What Is the Israel Land Authority (RMI)
— and Why It Matters When You Buy Property

The Israel Land Authority (RMI) is the government body responsible for administering land owned by the State of Israel, land belonging to the Development Authority (Rashut HaPituach), and land belonging to the Jewish National Fund (JNF, Keren Kayemet LeIsrael). Together these categories cover the large majority of the country's land area — which means that most buyers and lessees in Israel end up dealing with RMI at some point, even when they are not fully aware of it.

Alongside RMI-administered land, there is also privately owned land, registered directly in the owner's name at the Land Registry (Tabu), which is not subject to RMI administration at all.

The body was established in 1960 under the Israel Land Authority Law, 5720-1960, and for decades operated under the name "Minhal Mekarkei Israel" (commonly translated as the Israel Lands Administration, and referred to simply as "the Minhal"). If you have come across older documents, or heard the term "the Minhal" used in connection with land or a lease, this is the same body.

Starting in 2011 the organization underwent a significant reorganization, and in 2013 its official name changed to Rashut Mekarkei Israel — the Israel Land Authority (RMI) — the name it operates under today. This matters practically: many people, and some official-adjacent documents and older sources, still refer to the body as "the Minhal," even though its core role — administering the state's land — has not changed.

RMI is responsible for a wide range of activities connected to the land under its authority. Most people encounter it through one of the following:

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  Leasing land — Administering long-term lease (chakhira) agreements over state land for individuals, businesses, and agricultural communities — including renewing leases as their term approaches expiration.
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  Public tenders — Running public tenders to market land for construction — the mechanism through which most new building plots in the country are marketed, to developers and sometimes directly to individuals.
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  Capitalization (hivun) — Handling requests from lessees to capitalize their lease right — a one-time payment that converts the right to a longer, more secure status without ongoing periodic payments.
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  Permit and consent fees — Approving requests to change the use or exploitation of the land (which typically carry a permit fee), and approving transfers of lease rights between parties (which may trigger a consent fee).

Each of these processes involves forms, payments, and sometimes coordination with the local municipality, which is why many lessees choose to work with a lawyer familiar with RMI's internal procedures.

This is the point that most often surprises buyers who come from the US, UK, Canada, or Australia, where unconditional freehold ownership is the norm: when you "purchase" state land through an RMI tender, in most cases you are not acquiring full, unconditional freehold ownership the way you would with a privately owned property registered in the Land Registry (Tabu). In many cases, what you are actually entering is a long-term lease (chakhira) with RMI, in which the state (or the JNF) remains the registered owner, and RMI functions, in substance, much like a long-term landlord.

The practical implications of this distinction — for your rights, for restrictions on the property, and for what happens when the lease term ends — are a broad topic that deserves its own detailed discussion, and we plan to dedicate a separate article to comparing leasehold rights against private, freehold-style ownership registered in the Tabu. For now, the key principle to remember is this: if your land is administered by RMI, it is worth confirming exactly what kind of right is registered in your name before you sign anything.