Installing an elevator in a condominium

Who should pay for an elevator in a condominium?

Recent years have seen encouragement of elevator installation in condominium buildings, using internal or external shafts in older buildings. It is an expensive project, potentially costing hundreds of thousands of shekels, with noise, dust and inconvenience during construction. Why, then, is it still worthwhile to install an elevator in the new building?
Installing an elevator in an older building is one of the better and faster ways to increase apartment values; upper-floor apartments may rise by about 20%. It is reasonable to expect that the substantial investment will be justified by an increase in value exceeding its cost. Beyond the financial benefit, an elevator improves residents’ quality of life, especially on higher floors. Installation also offers safety advantages through strengthening the building’s foundations, better access for elderly and disabled residents, and an opportunity to renovate the stairwell and common property.
Following questions from readers about installation and avoiding neighbor disputes, answers were provided by Attorney Uri Shiloh, a real-estate specialist and partner at E. Shiloh & Co., and real-estate appraiser Dotan Deri.
Who may decide to install an elevator in a condominium?
The Land Law allows a two-thirds majority of apartment owners, at a general meeting, to decide to install an elevator in common property, subject to two conditions. First, a building permit must be obtainable under the Planning and Building Law; most authorities take a lenient approach and tend to approve elevator applications. Second, installation must not substantially harm other apartments, common property or the building’s appearance. If substantial harm would result, unanimous consent is required.
The Haifa District Appeals Committee at the Ministry of the Interior recently allowed a principled appeal and held that, despite the tendency to approve elevators, a new elevator should not be built at any price. The case concerned a condominium on the Carmel whose facade faces the view. One apartment housed a disabled resident who could have installed a special lift but had not done so. Neighbors proposing the elevator wanted it in front of the building, blocking light and views from some apartments. The resulting substantial harm and loss of value would have exceeded the cost of a more expensive alternative elevator. The Committee found alternative solutions, including disabled-access equipment, and directed the proponents to examine them, because substantial interference with owners’ views and air should not be taken lightly.
Where a neighbor dispute may prevent installation, an experienced mediator can help find a solution addressing as many interests as possible while saving considerable expense and distress.
If the legally required majority is obtained, who bears the installation cost?
The costs are high, amounting to hundreds of thousands of shekels. The law provides that owners who decide to install the elevator bear those costs. Ground-floor owners do not contribute, even if they supported installation. The owners who approved the decision may also agree that only some of them will pay.
Is an owner who did not consent always exempt from installation costs?
In principle, the law does not require an objecting owner to pay installation costs. However, the objection must be unequivocal and clear to everyone. The Haifa District Court has already required a first-floor owner to pay a substantial share even though she was not among those who decided to install the elevator. It held that, despite the statutory rule, she had not objected to contributing, but only to the amount assigned to her.
Who pays for maintenance and ongoing operation?
All owners must contribute to maintenance and operating expenses, including those who opposed installation and those on the ground floor. This rule, like other condominium-management rules, may be varied by amending the bylaws through a decision of the building’s residents.
I live on the roof level. An elevator has been proposed, and we fear noise from a machine room on the roof. Can I refuse?
Quiet electric or hydraulic elevators are now available without a machine room. An Israeli standard governs permissible elevator noise in stairwells and must be observed. An acoustic consultant can improve vibration insulation between the motor and the shaft’s concrete base. Many TAMA 38 projects now include hundreds of new housing units, including rooftop construction on older buildings strengthened and renovated to the required earthquake standard. Elevators are added to reach penthouse floors and can be designed to arrive directly at the apartment entrance.
Does adding an elevator service room require payment of betterment levy?
Betterment levy arises from approval of a planning scheme or publication of a relaxation or nonconforming use. An added service room is service space for all purposes. If it falls within service-space rights under the plan predating the elevator permit application, no levy applies. If it requires publication of any relaxation, a levy may apply, subject to a qualified real-estate appraiser’s valuation and proof of an increase in value resulting from the relaxation. A levy demand may be appealed to the District Appeals Committee.