As part of an apartment sale transaction, the apartment seller will usually receive a power of attorney from the buyer for the purpose of registering a warning note in favor of the buyer in the tabu, which is used to secure the buyer’s funds until the apartment is delivered to the buyer, as well as for the purpose of registering the buyer’s ownership of the apartment or land and deleting the warning note afterwards.
The power of attorney is an important tool for streamlining the sale transaction and transferring the rights to the buyer, and in the vast majority of cases, sellers make proper use of the power of attorney. However, to the extent that the power of attorney held by the seller allows him to perform any action related to the entries in the register, he can also delete the warning note, before the circumstances permitted by law have been met, and without obtaining the buyer’s permission. Doing so will put the home buyer’s money at risk.
The Commissioner of the Sales Law at the Ministry of Construction and Housing clarifies that the apartment buyers are entitled to negotiate regarding the wording of the power of attorney, including by determining specific conditions and circumstances in which it can be used, and of course are also entitled to consult a lawyer before signing such a power of attorney.
It should be emphasized that in case of illegal deletion of a warning note, the seller is exposed to administrative procedures, including the imposition of significant financial sanctions by the Sales Law Commissioner at the Ministry of Construction and Housing, as well as to criminal procedures.