?
A home should be the foundation of security for every family. But for more and more Israelis who work and serve, the possibility of buying – or even renting – a home at an affordable price is becoming increasingly out of reach.
Over the past decade, the price of an average home has risen by nearly NIS 1 million, while rents have increased by approximately 30%. Today, an average home costs roughly 12 years of an average household’s full salary. More families are spending a large share of their income on housing, while young people are being forced farther away from the places where they work and want to live.
The housing shortage did not happen by accident. It is the result of a system that builds too little and too slowly: planning and approval processes that take years, centralized land management, too little authority in the hands of local governments, and a shortage of workers in the construction industry. Urban renewal projects can take 10–15 years, and in many areas in the periphery, they are not economically viable at all.
The result: we are building too little, too slowly, and not in the places where Israelis need and want to live.
What's the solution?
We will carry out comprehensive structural reform of the housing market, enabling Israel to build more, build faster, and build in high-demand areas, while expanding the rental market.
We will provide active reservists a housing benefit worth NIS 1 million, and we will ensure enough homes are available for them to actually use it within four years. Those who serve will get something back in return from the state.
We will create a genuine alternative to homeownership: approximately 100,000 long-term rental apartments within a decade, for young people, working families, and reservists. Forty percent of these will be subsidized, with rents 30% below market price.
At the same time, we will strengthen the private rental market by providing tax benefits to landlords who offer leases of at least five years, creating long-term certainty for both tenants and landlords.
We will turn urban renewal into an engine for creating new housing in high-demand areas, cutting the process from more than a decade to approximately five years through a fast-track planning process and expanded powers for local authorities. We will shorten approval processes by setting binding targets, release land held by the Israel Land Authority, and increase the construction industry’s workforce.
We will increase the housing supply in the Galilee and the Negev and encourage young families and reservists to relocate there through tax and housing benefits, including a gradually forgivable government loan. This will be one part of achieving a broader national goal: one million additional Israelis living in the periphery within a decade, strengthening Israel’s national resilience and strategic depth.
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How will we know we've succeeded?
100,000 Apartments
For long-term rental within a decade - 40% of them through a subsidized and regulated track.
Expanding Urban Renewal
Urban renewal on a massive scale: making it a primary engine for housing construction and shortening project timelines.
45 Months from Planning to Moving into a New Home
Shortening planning and construction timelines to bring new homes onto the market quickly.
B'Yachad's plan for tackling Israel's housing crisis
01
100,000 Apartments at Reduced Rent — and Long-Term Security for Tenants and Landlords
We will develop long-term rental housing for reservists, young people, and working families. Forty percent of the apartments will be allocated through a subsidized track at regulated, reduced rents at 30% below market rates.
We will make build-to-rent projects financially viable through tax benefits and a safety net, in exchange for a commitment to rent out the properties for at least ten years. At the same time, we will strengthen the private rental market through tax benefits for landlords who offer leases of five years or longer, creating long-term certainty for both tenants and landlords.
02
The First Million: Those Who Serve Get Something Back
Active reservists will be entitled to a benefit worth 1 million NIS toward the purchase of a home. Reservists will receive priority in land tenders, including in high-demand areas, and we will ensure a sufficient supply of homes so that they can exercise that eligibility within four years – without lotteries and without an endless bureaucratic process.
03
Urban Renewal in Half the Time — Nationwide
We will cut project timelines from more than a decade to approximately five years—from planning to occupancy—through a fast-track planning process and expanded powers for local authorities.
We will bring urban renewal to the periphery and shift from renewing individual buildings to renewing entire neighborhoods, including public buildings and open spaces, alongside the development of national transportation, higher education, and employment infrastructure.
We will provide supplementary land and a package of incentives for developers in the periphery, making urban renewal financially viable throughout the country.
04
We Will Transfer Planning Authority to Local Governments: Building Permits Within Three Months
We will shift the center of gravity in planning from the national government to local authorities. Local planning committees will become the default bodies for approving plans and will receive expanded planning powers.
At the same time, we will introduce a registration model through private institutes, allowing local authorities to focus on planning rather than processing permits.
We will set binding targets: local building plans within 18 months, a building permit within three months, and completion of construction within 24 months.
05
We Will Bring More Workers into the Construction Industry — and Bring Down Construction Costs
We will rapidly and responsibly expand the construction workforce through a private recruitment track for foreign workers, with flexible quotas based on the industry’s needs and seven-year work visas. We will consolidate responsibility for the process under the Ministry of Construction and Housing, reduce employment costs, and allow payment based on work actually performed.
At the same time, we will increase the supply of engineers by expanding engineering programs at colleges and investing in teaching infrastructure and faculty. We will provide scholarships and launch targeted campaigns to expand engineering studies at colleges, with a particular emphasis on the periphery and on integrating disadvantaged populations.
06
One Address for Developers and Infrastructure
We will establish a national headquarters to coordinate housing and infrastructure and remove barriers and bottlenecks. It will operate as a streamlined interministerial body coordinating the various agencies involved in planning, budgeting, and implementation.
The head of this body will also chair the National Planning and Building Council and the Israel Land Authority, in order to synchronize real estate development with national infrastructure.
07
We will make living in the North and South a genuine option for young families.
We will set a national goal of moving one million Israelis to the periphery within a decade, focusing on young households and several urban centers in the North and South that will become engines of growth for their surrounding regions.
We will create genuine demand for relocation through concentrated, multi-year investment in housing, education, healthcare, employment, transportation, and quality of life, alongside a joint national-local government implementation mechanism with clearly defined powers and responsibilities.
