Don’t get overcharged for being new.

5 patterns

• Renting and buyingThousands and up

  The landlord who stacks the guarantees

  Watch for this

  A landlord asks for several guarantees at once, a large cash deposit plus a bank guarantee plus post-dated cheques plus guarantors, or tries to pass repair and agent costs to you.

  How it works

  A new arrival with no Israeli rental history and shaky Hebrew is the easiest tenant to over-secure. Piling on guarantees ties up thousands of shekels you may not get back cleanly, and unclear contract terms make it hard to argue later. Israel passed a law precisely because this was common.

  What’s actually true

  The Fair Rental Law, in force since September 2017, limits the security a landlord can demand and sets a baseline for what counts as fit to live in. The combined guarantees a landlord takes are capped rather than open-ended, and certain costs cannot simply be pushed onto the tenant. The exact figures turn on your rent and contract, so read the specifics against the sources here or with a lawyer before you sign.

  The law's exact limits depend on your rent and lease type. Treat this as your starting point for the right questions, not a substitute for reading the contract.

  Checked 2026-07-27·KnessetBarnea Jaffa Lande (law firm)

  How to hold your ground

  • ✓Get the full lease in writing and have every guarantee listed in it. Never hand over cash or cheques against a verbal promise.
  • ✓Ask which law applies to your lease. Most standard residential rentals fall under the Fair Rental Law, though luxury, very short and very long lets are excluded.
  • ✓Photograph the apartment's condition on the day you move in, so the deposit cannot be withheld for pre-existing wear.
  • ✓If the guarantees feel heavy, have an Israeli lawyer read the contract first. One hour of a lawyer is far cheaper than a deposit you never see again.
• Renting and buyingThousands and upCustomary, confirm specifics

  The broker fee you never agreed to

  Watch for this

  An agent shows you a flat or a listing and later claims a commission, without you ever having signed anything, or asks for a fee well above the customary rate.

  How it works

  The custom in Israel is that a real estate agent (metavech) earns roughly 2% plus VAT, from each side, and only on a completed deal. Olim who do not know that a signed agreement is required can be pressured into paying a commission they never actually owed, or a padded one, simply because an agent asserts it.

  What’s actually true

  Under the Real Estate Agents Law of 1996, an agent cannot enforce a commission without a written, signed brokerage agreement, and it is due only when a binding sale closes and the agent genuinely brought the deal about. The customary rate is about 2% plus VAT and it is negotiable. No signature, no completed sale, or an unlicensed "agent" means no enforceable fee.

  The 2% custom and the signed-agreement rule are well established, but the details of when a commission is owed can be litigated. For a large purchase, confirm with your own lawyer.

  Checked 2026-07-27·Buyitinisrael

  How to hold your ground

  • ✓Never sign a brokerage agreement on the spot. Read it, and know that signing is what creates the obligation to pay.
  • ✓Confirm the agent is licensed and that the rate and terms are written down before you view under their name.
  • ✓Treat the rate as negotiable. About 2% plus VAT is customary, not fixed by law.
  • ✓If an agent demands a fee with no signed agreement, or for a deal they did not actually make, you are within your rights to refuse and to get legal advice.
• Paid help and paperworkHundreds to low thousands

  Paying for help that is already free

  Watch for this

  Someone offers, for a fee, to "handle your aliyah paperwork", "speed up your rights" or leverage "special connections" inside a government office.

  How it works

  The core of the aliyah process, the rights, the absorption basket, the guidance, is delivered free by Nefesh B'Nefesh and the Jewish Agency, and the government sets the benefits by law. A paid middleman charging for that access is selling you something you already have. The "special connections" framing preys on the fear that the system is impenetrable without an insider, which for these services it is not.

  What’s actually true

  The essential aliyah services, planning your file, claiming your rights, understanding your benefits, are free through Nefesh B'Nefesh and the Jewish Agency, and your legal benefits do not depend on anyone's personal connections. Paid professionals are genuinely worth it for real specialist work such as tax, law or a complex licence conversion. The line is simple: pay for expertise, never for "access" to a free right.

  Checked 2026-07-27·The Jewish Agency for IsraelMinistry of Aliyah and Integration

  How to hold your ground

  • ✓Before paying anyone, ask your Nefesh B'Nefesh or Jewish Agency contact whether the same thing is available free. Usually it is.
  • ✓Treat "I have connections inside the ministry" as a reason to walk away, not a reason to trust.
  • ✓Do pay, without guilt, for real specialist help: an accountant for tax, a lawyer for a contract, a licensed advisor for a hard licence conversion.
  • ✓Get any paid scope in writing, with what is included and the total, before money changes hands.
• Money and currencyHundreds to low thousands

  The "no commission" currency counter

  Watch for this

  A bureau at the airport, a hotel or a tourist street advertises "0% commission" and offers to change your dollars or euros on the spot.

  How it works

  The cost is not the commission, it is the exchange rate. A "no commission" booth simply buys your currency at a rate far from the real mid-market one and keeps the difference. On a few hundred shekels of cab fare it barely matters. On the several thousand you change to cover a deposit and first months, the spread quietly costs you real money.

  What’s actually true

  You are never obliged to change money at the first counter you see. Regulated money-transfer services and your own bank convert at rates far closer to the true mid-market rate than an airport or hotel bureau. Change only what you need to get through the first day or two, and move the larger sums through a transfer service or your bank once you are set up.

  Checked 2026-07-27·Blue & White FinanceNefesh B'Nefesh

  How to hold your ground

  • ✓At the airport, change just enough for the ride and the first day. Nothing large.
  • ✓Compare any offered rate against the real mid-market rate on your phone before you hand over cash. If the gap is wide, walk away.
  • ✓For the big transfers (deposit, first rent, shipping) use a regulated transfer service or your bank, not a cash bureau.
  • ✓Never let a stranger who approaches you offer a "better rate" in cash. A legitimate exchange has a licence on the wall.

  Our pick

  How we make money

  Wise→

  For moving savings or a house sale into shekels, Wise converts close to the real mid-market rate and shows the fee up front, which is what an airport or hotel bureau hides inside a bad rate. On the five- and six-figure sums an olim move involves, that difference is real money rather than rounding.

  We point you to the tool. We do not see or handle your money, and we cannot promise it is cheapest on the day. Always compare the all-in rate yourself before a large transfer.

  Around us: Your own bank, or CurrencyFair. Your Israeli bank can do the transfer too, and CurrencyFair is a close alternative worth comparing. Check the all-in rate before you use any link, including ours.

• Getting aroundTens to low hundreds of shekels

  The taxi that won't run the meter

  Watch for this

  The driver waves off the meter and quotes a flat price, especially from the airport, a station or an obvious tourist spot.

  How it works

  For an in-city ride the meter (the moneh) is the regulated price. Quoting a round number instead lets the driver set a fare well above it, and a newcomer who does not know the meter is mandatory has no reference point to push back. A State Comptroller audit and an undercover investigation both found meter violations are widespread, not rare.

  What’s actually true

  For a ride inside a city the driver must run the meter if you ask. A fixed price is only legitimate when it is agreed in advance, which is normal for intercity and pre-ordered rides. A higher night, Shabbat and holiday tariff (Tariff 2) is a real regulated rate, not an overcharge, so the goal is the correct meter, not always the lowest number.

  Checked 2026-07-27·State Comptroller of IsraelThe Jerusalem Post

  How to hold your ground

  • ✓As you get in, say "al hamoneh bevakasha" (on the meter, please). Do it before the car moves.
  • ✓If the driver refuses, get out and take the next one. At the airport use the official ordered-taxi desk, which sets the price in advance.
  • ✓Note the taxi number on the door. A driver who knows you can identify the cab is far likelier to run the meter.
  • ✓For anything intercity, agree the fixed price out loud before you set off, so there is no surprise at the end.

This is general guidance to help you ask the right questions, not legal advice. For a large sum or a signed contract, one hour of an Israeli lawyer is cheaper than the mistake. Seen an overcharge we have missed? Tell us.