The Prime Minister’s Bureau announced a plan on Thursday to build and subsidize housing for the elderly.
Formulated by Prime Minister Netanyahu, Absorption Minister Sofa Landver and Housing Minister Ariel Atias, the plan calls for the construction of 5,000 housing units on land designated for public use. The units will be rented at a very low rate to needy elderly who are eligible for rent subsidies and are awaiting public housing.
The PM’s office announced that the plan is likely to be approved at the next Cabinet meeting, this coming Sunday, in light of the current housing plight among the elderly.
The Government will assist the elderly residents with approximately NIS 1,200 in rental assistance per month. They will pay monthly rent of only 200-300 shekels per month, or not more than 8% of old-age support payments.
Local councils and national bodies will determine where to build sheltered housing for the elderly on land designated for public use. The plan also states that to encourage and help the councils in building the housing, businesses will be permitted to be established in the areas, and taxes thereof will enable the financing of the construction and maintenance of the housing.
Some 35-40,000 family units (couples or individuals) are currently eligible for public housing under the auspices of the Absorption Ministry. Most of the elderly who will benefit from this decision are new immigrants, defined as second- and third-cycle Holocaust refugees.
Absorption Minister Landver said, "The government must be capable of providing housing solutions for its citizens, and the effort must be shared by all relevant ministries. This is an additional step that indicates hope for a comprehensive solution to the public housing problem."
Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "This decision is part of a range of solutions that the government is creating for the elderly. This is very important to us. We have an obligation to render assistance and provide each citizen with the wherewithal to live with dignity."