Neighbor refuses to pay? A practical guide to collecting building committee fees

When a neighbor ignores a demand for payment, creative punishment can be tempting. Stop for a moment: your goal is to collect the money, not to find yourselves being sued.

The shaming trap—defamation

Publishing the debtor’s name in enormous letters on the lobby noticeboard, or sending an aggressive message in the building’s WhatsApp group—“Israel Israeli from the third floor is a thief who does not pay”—is a serious mistake. The neighbor may sue the committee, and you personally, for defamation.

You may, and should, present residents with a transparent financial report containing a “residents’ debts” item that shows the apartment number and amount owed. But do it in a dry, factual manner, without insults and without turning it into a personal campaign of revenge.

Taking the law into your own hands—disconnections and restrictions

Do not even consider shutting off the water, blocking access to the building’s parking facility, or preventing use of the elevator. The law prohibits you from denying a resident reasonable use of common property. Such a step can shift the legal advantage from your side to theirs.

A high proportion of apartments in Israel are occupied by tenants. Here is an iron rule that can save building committees months of pointless arguments: from the perspective of the building and its committee, your address is not the tenant. It is the apartment owner alone.

Even if the lease states that the tenant must pay the building committee fees, the committee is not a party to that contract. Under Israel’s Land Law, the payment obligation rests with the property owner. If the tenant causes problems, ignores you, or does not pay:

• Do not waste time arguing with the tenant.
• Contact the owner directly, present the debt ledger, and ask the owner to settle it immediately.
• The owner must pursue the tenant or deduct the amount from the tenant’s securityA general term for a tradable financial asset (such as a share, bond, or unit in a fund) that represents a right to an asset or to profits.. From your perspective, the apartment owner is the debtor.

One of the most common claims building committees hear is: “The committee does not function, the elevator is dirty, and the garden is neglected. Until you fix it, I am not transferring a single shekel.”

The legal position is unequivocal: there is no such option. Israeli law separates the duty to pay building committee fees from satisfaction with the committee’s performance. A resident cannot take the law into their own hands and hold the fees hostage.

How should you respond? Use facts:

“If you think the committee fees are too high or the maintenance is poor, the residents’ meeting is the proper forum. You may request financial reports, propose solutions, lead a move to replace the committee, or apply to the Supervisor. But as long as the decision was lawfully adopted, the obligation to pay remains in force.”

There is a major difference between an ongoing payment for cleaning, electricity, and gardening, and a special payment for painting the building, replacing the elevator motor, or sealing the roof.

To sue a resident who does not pay for a special project, you must make sure that the decision was adopted by the majority required by law, that a lawful meeting was held after all apartment owners were invited in advance, and that everything is documented in signed minutes.

A neighbor cannot say, “I live on the ground floor, so I will not pay for repairing the roof.” The law requires everyone to participate in maintaining the common property, but the committee must prove that the process was conducted properly.

The best way to manage collection is to avoid chronic debt. A smart building committee operates like a small and orderly business:

Move to monthly automation

Forget collecting cheques and cash every month. Ask residents to set up a bank standing order or use dedicated payment apps for managing a condominium. When payment is automatic, the rate of late payments falls significantly.

Full transparency creates greater trust

Once a quarter, send a simple income-and-expense report to the building group. When neighbors see where every shekel goes and understand that the account is managed responsibly, their motivation to pay on time increases.

Address the first signs of debt quickly

Two months of debt can be resolved with a friendly conversation. Two years of debt becomes a heavy burden that leads to anger and legal claims. Do not wait. If a resident has missed one or two months, send a polite and respectful reminder that same week.

1. Kol Zchut (כל זכות) — Building committee fees — An explanation of the obligation to pay, how committee fees are set, and refusal to pay. (Kol Zchut)
2. Kol Zchut — Supervisor of Land Registration — An explanation of the Supervisor’s authority to hear condominium disputes, including maintenance and management expenses. (Kol Zchut)
3. Kol Zchut — Filing a claim with the Supervisor of Land Registration — An explanation of how to prepare a statement of claim and what to attach to a monetary claim. (Kol Zchut)
4. HaAguda LeTarbut HaDiur — Filing a claim before the Supervisor — An explanation of the Supervisor’s powers and the types of disputes heard there. (HaAguda LeTarbut HaDiur)