Land Registry Extract (Tabu) — Everything You Need to Know Before Buying a Property

A Land Registry extract is the official document issued by the Land Registration Office (universally known as the "Tabu", from the Turkish word Tapu that survived from the Ottoman period). The extract is the identity card of the property — it shows who the registered owner is, the nature of the right, and what additional registrations — liens, encumbrances, notes — are recorded against the property.

Without reading an up-to-date Land Registry extract, it is impossible to know with certainty that the person presenting themselves as the seller is actually the registered owner, that there is no debt being concealed from you, and that the apartment has not already been sold to someone else before you.

Two Main Types of Extract

• Current (standard) extract — shows only the present situation: who the owners are today, what rights are registered, active liens and encumbrances. This is the extract used for most sale transactions.
• Historical extract — shows the entire history of the property since the file was opened: every ownership transfer, every registration added and removed. Particularly useful in inheritance of assets, ownership disputes, and in-depth checks of older properties.

The most convenient way is via the online service at gov.il (search for "Nesach Tabu"). You will need: the block (gush) and parcel (chelka) numbers of the property (details obtainable from the seller or from property websites), a credit card for the payment of approximately 17 ILS, and within minutes you receive an official PDF with the state seal.

Physical alternative: you can go directly to the Land Registration Office — in Jerusalem it is located at 216 Jaffa Street. The extract can be received the same day.

These are registrations that, if you see them in the extract, should cause you to stop and call an attorney before proceeding:

Jerusalem is different from every other city in Israel when it comes to property registration. A significant portion of properties in the city are not registered in the Tabu at all — and if you search by block and parcel and find nothing, that does not mean the property is free of any rights.

Alternative Registration Bodies in Jerusalem

• Israel Land Authority (ILA) — thousands of properties in Jerusalem are registered as state land, with the occupants as leaseholders. Transactions require ILA approval.
• Waqf (Islamic endowment) — extensive areas, particularly in older parts of the city and in East Jerusalem, are registered as Islamic endowment. Transactions in such properties follow unique rules and different law.
• Jewish endowments — institutions such as the Custodian of Absentee Property, the Jewish National Fund (KKL), and Jewish associations and synagogues hold land with long-standing leaseholders.
• Christian endowments and church institutions — various churches hold extensive tracts of land throughout East and West Jerusalem. Each church has different transfer procedures.
• British Mandate records — certain properties are still registered under the British land registration system that was not fully transferred to the Israeli system.

The extract itself is a snapshot, but professional reading of it involves much more than verifying there are no liens. Here is what an experienced real estate attorney checks:

• Cross-referencing with building permits — the extract shows a 4-room apartment. The building permit shows 3 rooms. What happened to the 4th room? Was it added without a permit? This check is done at the local planning committee, not at the Tabu.
• Checking lease agreements — when the land belongs to the ILA or an endowment body, the attorney reads the original lease agreement and identifies: what are the use restrictions? What are the transfer fees? Is the lease renewed automatically? There is no way to know this from the extract alone.
• Verifying the seller's identity against the registration — if the extract registers "Rachel Cohen" as the owner, and the person who comes to sell presents an ID in the name "Rachel Levi" — the attorney asks: is this the same person? A name change on marriage? A power of attorney? Each possibility requires different documentation.
• Checking easements in practice — an easement appearing in the extract is not always self-explanatory. The attorney reads the original easement deed, understands what it permits and what it restricts, and explains whether it actually affects use of the property.
• Warning notes that were removed — in the historical extract it is possible to see notes that were registered and then removed. A very rapid removal of a note can suggest that a transaction fell through — and that someone may claim rights to the property.
• Condominium committee and articles — in a shared building, the Tabu shows the sub-parcel but not the condominium articles and the division plan. Is the parking space registered as part of the apartment? Does the roof belong to the penthouse? These are questions the attorney checks separately.

Technically, a Land Registry extract does not "expire" — there is no expiry date. But in practice, it is only a snapshot of the property at the moment of issue, and since then anything can change: a new lien imposed, a warning note registered, an encumbrance added.

For sale transactions: the accepted practice is to require an extract no older than 30 days. An extract from the previous month or earlier may not reflect changes registered since then. If the seller presents an older extract — request a current one.

For information only (not a transaction) — an older extract can still provide useful information about owners, block and parcel, and so forth.