Building a Mamad (Shelter), an increasingly easy operation

The events of 7.10.2023 in Israel have made the need to build shelters or reinforced rooms (called "Mamad" in Hebrew) increasingly evident. In fact, apartments located in old buildings in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem are suffering from growing disinterest because they do not offer the necessary level of security against the threat of rocket fire. In response to this, municipalities are encouraging co-owners to apply for reinforced rooms building licenses as extensions of existing apartments, without necessarily participating in a large-scale project such as Tama 38, which involves adding new apartments to the existing building.

In general, the law requires the integration of a Mamad in any new construction, as well as in the case of an extension request for existing construction.

Regarding a single-family house, the procedure is quite simple: the law allows the construction of a Mamad beyond the authorized physical construction limits (provided you do not cross the boundaries of your plot).

Concerning the construction of one or more reinforced rooms in a condominium (a building), this requires the agreement of the co-owners gathered in a general meeting. Indeed, if the addition of a Mamad mainly affects the interior of the concerned apartment in which it will be integrated, its characteristics (wall thickness, openings, facades, basement foundations) have an impact on the entire building.

To facilitate construction, the Knesset adopted an amendment to the Real Estate Law last October. Now, the agreement of 60% of the co-owners is sufficient to build a Mamad, compared to 75% previously.

In terms of urban planning, the construction of a Mamad requires obtaining a building permit issued by the municipal planning commission (Vaada Mekomit).

In recent weeks, the national commission has implemented an accelerated administrative procedure (Tama 40 Guimel) to shorten the processing time for permit applications.

For single-family homes, and under certain conditions, it is no longer necessary to apply for a building permit. A preliminary compliance request must be submitted to the Civil Protection Department of the army (Pikoud Ha-Oref) and must be processed within a few weeks.

For Mamad additions to a building, procedures are also simplified. The Mamad can be built up to the boundary of the plot (without any distance from the neighboring plot). Moreover, it is no longer necessary to submit a preliminary information request, or even to obtain the opinion of several sub-committees on urban planning. Only the agreement of the Civil Protection Department of the army is necessary. This new procedure allows for a permit to be obtained in less than four months, compared to over a year previously.

These exceptional provisions are valid for one year and aim to significantly reduce the discrepancies between the levels of protection of old and new buildings.

In terms of costs, it is necessary to budget an average of 150,000 shekels for the addition of a Mamad to a single-family house, and approximately 200,000 shekels per apartment in a building. In addition to security, adding a Mamad is also a very good real estate investment (providing an additional 8 to 10 square meters for an apartment).

By making reinforcement conditions more flexible, the administration offers a practical response to residents' concerns and allows them increased protection against the current security threat. However, the technical construction criteria of the Mamads were adopted more than 30 years ago following the Gulf War. It is clear that these criteria will need to be readjusted to current dangers.