The evolution of the urban land lease system in Israel

Abstract

One of the recommendations included in the 1976 Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements deals with the necessity of public land ownership to, among other things, “. . . supply serviced land at price levels which can secure socially acceptable patterns of development”. Due to the nature and pattern of events that led to the inception and establishment of the State of Israel, the new country has found itself with the majority of its land in public ownership. The owners had to develop the mechanism and process by which to allocate the land for the many land-uses and to determine the appropriate price levels as to attain the national social and economic goals. This paper, then, deals with the evolution of the allocation patterns of land, specifically urban land, through leasehold or sale, for housing, industrial, commercial, and tourist development, by public or private agencies or persons; the evolution of the financial side of the lease system, and the changing relationship between the landowners and the landholders are examined. Finally, in light of the mounting criticism of the lease system, an attempt is made to determine whether the public sector is exploited by the private sector or vice versa, and whether the solution lies in selling publicly-owned land to private owners.