Notice of non-conformity: two time tests that decide whether you get a repair

You can be well inside the inspection period, entirely right about the defect — and still lose. Not because the defect does not exist, but because notice of it was given outside the timetable the law sets.

The Sale (Apartments) Law separates two kinds of defect by a single question: could the defect have been discovered when the apartment was placed at the buyer's disposal?

A defect discoverable at handover: one year

To demand repair of a defect that could have been discovered when the apartment was placed at the buyer's disposal, notice must be given to the seller within one year. Most visible items fall here: uneven flooring, a door that will not close, a missing electrical point, poor finishing, a divergence between the specification and what was built.

The year runs from the apartment being placed at the buyer's disposal — not from the date the problem "started to bother" anyone. A detailed handover protocol is therefore the buyer's single most valuable tool: it records what was visible on that day.

A hidden defect: close to discovery

Where the defect is hidden and could not have been discovered at handover, notice must be given to the contractor close to the date of discovery — even if a year has passed since handover. This is where a waterproofing failure appearing in the second winter belongs, or a pipe failure inside a wall, or a thermal insulation failure.

"Close to the date of discovery" is the operative phrase. It is not a date but a test of conduct: a buyer who discovered, documented and notified has met it; a buyer who discovered, waited, collected further defects and only then wrote has handed the seller an argument.

What a good notice contains

1. The date of discovery, precisely — not "a few months ago".
2. A description in the law's language: a failure or a defect, and in which system. "Failure of the building's waterproofing", not "damp".
3. An exact location in the apartment or the building, with dated photographs.
4. A reference to the specification where the complaint is a divergence from it.
5. An express demand for repair, not a question. A notice drafted as an enquiry is not a notice of non-conformity.
6. A provable delivery route: registered post, proof of delivery, or written acknowledgment.

What not to do

• Do not repair before you notify. The seller is entitled to an opportunity to repair; a pre-emptive private repair replaces the question of liability with the question of what was done there.
• Do not accumulate. A visible defect held back for a consolidated list risks the one-year route.
• Do not rely on conversations. A phone call with a representative is not notice to the seller.
• Do not write generally. "There are problems in the apartment" is not a document anyone can build on later.

How this connects to the inspection schedule

The notice is the gate; the schedule is what lies behind it. Even a well-drafted notice is useless once the component has left its inspection period, and a component with seven inspection years is no help without a notice. The two mechanisms work together, and the periods are explained in full in the article on inspection and warranty periods.

What this means for handover day

Because handover day is what separates "visible" from "hidden", it is legally the most important day of the transaction — more so than signing day. A buyer who arrives with a professional, with the specification in hand and with a protocol completed clause by clause builds the foundation for every later demand. A buyer who signs a short document starts the year in a weak position.

Two projects the company is building now are presented on the Zidan Tower page and the Mitzpe Kalaniyot page.