The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court recently ruled that the Association of Journalists can continue to own "Beit Agron" in Jerusalem, even though no lease agreement has been signed between them and the owner of the land, the Jerusalem Municipality, and there is no signed contract between the parties.
This is a quasi-precedent decision since it emphasizes the length of time that the Association of Journalists owned the property, the manner of its conduct and the investments it made in it.
The legal document states: "Taking into account the long time that has passed since the association began owning the property, the conduct of the parties over decades and the multitude of documents on the matter, it must be established that there were agreements by the parties to grant the association the right to sublease for a period of 49 years and an extension for an additional 49 years on the first floor of the house Agron and in the auditorium. In this situation, the burden of bringing the evidence passes to the municipality."
This is a property owned by the Jerusalem Municipality located at 37 Hillel St. Ir and known as "Beit Agron".
The place received the name: "Journalists' House" because the journalists' association owns large areas on the property and established its headquarters there, as part of an agreement signed between the municipality and the company "Gershon Agron's House of Journalists in Jerusalem" from June 1968. The purpose of the lease at the time was the construction of a building that would serve as a residence for the association The journalists in Jerusalem and other public and government institutions. The lease period was defined for 49 years and another 49 years without the need to renew the contract. In accordance with the contract, "Beit Agron" was established in 1969 and since then various public institutions and government offices, the Sharia Court and the Journalists Association have been operating there .
In the lawsuit filed by the Jerusalem Municipality, it requested that the Association of Journalists vacate Beit Agron.
According to the municipality, no evidence was ever presented of a sublease agreement signed between the 'company' and the journalists' association, apart from a draft agreement that does not bear a date and signature.
The municipality also claimed that the journalists' association had expanded and leased spaces from Beit Agron for various parties and commercial purposes.
The Association of Journalists, on the other hand, claimed that it owns the full rights to the property, among other things by virtue of its participation in the construction costs of Beit Agron.
Investing in property gives property rights
As stated, Magistrate Court Judge Karen Miller accepted the position of the Journalists' Association and determined that the Association's rights to the property should be registered due to the time that has passed and the investments it has made in it.
The meaning of the decision is that the Association of Journalists will be able to own the property until the year 2067, upon presentation of relevant documents.
At the same time, the association was asked to vacate all the commercial spaces it leased, among others to the "Elevator of Time", the restaurant "The Place", a buffet area, an auditorium, and two press offices.
"This is a precedent-setting decision," explains attorney Matan Grainger of the Gideon Fisher & Co. office that created the Journalists' Association, "since the court decided to recognize the association's right to lease and grant it a kind of ownership right based on a draft lease agreement and without a signed agreement between the parties.
There is no doubt that the decision may affect property owners who have lived in the property since the 1950s and 1960s, built and invested in the place.
This constitutes a kind of written evidence that the property belongs to its occupants."
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