Sometimes a tenant is so happy in his apartment that he refuses to leave at the end of the tenancy. In one unusual case, our tenant had invested 40,000 NIS of his own money in various unauthorized improvements to the apartment, and refused to leave until he was fully reimbursed. Creative Estates took him to court and sued him for vacancy.

The Judge awarded a compromise settlement of 20,000 NIS and required the tenant to leave the property within 30 days. We asked the Judge to add a condition that the apartment must be left clean and habitable, or he would not receive the money. After 30 days the tenant left and we entered the empty apartment to find it smashed up and impossible to rent. We were not liable for the money, but Creative Estates had to renovate the apartment completely before it could be rented again. (This cost us less than the money that we would have had to pay the tenant had he left the apartment in a reasonable state!)

Generally we have very good relationships with the tenants in the properties that we manage, and we usually agree to pay 50% of the cost of reasonable modifications requested by long-term tenants, since they generally increase the value of the property, but they must speak to us before spending their money on improvements!

Tenancy disputes arise very rarely, but at Creative Estates we have the legal background and experience to be able to come up with creative legal solutions when required!