Shake-up in the real estate market: The state has revoked the licenses of 5 contractors
Following a failure to meet license conditions, the Registrar of Contractors at the Ministry of Construction and Housing has revoked the licenses of five contractors.
The Registrar of Contractors at the Ministry of Construction and Housing has revoked the licenses of five contractors after checks raised suspicions that the engineering professional, on the basis of whose employment the license was granted, is not actually employed by the company. The affected contractors are: A.K. Abu Shahin Earthworks and Trading Ltd., Mordechai Shwarzberg, Issa Marom Manpower and Guarding Ltd., Arminia Construction Ltd., and Lumko Group Entrepreneurship and Construction Ltd.
According to the Registrar, this is a serious violation of license conditions, as the license is granted based on the qualifications, experience, and employment of a designated engineering professional who serves as the basis for registration in the Contractors' Register. In recent months, the state has revoked several other licenses due to similar procedural violations.
About three weeks ago, the Administrative Affairs Court in Tel Aviv overturned an appeals committee decision and revoked the license of Torab Investments following intelligence regarding its ties to the Abu Latif crime organization. The case has been returned for further deliberation, but the court ruled that the license must remain revoked in the meantime.
When the designated engineering professional is not actually employed by the company, the professional basis for the license is lost. In all five cases, checks by the Registrar of Contractors revealed that the registration bases were not employed by the companies, contrary to the declarations submitted during the registration process. Findings were verified through National Insurance Institute data and interviews with the employees themselves.
The contractors were summoned to a hearing before the Registrar of Contractors in the presence of investigators from the Ministry of Labor’s Administration for the Regulation of Occupations. This inter-ministerial cooperation allows for a thorough examination of the professional responsibility of the parties involved.
The Ministry of Construction and Housing emphasizes that contractors are responsible for ensuring ongoing compliance with all license conditions and that the professional factors upon which the license relies are indeed employed in accordance with the law.
"We will continue to act decisively against contractors who do not employ the professional factors on the basis of which their license was granted. This conduct harms the public interest and trust in the Contractors' Register. Cooperation with the Ministry of Labor strengthens our enforcement capabilities and ensures that the industry remains open to contractors who operate legally and adhere to required professional standards," stated Registrar of Contractors Amit Graydi.
