Lawyer for Buying and Selling an Apartment in Ra'anana
Buying an apartment in Ra'anana? A lawyer acting for you checks the rights in the apartment, the building file at the municipality and the contract, builds a payment mechanism that protects your money, and accompanies the transaction until it is registered in your name. This applies both to a second-hand apartment and to a new apartment from a developer.
Selling an apartment? The lawyer prepares the contract, makes sure the money reaches you before the rights pass, and handles the land appreciation tax (mas shevach) and the certificates until the buyers are registered.
A real estate lawyer is the person who accompanies the buyer or the seller in the apartment transaction: checking the rights, drafting the contract, reporting to the Tax Authority and registering the rights.
Header photo: Ra'anana entrance sign ("Ra'anana, the face of the Sharon") on the approach from Herzliya. Photo: דוד שי, Wikimedia Commons, licence CC BY-SA 4.0. The image was cropped.
When do you need a lawyer to buy an apartment in Ra'anana?
In Ra'anana it is worth involving a lawyer before the deposit or the memorandum of understanding on a second-hand apartment, and certainly when the apartment is registered with the Israel Land Authority or a housing company, or carries a mortgage, an attachment or cautionary notes.
The checks for each type of transaction are detailed on the pages Buying a second-hand apartment and Buying an apartment from a developer.
What does the lawyer do when you sell an apartment in Ra'anana?
Sellers of an apartment in Ra'anana prepare a current Land Registry extract, check for a land appreciation tax exemption and settle the debts to the local authority ahead of the clearance certificate. The contract sets a clear delivery date and an irrevocable power of attorney that allows the registration to be completed.
All the stages of a sale are explained on the selling an apartment page.
What is specific to an apartment transaction in Ra'anana?
In Ra'anana the clearance application goes to the engineering division and the committee's appraiser for a betterment levy check, and handling may take up to 90 days. Urban renewal is promoted by a department in the engineering division.
The Land Registry clearance certificate
In Ra'anana, the clearance certificate for the Land Registry is handled by the Assessment Section of the Revenue Department. You can apply through an online form on the municipality website, or at the Revenue Department offices in the Resident Service Center, 2 Klausner St., 2nd floor. The certificate involves a fee, and the receipt is attached to the application. You also attach a copy of the sale or transfer contract and a historical Land Registry extract dated on the day of the application. For a transfer without consideration, you attach an original affidavit of the parties signed before a lawyer, and for property of the State, the JNF or the Development Authority, a lease or purchase contract with Israel Land Authority. According to the municipality website, the application goes to the Engineering Department for a property check and a check by the committee's appraiser, and based on the appraiser's opinion the applicant receives a betterment levy assessment. Processing can take up to 90 days. The Land Registry certificate request page on the Ra'anana municipality website (Hebrew).
The building file and the planning committee
Ra'anana is served by the Ra'anana Local Planning and Building Committee. According to the municipality website, in July 2012 the committee was authorized as a special independent committee that can approve detailed plans within its area. The municipality website has a building file archive where you can search by file number, application number, address or block and parcel. You can also order a digital building file for ₪30 plus optional delivery. The file includes, among other things, the building permit, the permit plan, Form 4 and the completion certificate. Before signing, check the building file and the permits, and make sure the apartment has no unapproved additions, enclosures or subdivisions. If a deviation is found, the contract can include a mechanism that places the risk on the seller, or the price can be renegotiated. The building file archive on the Ra'anana municipality website (Hebrew).
Urban renewal
The Ra'anana municipality advances urban renewal through the Urban Renewal Department in the Engineering Division. The municipality website has information for residents and for planners and developers, as well as pages on building-level renewal under plan 1010B and on the Ahuza central business district plan. If you are buying an older apartment in a building with a project underway, check the planning status, whether an agreement has been signed with a developer and what it obliges the owners to do. The urban renewal page on the Ra'anana municipality website (Hebrew).
Land Registry, real estate taxation and the Israel Land Authority
In a sample check of blocks in Ra'anana in the Ministry of Justice office search, all the blocks checked are assigned to the Petah Tikva Land Registry Office (26 HaHistadrut St., Petah Tikva). Not all the blocks in the town were checked, so the office for a particular apartment is confirmed by its block number.
The transaction is reported to the Netanya Real Estate Taxation Office (Government Center, 18 Ben Zvi Blvd., Netanya). A property on Israel Land, owned by the State, the Jewish National Fund or the Development Authority, is handled by the Tel Aviv-Center region of the Israel Land Authority.
The assignment changes from time to time, so before filing it is worth confirming it by the apartment's block number with the search tool by block (data as of 14 November 2026). The municipal clearance certificate, who signs it and how to obtain it, is explained in the article on the municipal certificate for the Land Registry.
Where are new homes being built in Ra'anana?
New housing in Ra'anana is planned mainly in a new western residential quarter and a southern neighborhood, alongside the Shaviv compound declared under the VATMAL track. Urban renewal is also advancing: the city-center (CBD) compound was declared a pinui-binui VATMAL compound, and a city-wide building-renewal plan was approved in 2024.
New neighbourhoods
- New residential quarter in western Ra'anana (Plan RA/2030). Local outline plan no. 416-0898759 covering about 1,065 dunams west of the city's residential areas, setting a planning framework for a new residential quarter and an employment zone. The provisions document states neither a total number of housing units nor a construction stage. (source)
- Residential neighborhood in southern Ra'anana (Plan RA/MK/2012 B). Plan no. 416-0426395 for a new residential neighborhood in southern Ra'anana with 1,562 housing units, about 20% of them small units, rezoning agricultural land for housing, public buildings and open space. The provisions document does not state a construction stage. (source)
- Ra'anana - Shaviv (VATMAL plan 3013). Compound declared a VATMAL compound under the multi-owner land track on 9.12.2024, per the list of declared VATMAL compounds updated 26.4.2026. (source)
Urban renewal
- Migdal compound (Plan RA/MK/859A). Plan no. 416-0829135, described as an urban renewal pinui-binui plan on Migdal Street: demolition of 7 buildings with 35 existing units and construction of 3 buildings with 88 units. The document does not state the plan's stage. (source)
- Ra'anana CBD compound (VATMAL plan 2072). Pinui-binui (evacuation and reconstruction) compound declared a VATMAL (national committee for preferred housing areas) compound on 28.5.2025, per the list of declared VATMAL compounds updated 26.4.2026. (source)
- City-wide building-renewal plan (TAMA 38 replacement). Per the Government Authority for Urban Renewal 2025 report, Ra'anana's city-wide building-renewal plan was approved in 2024 and covers 295 buildings: 3,650 existing and 12,163 proposed housing units. (source)
- Kinneret compound. Pinui-binui compound in the taxation track where building permits were issued; per the Urban Renewal Authority 2023 report, 154 proposed units in total and 100% of the project permitted. (source)
The data was collected from official sources: the Planning Administration, the Israel Land Authority, the Ministry of Construction and Housing and the local authority. It is updated twice a year and was last updated on 14.11.2026. Before signing, check the current status of the plan and the project. When buying from a developer, check the contract, the security for your payments and the specification; see Buying an apartment from a developer.
How does the process work?
The purchase process in Ra'anana is built in stages: review of the extract or certificate of rights and the building file, a payment schedule against security, registration of a cautionary note and reporting to the Real Estate Taxation Office within 30 days, and then a handover protocol and registration.
The stages, and the checks made at each stage, are detailed in the article 12 checks before signing and on the pages Buying a second-hand apartment and Buying an apartment from a developer.
What should you bring to the meeting?
To make progress already at the meeting about an apartment in Ra'anana, you bring the ID cards of all buyers, the apartment's address and any document you have already received: a draft contract, a memorandum of understanding or a mortgage approval in principle.
How long does it take and what does it cost?
The fee is agreed in advance, after a short conversation about the transaction. What affects it is explained in the article How much does a lawyer for buying or selling an apartment cost, and for budgeting there are the purchase tax calculator and the additional costs calculator.
What is the difference between the developer's lawyer and a lawyer acting for you?
For a new apartment in Ra'anana, the contract is drafted by the developer's lawyer in the developer's favour. The role of a lawyer acting for you is to review the contract, request amendments and make sure every payment you make is backed by security.
The full comparison, and what a lawyer acting for you checks in the developer's contract, are explained on the page Buying an apartment from a developer.
Service from the office
The office is at 17 Tzahal Street, Ness Ziona, and handles apartment transactions in Ra'anana. Meetings are held at the office, or elsewhere by prior arrangement.
Questions and answers
Who do you contact in Ra'anana to get a Land Registry clearance certificate?
The Assessment Section of the municipality's Revenue Department, through an online form on the municipality website or at the Revenue Department offices in the Resident Service Center, 2 Klausner St. A fee must be paid and the receipt attached to the application.
How long does it take to get a clearance certificate in Ra'anana?
According to the municipality website, processing can take up to 90 days. The application goes to the Engineering Department for a property check and a check by the committee's appraiser, and the betterment levy assessment is based on the appraiser's opinion.
How do you get a building file in Ra'anana?
The municipality website has a building file archive searchable by file number, address or block and parcel. You can also order a digital building file through an online form for ₪30 plus optional delivery, and it is ready within 3 business days.
Which Land Registry office, real estate taxation office and Israel Land Authority region serve an apartment in Ra'anana?
In a sample check of blocks in Ra'anana, all the blocks checked are registered at the Petah Tikva Land Registry Office. The exact office is confirmed by the apartment's block number. The transaction is reported to the Netanya Real Estate Taxation Office, and a property on Israel Land is handled by the Tel Aviv-Center region of the Israel Land Authority.
Related: Buying a second-hand apartment | Buying from a developer | Selling an apartment | Land appreciation tax calculator | 12 checks before signing | All service areas
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