What is Israel's solution for tens of thousands of evacuees?

Amid Operation Swords of Iron, the government has decided to evacuate more than 100,000 residents from Gaza and Lebanon border communities, mainly to hotels.

This is a temporary solution, which causes significant difficulties and challenges among the evacuees and government officials.

With the understanding of the government bodies that there is a need for permanent housing solutions for many of the evacuees, the Investment Authority and the Tax Authority are easing restrictions on the "apartments for rent" track in the law for encouraging capital investments with the goal of increasing the amount of apartments for rent.

As part of the relief program, and in order to simplify and speed up the process of finding homes for evacuees, entrepreneurs who own residential buildings can contact and request permission from the Investment and Development Authority, which resides under the Economy and Industry Ministry, to contract with a government company to occupy the apartments in the building by the evacuee population, this instead of signing a contract with each of the tennants individually.

An entrepreneur who applies to the authority and receives approval will be entitled to tax benefits in accordance with the Incentive Law.

Already these days, the Competition Authority and the Tax Authority are working to provide a rapid response individually to entrepreneurs who own residential buildings, and it has already been approved for a company that owns a residential apartment building, which holds written approval from the administration in the "building for rent" route, to contract with a government company for the occupancy of the apartments in this building by the evacuee population.

It is important to note that the company that owns the building will not be allowed to deduct the input tax that was used to build the residential apartments and the input tax that it uses to rent those apartments to individuals.