If enough people are living in tents, no one will be living in apartments, thus per the law of supply and demand, prices will drop. But not enough to meet the current rent of the tents which is $0.

There should be a law against raising rent too high over the previous rent. In parts of the US, we have laws protecting renters with such a stipulation that yearly rent increases will not exceed %5, and they WILL enforce it if the landlord tries to violate it. While rents may be high, the real problem is the abuse of current renters.

Go to South Tel Aviv & remove the Ilegals & there will be plenty of apartments available.

Prices of property are high in T.A because that's what people are prepared to pay. There are areas not far from T.A where prices are lower. Noone is being forced to live in T.A If one can't afford to live in T.A move to a cheaper area

Yes great idea! that will not solve the high rental problem. Try reading & digesting # 1 & 2. William's posts here make more sense, at least he is trying to come up with a reasonable solution.You, sadly to say, are not.

and if you go to school here? or your job is here? yes their are less expensive areas to live in, but limited jobs in those places, and no schools, i.e. no future.

voters to vote kadima or labor coming election time.

Is it the people of Israel or the cartels? The food problem at least could be solved tomorrow. Remove the tariffs & taxes on foreign imports. Allow competition and prices will immediately go down.

Did anyone think before organizing this? do you think the private landlords will start lowering the prices now ? How can the government control the rent? move out of expensive neighborhoods if you cant pay. There is no quick fix for this it will take years and years to put up new buildings. Rent prices is not a government issue at all

Rentals are high in Ramat Gan, Givatayim, Kiriat Ono, Rannana,Or Yehuda & even Yehud, Bat Yam & Holon. Public transport is lousy in central Israel,its slow & recently many bus lines have changed totally (in the center. The Government must introduce a rental law, asap. Students are not the only ones who suffer, people who rent & dont have the luxury of owning their own homes have to fork out way too much for their rentals. Home ownership is one of the most important issues for a (young) family to feel safe & secure.

We just saw an episode of "House Hunters International' on the HGTV cable network where a young woman was trying to buy an apartment in T.A. This was just the latest of several episodes in T.A. It's clear that the prices are very high, but that's true of many things in Israel.

...immigrants have left because they were; A.) Sick of greedy and unscrupulous land lords. B.) Unable to pay rent because the minimum wages aren't enough for a beggar to survive on. C.) Unable to qualify for a mortgage and never would be able to, given the fact that they were probably paying over 60-70% of their pay checks on rent. D.) Unable to find guarantors to sign their rental agreements E.) Sick of having to move every time their land lord raised the rent. F.) Just couldn't find a place to live because of the ridiculous shortage of affordable housing. G.) Because the government from the municipal level and up didn't care and kept authorizing the building of luxury apartments. H.) Unwilling to pay a fortune for run down dumps that will crumble like a deck of cards if an earth quake hits us. Not to mention all of the other difficulties on top of the living situation.

As the demand increase and supply decreases, it results in more money being asked for the available supply, not matter what it is New York City has had "Rent Control" since the 2nd World War, it's more than 70 years later and rent control still remains in selected buildings That's just the way it is, like it or not If illegal’s are the cause, then ship them home and use the space for those that are here legally First thing to be done is obtain documents from each and every resident of any building in the area, if the building owner is housing those that shouldn’t be here, fine him until it hurts, since he is knowingly harboring the illegals..When you check into a Hotel, they want to see your Tudot, same should apply with housing I know that when my house was being built, I had to chase all around, to show my papers to every Misrad & Pakid in creation

The goverment , has no problem building houses for the ultra orthadox,who milk the system dry without contributing a sheckel, unlike these young people who want to work , serve in the army and make a start in life.

by taxing the landlords.

You are so right. They keep saying don't live in expensive areas, but what about Beer Sheva, even in the not classy areas the rents are high.

Israel is a 2 class system; those few who own, and those many who rent from them. Tel Aviv is hardly the only city suffering this dilemma. Essentially, what we have is a feudal society. The land owners, also holding the political power, maintain the status quo. This system becomes perpetual, as the landowners deed the property to their children, and the cycle repeats. Does the government have a role in improving this situation? The answer is a resounding "Yes" ! The government needs to provide low/no interest loan incentives to first time buyers, and developers of low cost housing. Further, the definition of "low cost" does not mean dump, or unsafe. Those who do rent, also deserve basic protection from being scammed. Renters have essentially no rights, and are preyed upon by realtors and landlords. The average worker/taxpayer lives day to day, praying that the rent does not increase, and they end up on the street. The government is responsible to the people whom it represents, and that extends beyond those wealthy campaign donors!

So true, what will happen to our Israel if most of the young people have to leave because of these crisis.

Nick, bravo, you really hit the nail on the head with your post. Kudos.

Yes, Beersheva, Eilat, etc, rentals are over the top. In fact 95% of rentals in Israel are too high because greedy landlords are out to make a quick buck & our kids & people who dont own homes have to suffer, which is unacceptable. Every Israeli citizen deserves to live according to his/her salary, either in a home he owns or rents.Evicting illegals, deporting illegals will not help this dire situation. Rent control will. Bibi& his Government have the power to change the laws. I hope he opens his eyes & ears very soon.

Why can't the amidar start building again and renting at low rent (like they did when immigrants came to Israel and lived in Amidar apartment) it doesn't have to be fantastic just liveable

Mourners tents are allowed in Israel and West Bank without an issue. Not very common in Israel but are elsewhere. However, mourners tents for suicide bombers or other terrorists are not allowed. No big deal, they'll just name a public square or soccer stadium after the terrorist in celebration. You must be using the same intelligence apparatus that proudly proclaimed that Egyptian troops were inside Tel Aviv in 1967, when infact the IDF was just outside Cairo.

The govt ended taxation of rental income back in the 1950s to encourage owners to rent to new olim. The country has changed but this stupid law has not. If the rental prices are to be considered "free market" economics - supply and demand - then so too should rents be considered a source of income and taxed appropriately. Once this occurs, after the typical moaning of investors and pensioners, the govt can enact a tax relief system that would negate rent income taxes if the apartment comes under a rent-controlled agreement. This could allow for rent prices to drop by 30%.

When I made aliya around 15 yrs ago low pirce cheriidi housing was availbable in new areas of in Ramat Shlomo as well as Kiryat Sefer, Beitar and Beit Shemesh. In the past 15 yrs the gov;t has build absolutly no new relgiious towns, has built zero new neighborhods in Jerusalem. what were they thinking? where are we all supposed to live? even in Kiryat Ata outside Haifa you need 125k down to buy anything.

Next you'll blame battered wives for staying with their husbands. People are simply finding the burden of rent to be too expensive and cannot afford the downpayment on a house because rent is too high. The solution isn't that people go and live hours away from their work - that they then have to pay childminders or let their children roam free.. the solution is to regulate affordable housing NOW!

What happens if you work or study in the center ? Will you tell people not to work or study in the center?? Good grief woman, get a grip, wake up to reality.

This isn't a city anymore, it's just a real estate opportunity for unscrupulous property developers. Why all the luxury apartments, because that's the way the system works. Now life is all about investment, and not people's needs. They make a fast buck and the needy go unhoused. It's disgusting.