How Israeli students are responding to price-gouging landlords with this new app

The steady rise of housing prices over the last decade is one of the pressing issues facing young Israelis. Given the high cost of buying an apartment, many have long since given up on the idea of purchasing a home of their own. Over the past few years, however, they have discovered that renting a home is also difficult and often frustrating. The cost of renting an apartment has spun out of control and is constantly going up. This leaves tenants negatively impacted by the market’s instability and landlord abuses. A May 30 poll showed that 40% of young people would rather see the state leave the cost of real estate purchases alone for now and focus instead on the rental market.

Public awareness of the troubled rental market dates back to the social protests in the summer of 2011. Since the end of 2013, Stav Shaffir, who was elected to the Knesset because of her leadership role in those protests, has been working with other Knesset members to advance legislation intended to restore a modicum of order to this dysfunctional market. Shaffir’s original initiative would have established oversight over rent prices, linked their rise to the price index only and promoted greater transparency. It is now three years later, and the law being proposed by the government is much leaner.