492 families who won subsidized housing lottery slots in Beit Shemesh's "Keter HaRama" project in RBS Daled recently received an unusual notice from the Ministry of Housing and Construction: The contract with the developer, Shafir, has been canceled, and the project will not proceed in its current format.

Behind the decision lies a prolonged dispute between the State and the developer regarding the project’s pace of progress and performance terms. The Ministry of Housing and Construction claims that the company failed to meet the milestones set out in the tender, progressed slower than required, and sought material changes to the economic terms of the agreement.

Shafir, on the other hand, contends that the project faced a series of major roadblocks. These included design changes, permit delays, sharp increases in construction costs, severe labor shortages due to the war, and other logistical challenges that impacted their ability to execute.

The main victims of this crisis are the hundreds of lottery winners who have been waiting since 2022 for the project to advance and for purchase contracts to be signed. Many of them won apartments at rates of approximately 10,000 NIS per square meter (excluding VAT), a price significantly lower than current market values in Beit Shemesh, which have surged by tens of percent in recent years.

Estimates suggest that the gap between the original winning lottery price and current market prices could range from hundreds of thousands to as much as one million NIS per apartment in some cases. As a result, the cancellation of the project threatens to strip these winners of a massive, life-changing financial benefit.

The families are now left with a difficult choice: They can register today for the upcoming lottery and hope they will win, or wait it out and hope that another developer takes over the project and honors its commitment.