Rishon LeZion and Bat Yam: Cities announced for discount apartment raffle

Immediately after Lag Ba'Omer: The Construction and Housing Ministry and the Israel Lands Authority (ILA) will open registration for the next discount apartment lottery on May 27. Registration will last until Monday, June 17. 

As part of the lottery, some 4,633 housing units will be raffled across the country, including in the following localities: Migdal Ha'Emek, Bnei Ayish, Elad, Dimona, Kiryat Gat, and more. Additionally, for the first time in the discount apartment lottery, apartments in Aksal, Efrat, Deir al-Assad, and Tzur Hadassah will be drawn. 

The projects show that more than 1,000 apartments (almost a quarter of all the housing units offered) are concentrated in two localities with a prominent ultra-Orthodox population: Elad and Rekhasim. 

Furthermore, the next lottery also brings good news for reservists: for the first time, a 20% priority will be given to active reservists, following the decision of the Israel Lands Council, headed by Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf.

Who is eligible and how do you register?

Homeless individuals with a valid eligibility certificate are eligible to register for the lottery. As in previous lotteries, eligible participants can register for three cities and all the lotteries in these cities. The date of registration during the registration period does not affect eligibility. 

Please note: The ministry emphasizes that the issuance of eligibility certificates to be able to register in this lottery is currently open and will close on Thursday, May 30, three days after the opening of the lottery. After that, it will not be possible to issue certificates until registration for the lottery is closed. 

Eligibility certificates can be issued online without needing to visit branches physically. The process is conducted through the digital branches of the registration companies Alonim, Milgam, and Amidar. The cost of issuing the eligibility certificate is NIS 240. The procedure takes up to 10 days; the approval is valid for one year, and must be extended before it expires. To contact the registration companies: 

- Alonim (Mgroup company): *2850 

- Milgam: *6078 

- Amidar: *6266

"Later this year we will build thousands of additional housing units"

"Immediately after Lag Ba'Omer, we will open the registration for the new lottery for a 'discount apartment,'" Goldknopf said. "For the first time, a 20% priority will be given to reservists, a decision I initiated and brought to the ILA Council for approval.

"In the upcoming lottery, apartments are offered nationwide, for example in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Migdal Ha'Emek, Dimona, Bat Yam, Elad, Rekhasim, Beit She’an, and more. Later this year, there will be thousands more apartments in the lottery."

Ministry Director-General Yehuda Morgenstern said: "Purchasing a first home provides stability and security, which we promote for all Israeli citizens in various ways and environments all the time, now with a special emphasis on reservists. The expansion of the cities where apartments will be offered is also intended to produce suitable solutions for various populations and increase public resilience.

"I call on all those eligible to register for the lottery and exercise their rights."

ILA Manager Yankee Quint said: "We continue the discount programs and the variety of benefits in affordable housing solutions for families and young people nationwide. We will continue to provide housing solutions and land allocations according to the population's needs and the government's goals. The benefit for active reservists is an important and significant statement by the state and the government towards the reservists and their families."