Cohen has lived in the unit since the 60s. According to her son, "suddenly mom was charged rent twice, and we noticed that despite the fact that we have been paying rent, at around NIS 700-800, suddenly the debt was constantly rising much higher. We couldn't make those payments."
Cohen is a single mother of 13, her children are grown up and most are in difficult socioeconomic situations. When the family went to the company requesting to buy the home, as is Cohen's legal right, they were made aware of the debt and the classification of the unit as two units.
The company will not sell the home to Cohen or renovate the home, despite the fact that it has not been renovated for decades, until the debt is settled.
This division of units is standard, according to Maariv. The Housing and Construction Ministry and Amidar splits units rather than purchasing or building new units in order to provide more housing and meet the vast demand for public housing.
Cohen's unit has yet to be divided into two units despite the fact that she is already being charged rent for two.
Amidar told Maariv that "this is a request to return a second apartment that [Cohen] should not have received, and she can continue to live in one of the units after the necessary adjustments have been made by us. Since the family was settled in the location, it has been responsible for payment on the total area. According to housing Ministry instructions, we evicted the resident in order to return one apartment and to house another family that qualifies."
Cohen "can request to buy her unit according to law. However, the purchase is dependent on settling her debts." Amidar went on to say that she owes over NIS 200,000 that began accumulating prior to the rent being raised.
The Construction and Housing Ministry told Maariv that "in this case, it is a property in which there is a building option that allows creating two separate units. The resident does not have the right to purchase both units by law. She does have the right to purchase one unit, which is dependent on the return of the second unit."