Dira BeHanacha is Israel’s discounted-housing lottery, and rounds are published on the official portal. When this page’s status was last checked on June 4, 2026, the portal showed a live lottery round open from May 25 to June 22, 2026, with 7,922 apartments across 82 project lotteries in 19 cities. The portal remains the authoritative source for whichever round is currently open.
Dira BeHanacha runs in separately announced rounds. The dates below are a June 2026 historical snapshot, not confirmation that registration is open today. Check the official portal for any current round, project terms and eligibility requirements.
Official status checked June 4, 2026: the Dira BeHanacha portal showed a live lottery round open from May 25 to June 22, 2026, with 7,922 apartments across 82 project lotteries in 19 cities. There is no fixed monthly or quarterly lottery schedule; each round is announced separately. Before relying on dates, confirm the live round on the official lottery portal, the government registration service, and your eligibility certificate status.
So, When is the Next Lottery Happening?
The “Dira BeHanacha” discounted-housing program runs in periodic rounds whose exact dates change each time. As of June 4, 2026, the official portal showed a live round open from May 25 to June 22, 2026. Always confirm current dates, cities, quotas, and eligibility on the official government housing site before relying on any timing.
Each round gives thousands of hopeful homebuyers another shot at affordable apartments.
How the 11th round ran in 2026
The 11th round, the first of 2026, shows how much the dates can move after a round is announced. Treat it as the record of one round, not a forecast for the next. Our Dira BeHanacha guide covers who is eligible and how the certificate works.
| Date (2026) | What happened |
|---|---|
| 25 March | Round announced: about 7,000 apartments, registration to open on 15 April, new eligibility certificates until 30 April. |
| 12 April | The ministry publishes the list of localities: about 8,000 apartments in the headline, 7,922 apartments in 19 localities in the detailed list. |
| 15 April | Opening postponed so a new rule could apply to the whole round: 50% of the apartments in every lottery for active reservists. |
| 26 April | The Israel Land Council approves the From Reserves to Key (ממילואים למפתח, Mi’Miluim LaMafte’ach) plan, which includes the reservist quota. |
| 17 and 24 May | The Israel Land Council decides to open registration in stages while army data for the new draft-status condition is transferred. In the end, registration opened for all apartments at once. |
| 25 May | Registration opens for 7,922 apartments in 82 lotteries. |
| 7 June | Last day to get a new eligibility certificate for this round. |
| 22 June, midnight | Registration closes. 114,848 households made about 1.7 million registrations. |
| 27 July | The ministry announces that the draw has been held. |
| 2 August | Results start going out: every registrant gets a personal text message, and the result also appears in the personal area of the lottery site. |
Sources: Ministry of Construction and Housing and Israel Land Council notices of 25 Mar, 12 Apr, 15 Apr, 26 Apr, 17 May, 24 May, 25 May, 23 Jun, 27 Jul, 2 Aug 2026, checked 29 Oct 2026.
How Many Lottery Rounds Are There?
The government holds lottery rounds periodically, but there is no fixed monthly or quarterly schedule. The number, timing, cities, and project mix vary by official round:
- Round announcements: check the dates in each official notice
- Further rounds: do not assume a fixed number or season
There is no guaranteed two-round annual schedule or continuous supply. Registration and any later opportunities depend on official announcements.
Which Cities Will Offer Apartments in the Next Lottery?
The cities and projects differ by round. No current or future city list is confirmed by this historical page; use the official project list.
Locations discussed in the earlier account include the following; inclusion here does not establish an open lottery or available apartment:
- Ofakim (Southern Israel)
- Shlomi (Northern Israel)
- Nahariya (Northern Israel)
- Tiberias (Northern Israel)
Do not infer present availability in these or central locations from an older round. Check the actual project status and registration window.
Where the 11th round’s apartments were, and how many households applied
After registration closed, the ministry published how many households had registered in each locality of the 11th round. We divided that by the number of apartments to show where demand was heaviest. In this round, as in earlier ones, each eligible household could register in up to 3 localities and in every lottery held in them, so this is the kind of table to look at when you pick yours.
| Locality | Apartments | Lotteries | Households registered | Households per apartment (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rishon LeZion | 148 | 2 | 23,425 | 158 |
| Ashdod | 256 | 1 | 16,299 | 64 |
| Beit Shemesh | 425 | 4 | 15,012 | 35 |
| Rehovot | 30 | 1 | 7,623 | 254 |
| Hadera | 268 | 4 | 22,711 | 85 |
| Kfar Saba | 1,045 | 11 | 38,732 | 37 |
| Kiryat Gat | 1,433 | 9 | 28,514 | 20 |
| Nahariya | 218 | 2 | 12,522 | 57 |
| Eilat | 99 | 1 | 8,875 | 90 |
| Ma’ale Adumim | 1,663 | 16 | 22,658 | 14 |
| Yehud | 121 | 1 | 7,630 | 63 |
| Yokne’am Illit | 89 | 1 | 5,717 | 64 |
| Kadima-Tzoran | 315 | 6 | 23,241 | 74 |
| Kafr Manda | 131 | 2 | 1,652 | 13 |
| Mazkeret Batya | 427 | 4 | 19,721 | 46 |
| Rechasim | 405 | 5 | 12,404 | 31 |
| Beit Dagan | 399 | 5 | 26,402 | 66 |
| Bnei Ayish | 179 | 4 | 10,145 | 57 |
| Bat Hefer | 271 | 3 | 10,132 | 37 |
| All 19 localities | 7,922 | 82 | 114,848 households in total |
Source: Ministry of Construction and Housing, registration summary of 23 June 2026, checked 29 Oct 2026. Households per apartment is registered households divided by apartments, rounded.
Read the last column as a sign of demand, not as your odds. Reservists and other priority groups draw from their own quotas, so each group faces different odds. One household could also register in up to three localities, which is why the locality figures add up to about 313,000 while 114,848 households took part. In this round demand ran from about 13 households per apartment in Kafr Manda and 14 in Ma’ale Adumim to about 254 in Rehovot, which had only 30 apartments. The next round will have different projects, so check the official project list for the round you’re entering.
Special Priority for IDF Reservists
Under a temporary provision the Israel Land Council approved on 26 April 2026, at least 50% of the apartments in every Dira BeHanacha lottery go to active reservists, and about 25% of all apartments (roughly half of the reservist share) go to combat reservists. It replaced the earlier split, where some localities reserved 35% and others 50%, and added 1,139 apartments to the reservist quota in the 11th round alone.
The 11th round was the first with the same 50% share in every locality. Of 25,394 reservists who registered, 4,734 won an apartment, almost one in five, and reservists made up about 60% of all winners. After registration closed, the ministry checked reservist status against Defence Ministry data and showed it in each registrant’s personal government area; reservists who thought their status was wrong could ask the IDF reserves call center (1111, extension 4) or their reserve officer to correct it before the draw. Service definitions and qualifying dates come from each round’s rules, so check the notice for your round and don’t apply an old service cutoff.
What Do You Need to Do Before the Lottery?
If you’re thinking of joining this lottery, there’s one crucial step you must complete first: getting your eligibility certificate (called “Te’udat Zakaut”). Eligibility depends on the program’s household, age or family-status, residence and housing-rights conditions and any permitted applicant categories. Being a first-time buyer or not currently owning a whole apartment is not by itself a complete eligibility test.
Here’s how to get it done:
- Visit the official government housing lottery website.
- Apply online and fill out the required Details.
- Check the certificate’s actual validity and renewal requirements, and obtain it through an authorized eligibility provider.
- Pay the required processing fee (the amount is set by the housing authority and can change).
Make sure you do this step before the lottery opens for registrations, since you can’t participate without it. Don’t wait until the last minute!
Dira BeHanacha Round Dates and Reservist Priority
- The 11th round’s registration ran from May 25 to June 22, 2026, after an April postponement. That does not tell you when the next round opens.
- No fixed number of rounds per year is guaranteed; check each official announcement.
- Historical location examples are not a current project or availability list.
- Obtain your eligibility certificate early: it’s mandatory for lottery registration.
- Since April 2026 at least 50% of the apartments in each lottery go to active reservists; check each round’s notice for service definitions and verification.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm with a licensed professional.
Stay informed, get your paperwork ready, and good luck on your journey to affordable homeownership in Israel!
If the lottery timing or eligibility does not fit your plans, a standard purchase may be the faster route. See our guide to buying a home in Israel.
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