The Sheltered Housing Law, 2012 is intended to protect the rights of sheltered housing residents . It regulates the activities of the sheltered housing homes in legislation and establishes clear codes of conduct. The law was approved by the Knesset in 2012 , after being proposed by the Ministry of Labor and Welfare.
The law was created due to the fear of abuse of those living in the sheltered housing in the absence of supervision. The law defines the rights of the tenants, the conditions for obtaining an operator’s license and the methods of supervision of the sheltered housing. Tenants in these houses are usually among the older population in the general public, therefore they need protection of their living conditions as well as protection of their economic situation.
Background to the law
In Israel there are about 90 assisted living facilities where about 15,000 residents live. Following the aging of part of the Israeli society , dynamic changes are taking place in the family structure that have caused great success among the housing companies that provide support services for the elderly. Many of the housing estates are owned by private companies, although some of them are operated both as a non-profit (non-profit institution) and by health funds.
Most of these houses are managed with a lack of legal foundation and without the direct legal regulation of the legislator .The sheltered housing houses hold a financial sum of over NIS 20 billion. This amount is even higher than the capital owned by medium-sized banks in Israel. The banks are subject to control, while the deposits of the tenants of the sheltered housing were not monitored at all. As a result, this issue was accompanied by serious concerns about abuse of the residents, non-fulfillment of promises and lack of proper financial management of the tenants’ funds. As a result of the fear of these situations, it was decided to enact the sheltered housing law.
License to operate a sheltered housing
According to the law, shelters will only be operated by people who hold a license for this, subject to the conditions of the license and the provisions of the law.
Those who wish to obtain an operating license or those who wish to renew a license, are required to submit a request to the supervisor at least 45 days before the license’s expiration date.
The sheltered housing services
The sheltered housing law divides the types of services provided into three:
- Mandatory services according to the law: a list of services specified in the first appendix (section 19(a)) to the law.
- Mandatory services according to the agreement: the services to which the licensee committed in the agreement that were not required according to the law.
- Additional paid services: the license holder can add services required by law and offer them to the tenant. The tenant does not have to accept the supplements unless he agreed to it in writing in advance.
The medical services
As part of the mandatory services in the sheltered housing, residents are provided with the following medical services :
- Provision of health services to residents by a nurse, including management of medical information regarding the residents and referral for medical treatment, according to their wishes.
- First aid services in the sheltered housing, during all hours of the day, by a person who received appropriate training for this.
Doctor services
Additional physician services (apart from the physician included in the multi-professional team) are not defined as mandatory services by law, however there are homes that require the services of a physician , who is active in the nursing department in the assisted living facility.
Nursing department
According to the law, in an assisted living facility with at least 250 apartments, there must be a nursing department where a resident who needs hospitalization is allowed to be hospitalized there.
A multi-professional team
The law requires the shelter to appoint a multi-professional team consisting of a doctor, a social worker and a nurse .
The sheltered housing may condition the acceptance of a person as a resident of the house, with the approval of the multi-professional team, that he is able to take care of his personal needs and manage his life, even if he is given partial assistance. The multi-professional team is authorized to determine that due to the health condition of the tenant, he should be moved from his apartment for his benefit or for the benefit of the other tenants.
Tenants’ rights
The tenant has the right to lead his life in the sheltered housing in the way he sees fit as long as he does not disturb others and does not violate the rules of conduct in the sheltered housing.
The tenant has the right to communicate with any employee of the apartment building, as long as the employee did not object to it.
The tenant can house a caregiver in his apartment, if the licensee has agreed to it and if the apartment is suitable for another person. In addition to this, if it is found that the tenant needs a therapist by the multi-professional team or the state and if the request is rejected, the tenant has the right to appeal the team’s decision before the district doctor.
The tenant has the right to appoint a representative on his behalf.
The tenants have the right to organize a delegation (tenant council) that will represent them in all matters related to their common problems in connection with the sheltered housing before the license holder or other bodies and the tenants ‘ committee
The role of the committee is to act as a representative of the tenants in issues they share with the sheltered housing, the state authorities and other bodies. The committee is not authorized, by virtue of the law, to represent the tenants in legal proceedings and to sign agreements on behalf of the tenants.
The housing contract
The contract between the tenant and the licensee consists of several fixed criteria:
Definitions section, the right of use, declarations of the parties, the amount of maintenance fees and other related amounts, the list of mandatory services, the amount of the deposit and the safe distribution of payments offered to secure the deposit funds, services that require an additional payment, details of the treatment departments, violations and various instructions.
Security for the tenant’s money
The sheltered housing is obliged to offer the tenants one of four sureties to secure the deposit money: bank guarantee , insurance , depositing 40% of the deposit money in a trust company or a first class mortgage that will be registered in favor of the tenant.
Evicting a tenant from his apartment
The tenant will be evicted from his apartment in the following cases: fundamental violation of the agreement, cancellation of the agreement by the court, due to his health condition or cancellation of the agreement by one of the parties during the trial period.
Penalty
If a housing operator is not granted a license or if he has a license but did not follow the terms of the license, he will be sentenced to one year in prison or a fine appropriate to the offense, and if the violator is a corporation – the fine will be doubled.
Law of Sheltered Housing: https://www.nevo.co.il/law_html/law00/119612.htm