Beersheba Court Orders Siblings to Pay 140,000 Shekels Over Apartment Delay
A Beersheba court ordered four siblings to pay 140,000 shekels in damages for severely delaying the registration of an inherited apartment sold in 2021, breaching the purchase contract.
The Beersheba Magistrate's Court has ordered four siblings to pay 140,000 shekels in compensation to a homebuyer after ruling that they breached a purchase agreement and significantly delayed the apartment's registration. In January 2021, the buyer and his then-partner purchased a second-hand apartment on Rivka Street in Beersheba, which the sellers had inherited. The agreed price was 1.4 million shekels, with handover scheduled for the end of July 2021, free of any debts or liens.
However, the transaction faced multiple delays. Initially, the sellers delayed signing mortgage documents, and possession of the apartment was handed over only in November 2021. It later emerged that due to debts owed by one of the brothers, liens had been placed on the property by the Tax Authority and the Tel Aviv Municipality, preventing the transfer of ownership.
Despite repeated requests from the buyer's attorneys, the siblings dragged their feet in settling the debts. One lien was removed after nine months, while the other took about a year and a half to clear. Consequently, the apartment was registered in the buyer's name only in May 2024.
Faced with these prolonged delays, the buyer filed a lawsuit demanding 140,000 shekels in pre-agreed liquidated damages for breach of contract, alongside 20,000 shekels for emotional distress. The sellers denied breaching the agreement, arguing instead that the buyer caused delays by failing to meet payment deadlines. They maintained that they acted promptly to resolve the debts and should not be penalized.
Judge Racheli Tiktin Edelman ruled that the siblings had indeed breached the purchase contract. She noted that they were obligated to remove liens within 14 days, and a 40-day delay constitutes a fundamental breach, whereas the actual delays lasted for many months. The judge criticized the sellers' conduct, particularly the failure of the other three siblings to intervene and settle their brother's debts earlier.
The court rejected the defendants' argument that the buyer could have paid the debts himself to expedite the process, clarifying that the legal responsibility rested entirely with the sellers. Ultimately, the court ordered the four siblings, jointly and severally, to pay the buyer 140,000 shekels in contractual compensation, plus 30,000 shekels in legal fees and court cost reimbursements. The additional claim for emotional distress was dismissed.
