blog.cat.realestate7 min read8/30/2026

A Neighbor Refuses to Pay for Building Renovations: Who Bears Their Share and How Is the Debt Collected?

When an apartment owner does not pay the costs of repairing the common property, the debt does not disappear or automatically transfer to the neighbors. The decisive question is whether the expense is necessary for maintaining the building or constitutes an improvement, how the charges were calculated, and what the building management committee can prove.

Numbers and facts

•Section 58: Duty to participate in necessary expenses
•Section 69: The committee may sue and be sued
•Section 72: The Supervisor’s jurisdiction in condominium disputes
•100% consent is required to waive a debt
•Case 9/10: Refusal to pay shelter renovation costs
•A statement of defense is generally filed within 60 days

Not Every Renovation Is Optional

Section 58 of the Land Law, 5729-1969, requires every apartment owner to participate in the expenses necessary for the proper maintenance and management of the common property. Depending on the circumstances, this obligation may include repairing an elevator, shared infrastructure, a shelter, an exterior wall, or a safety system. By contrast, when the work is an improvement rather than necessary maintenance, the decision and the required approvals must be examined separately. The label the committee gave the project—“renovation,” “upgrade,” or “emergency”—is not decisive; what matters is the nature of the work and the reason it was carried out.

Who Pays When the Neighbor Refuses

An apartment owner’s refusal does not exempt them or redistribute their share among the other owners. If the contractor must be paid to prevent the work from stopping, the committee may have to find a cash-flow solution using the building fund or through an additional collection approved by law, but the unpaid share remains a debt owed by the refusing owner. According to the Association for Housing Culture, waiving an apartment owner’s debt requires the consent of 100% of the apartment owners. Therefore, temporary payment from another source should not silently become a permanent exemption.

How the Repair Cost Is Allocated

The default rule stated in the sources is allocation according to the ratio between the apartment’s floor area and the total floor area of all the apartments, excluding appurtenances such as a parking space, storage room, or garden. The calculation is made by multiplying the apartment’s area by the total expense and then dividing the result by the total area of all the apartments. An agreed and registered set of bylaws may establish a different mechanism, such as equal payment, so it is important to examine the Land Registry extract and the building bylaws before demanding payment. A common mistake is to divide the amount equally among everyone merely because that had been the practice for years, without checking whether an apartment owner is demanding a calculation based on area and whether binding bylaws exist.

Claims That Do Not Necessarily Invalidate the Charge

An apartment owner cannot merely claim that they do not use the facility, that they are dissatisfied with the committee, or that a cheaper contractor could have been found. In Case 9/10, Management Committee of the Condominium at 1 Rank Street in Herzliya v. Anya Bar Nir et al., the Netanya Land Registration Supervisor considered a refusal to participate in the renovation of a shelter. It was held that all apartment owners could be required to pay even when the renovation or maintenance work could have been obtained at a lower price. Nevertheless, the committee must still show that the expense is mandatory, that the charges were calculated correctly, and that the decisions and documents support the claim.

What to Gather Before Applying to the Supervisor

Section 69 of the Land Law permits the committee to manage the building’s affairs and to sue and be sued, and payment disputes of this kind are generally brought before the Land Registration Supervisor. The claim is filed with the district office where the building is registered and is subject to a fee. When the building committee claims a monetary debt, it must attach, among other things, the minutes of the committee’s election and a copy of the income ledger showing the debt; it is also advisable to attach the repair resolution, the bylaws, payment demands, price quotations, invoices, and correspondence. The statement of claim must detail the amount of the debt and how it was calculated, rather than merely state generally that the neighbor “did not pay.” The Supervisor’s decision may be appealed to the District Court within whose jurisdiction the building is located.

FAQ

Can an apartment owner who did not agree to the renovation be required to pay?

If the work is necessary for the proper maintenance of the common property, and the charge was approved and calculated lawfully, the absence of personal consent does not necessarily exempt the owner from payment. If the work involves development or improvement, the approvals that were required and the provisions of the building bylaws must be examined.

Must a tenant pay the building renovation costs?

According to the Association for Housing Culture, the tenant bears the building committee’s ongoing expenses, while an expense related to improving the property falls on the apartment owner. In relation to the building committee, the obligation under Section 58 rests with the apartment owner; the allocation of payments between the owner and the tenant may also be arranged internally in the lease agreement.

Can a neighbor deduct the cost of a repair they carried out themselves from their debt to the committee?

As a general rule, a person may not unilaterally set off an amount and stop paying on their own initiative. An apartment owner who claims to have spent money in place of the committee may be required to seek reimbursement in a separate claim and prove that the expense was necessary.

Where is a claim filed against someone who refuses to pay?

The building committee or an apartment owner may apply to the district office of the Land Registration Supervisor where the building is registered. Documents showing how the debt arose and how it was calculated must be attached to the monetary claim, together with payment of the fee.

What to do next

Before imposing the shortfall on the other neighbors, the bylaws must be examined, the work must be classified as maintenance or an improvement, and a detailed calculation must be prepared for each apartment. It is advisable to document the general meeting’s resolution, the engagement with the contractor, the payments, and the communications with the refusing owner; if the debt remains, filing an organized claim with the Land Registration Supervisor may be considered.