Background: Inequality between households with low/intermediate incomes and those with high incomes has been rising steadily for several decades, and over the past decade this has been coupled with a sharp rise in housing prices. In addition, the government has increasingly withdrawn its involvement in the housing market. Consequently, more and more households find it very difficult to afford suitable housing.

 

IAHC study: This study (followed by a comprehensive policy paper) presents an up-to-date picture of housing affordability in Israel and proposes tools for devising and implementing an extensive affordable housing system. The document provides general explanations of the goals of affordable housing, its target audiences, where such housing is needed, who is responsible for its advancement and how it can be implemented, as well as the recommendations of the IAHC for its development.

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(Hebrew)

Background: Many projects in Israel are initiated under the title of 'Affordable Housing', but do they really provide suitable solutions for low/middle-income households unable to afford the prices of the current housing market?

 

IAHC paper: The IAHC Affordable Housing Index, the first of its kind in Israel, maps and analyzes initiatives defined as Affordable Housing Projects all over the country, according to 4 different criteria prevalent in relevant literature. By analyzing data published by the government and local authorities, the author examines each project's ability to provide a real affordable housing solution

Collaboration with Alrov Institute for Real Estate Research at the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Management

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Background: One striking aspect of Israel's housing market is the lack of viable long-term rental solutions, with the great majority of rented homes owned by private investors.

 

IAHC study: To address the issue of long-term rental housing in Israel we set up a multidisciplinary think tank, including students and researchers from the Faculty of Management, the Faculty of Law, the School of Economics and the Department of Geography.

 

The resulting paper presents and analyzes the steps taken by the government to advance the market for long-term rental housing in Israel, while offering a wider perspective in three focal aspects: comparing Israel with other countries with regard to long-term rental; policy tools currently implemented in Israel, both locally and nationally; assessing the expected impact of these tools.

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(English Abstract)

Background: Planning plays a substantial role in creating affordable housing possibilities in Israel. And yet, rules and regulations abound, and are difficult to comprehend in full. Thus, sensible, rigorous and comprehensive tools are essential for laying a sound foundation for building and managing a new supply of social housing for those who cannot afford housing in the current marketplace.

 

IAHC paper: This guide brings together all the main directives and guidelines concerning affordable housing, providing decision-makers with a comprehensive and handy tool for forming and examining new plans. To make it as useful as possible, the guide consists of five parts, reflecting the different types of land designations that determine definitions and planning of affordable housing

Since definitions and planning change in accordance with the land's designation, the guide consists of five parts – in accordance with different land designations.

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(Hebrew)

Grant from the Alrov Institute for Real Estate Research at TAU’s Coller School of Management 

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Background: PPPs are often used for developing complex projects around the world, including affordable housing. In Israel this format has been implemented in various national projects, and to a lesser degree in local projects as well.

 

IAHC study: This study examines the ability of local authorities in Israel to utilize PPPs for providing their low/middle-income residents with affordable housing. The study mapped and analyzed existing affordable housing PPPs, and then defined and analyzed both obstacles and opportunities for implementing such projects in Israel. Finally, it outlined practical proposals for regulatory changes that could pave the way for PPPs in Israeli affordable housing.

 

(Hebrew) 

​Collaboration with Israeli startup company Dfrent

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Background: Israel's rental housing market has its own unique features, with very little long-term rental and minimal government involvement. Believing that the country, and especially its major cities, may have something to learn from other metropolitan areas around the world, we conducted a comparative survey. French-, German- and English-speaking students from the International Programs of the Faculty of Law and Faculty of Humanities took part in the project.

 

IAHC study: In this research project we compared the rental markets in six large cities around the world, from a wide range of perspectives: Market size; types of ownership of rented units; scope and nature: short term, long term, percentage of total housing market; rental prices and their affordability; and existing regulation re rental prices, landlord–tenant relations and the activity of real-estate agents. The survey revealed common trends and characteristics, such as growing demand for urban housing and rising prices, alongside several great differences. A special focus was placed on differences in regulation, which impact all players and lead to significant disparities and very different realities for those who rent or seek to rent homes in large cities. 

Background: Sde Dov, a domestic airfield within the jurisdiction of Tel Aviv-Yafo, was closed down in June 2019, to make room for a huge housing development project 16,000 new units for over 40,000 residents on an area of approximately 360 acres, which, according to the government will contribute to solving the current housing crisis.

 

IAHC study:

Our research shows that – in contrast to government claims - the new neighborhood, built on extremely high-value land in north Tel Aviv, will be far from affordable for low/middle-class Israelis who wish to either rent or purchase a home. In this paper we present a first-of-its-kind concrete proposal for incorporating affordable social housing into the Sde Dov Master Plan – allocating 10% of the units for public housing and 25% for affordable housing based on standards prevailing in other countries such as the USA.  The AHC plan serves as a case study for the proper allocation of social housing in high-demand areas.

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(Hebrew)

Background document for formulating a government policy on affordable housing

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Background: Rising housing prices combined without a comparable rise in household incomes have caused a substantial decline in housing affordability worldwide. This in terms has generated various inventive solutions in different countries.

 

IAHC study: This document presents new Shared Equity Homeownership models already implemented in other countries in response to a substantial worldwide decrease in housing affordability. These models apply a combination of legal and economic tools to challenge the traditional distinctions between rental and ownership, private and public, dividing homeownership among several different partiers.

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(Hebrew)

Collaboration with Paz Economy & Engineering

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Background: The very high prices of housing in the metropolis of Tel Aviv-Yafo pose a substantial challenge to the municipality. Examining various potential solutions, city officials need research-based tools to determine their effectiveness. Shared housing is one such solution.

 

IAHC study: This Policy Paper will the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality with tools for reviewing proposed shared housing initiatives and then choosing and supporting those with high potential. The document defines desirable projects based on the city's values and goals, setting specific criteria and measures for evaluating their suitability and offering incentives to highly rated projects.

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(Hebrew)