Useful information
BETTERMENT LEVIES
Does the H-500 planning scheme involve betterment? What is the likely betterment levy after its approval?
The matter of betterment levy is subject to constant change (both in legislation and through the courts). It cannot be known what approach the Holon local planning and building committee will adopt in respect of the betterment issue deriving from the H-500 scheme. Only time will tell.
What can be said generally at this stage is –
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The betterment must be measured between two planning positions: the previous position (Amendment no. 3) and the new position (the H-500 scheme). The comparison must be made specifically in respect of each parcel.
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Both plans – Amendment no. 3 and the H-500 scheme – are outline planning schemes. That is to say that they have both prescribed that it is necessary to prepare detailed plans in order to proceed with construction.
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It is difficult to see clearly how the H-500 scheme increases availability in comparison with the previous planning position because several detailed plans that included allotment and balancing tables were prepared in the past merely by virtue of Amendment no. 3. That is to say that the Amendment no. 3 outline scheme alone (without the need for another outline scheme) sufficed for the preparation of detailed plans for the construction of new neighbourhoods in South Holon.
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The H-500 scheme does not alter the key for the allotment of rights that was prescribed in the previous scheme (Amendment no. 3).
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The H-500 scheme provides that for the preparation of the balancing tables in the detailed planning, the previous planning position (Amendment no. 3) will be treated as the originating position (the entry position) for the apportionment of rights.
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It is therefore possible that the Holon local planning and building committee will adopt an approach according to which betterment levy will not be charged by reason of the approval of the H-500 scheme and the betterment levy charge will be deferred until such time as the detailed plans are approved and the balancing tables are published.
Does the H-500 planning scheme involve betterment? What is the likely betterment levy after its approval?
The matter of betterment levy is subject to constant change (both in legislation and through the courts). It cannot be known what approach the Holon local planning and building committee will adopt in respect of the betterment issue deriving from the H-500 scheme. Only time will tell.
What can be said generally at this stage is –
-
The betterment must be measured between two planning positions: the previous position (Amendment no. 3) and the new position (the H-500 scheme). The comparison must be made specifically in respect of each parcel.
-
Both plans – Amendment no. 3 and the H-500 scheme – are outline planning schemes. That is to say that they have both prescribed that it is necessary to prepare detailed plans in order to proceed with construction.
-
It is difficult to see clearly how the H-500 scheme increases availability in comparison with the previous planning position because several detailed plans that included allotment and balancing tables were prepared in the past merely by virtue of Amendment no. 3. That is to say that the Amendment no. 3 outline scheme alone (without the need for another outline scheme) sufficed for the preparation of detailed plans for the construction of new neighbourhoods in South Holon.
-
The H-500 scheme does not alter the key for the allotment of rights that was prescribed in the previous scheme (Amendment no. 3).
-
The H-500 scheme provides that for the preparation of the balancing tables in the detailed planning, the previous planning position (Amendment no. 3) will be treated as the originating position (the entry position) for the apportionment of rights.
-
It is therefore possible that the Holon local planning and building committee will adopt an approach according to which betterment levy will not be charged by reason of the approval of the H-500 scheme and the betterment levy charge will be deferred until such time as the detailed plans are approved and the balancing tables are published.
The Holon Municipality has published an improvement levy assessment for Plan H-500
5/10/2018
On 8/15/2018, the Holon Local Planning and Building Committee issued an improvement levy assessment for Plan H-500, an assessment made on its behalf by the real estate appraiser and attorney Uri Cohen. The assessment refers to the entire H-500 plan, it determines a uniform improvement levy for each part of the plan area (whatever its location) in a high amount of NIS 750 per square meter. The assessment is made in a non-standard methodological approach, which examines the entire plan in the light of the two planning situations, Amendment No. 3, a plan that preceded the H-500 plan in comparison with the H-500 plan.
The initial insights that can be shared at this point are:
According to the committee's position, the H-500 plan is an improvement plan, meaning that according to this position, the value of the land in the plan area has doubled thanks to the approval of the H-500 plan.
According to Uri Cohen's assessment, unless otherwise decided by conclusive appraisers, the Holon Municipality is expected to charge the landowners in the area of the plan a total amount of - NIS 3.75 billion !!
Those who are expected to receive a charge for an improvement levy are landowners who have sold or will sell their plots after 25/1/2018.
A person who has received a charge is entitled to present a counter-professional position by a real estate appraiser on his behalf, and this will stand the test before a decisive appraiser appointed by the secretary of the Real Estate Appraiser Council.
The time available to the landowners, who have received assessments from the municipality, to apply for the appointment of a final appraiser is 45 days from the date on which the general assessment together with a specific demand for payment was made to them.
The length of time expected to complete the proceedings before a decisive appraiser is several months to a year, and only then will a first decisive assessment be published in the field of the plan. In a general assessment of this type, the outcome of the first procedure is important, since it may or may not shape the level of the improvement levy in the plan, even for those who will sell the plots in the future.
The professional challenge facing the appraisers of owners who file a counter-assessment is to analyze the planning situation and examine whether the plan has H-500 improvement elements at a rate of 100%, since the improvement levy is to be paid by the landowners to the public coffers in exchange for approving their land. A causal connection between the plan and the increase in value in the claimed rate must be proved or denied.
The above analysis in the case of Plan H-500 is not trivial, since it is not a new plan that has increased the key to the distribution of rights from 6 units per gross dunam to 12 housing units per gross dunam. If this were to happen, there would be no dispute that the plan doubled the value of the land. But it did not happen!
I know that a team of several appraisers work together to file a counter-assessment. The professional dispute will be decided as aforesaid by an objective decisive appraiser.
Anyone who has already received an improvement levy assessment and has had to deal with it is welcome to contact and consult.
Is the H / 500 plan an improvement plan? What is the expected improvement levy after its approval?
25/10/2015
The preoccupation with issues of the improvement levy is subject to constant changes (legislation and judgments). It is not known what approach the committee will adopt the local planning and construction committee Holon in relation to the issue of improvement from plan H / 500, this will be days to say.
What can be said, at this point, in general is the following:
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The improvement should measure between two planning situations: an earlier situation (Amendment Plan No. 3) and a new situation (Plan H / 500). The comparison should be made in relation to each specific plot.
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The two plans, Amendment Nos. 3 and H / 500 are plans at the level of a descriptive plan. That is, they both determined that detailed plans were needed in order for the construction to be realized.
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It is difficult to see clearly how Plan H / 500 increases availability compared to the previous planning situation, since by virtue of Amendment No. 3 alone, a number of detailed plans have been prepared in the past that included allocation and balance sheets. In other words, outline plan No. 3 alone (without the need for an additional outline plan) was sufficient for detailed plans to be prepared for the construction of new neighborhoods in southern Holon.
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Plan H / 500 does not change the key to the allocation of rights as stipulated in the Preliminary Plan (Amendment No. 3).
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Plan H / 500 stipulates that for the purpose of preparing the balance sheets within the framework of the expected detailed planning, the previous planning situation (Amendment 3) will be considered as an initial situation (incoming situation) for the distribution of rights.
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Therefore, it is not inconceivable that the Holon Local Committee will adopt an approach according to which, for the approval of Plan H / 500, no charges will be levied for the improvement levy.