Last Updated: November 7, 2026
Quick Summary
Shinui diyarim is the formal process by which a buyer of a new apartment requests changes to the developer’s standard plan before the building is finished. It covers the written request, the developer’s review, and the approval that lets you alter layouts, finishes, or specifications while the project is still under construction.
You can request interior changes that do not touch the building’s structure or its approved permits.
Submit a numbered change list in writing before the deadline and keep the timestamp.
The real deadline is the day the developer schedules your apartment’s systems set-out.
Ask for a line-by-line quote showing credits, charges, design fees, and schedule impact.
Bundle several changes into one submission rather than trickling them in separately.
Buying a new apartment from a developer?We review your plans and build the change request before the deadline closes.Plan My Shinui Diyarim
Table of Contents
What Shinui Diyarim Means in an Israeli Apartment PurchaseWhy Buyers Request Changes Before HandoverNew Apartment Changes Before Handover: What You Can and Cannot RequestPermitted Changes and Structural LimitsFiling a Developer Apartment Change Request Step by StepThe Shinui Diyarim Timeline and Construction MilestonesThe Real Deadline TriggersWhat Happens If You Submit LateMilestones You Should Verify in PersonShinui Diyarim Costs, Pricing Methods, and NegotiationWhat Actually Drives the NumberHow to Request an Itemized QuoteNegotiation Levers That Actually Move the NumberBuyer Rights, Contract Terms, and Dispute ResolutionPreparing Your Change Request With Studio DKLFrequently Asked Questions
What Shinui Diyarim Means in an Israeli Apartment Purchase
Shinui diyarim is the formal process by which a buyer of a new apartment requests changes to the developer’s standard plan before the building is finished. The term translates roughly to “change of apartments,” but the practical meaning is narrower: it covers the written request, the developer’s review, and the approval that lets you alter layouts, finishes, or specifications while the project is still under construction.
The timing matters more than most buyers expect. Once the developer pours certain elements or orders materials, the option disappears.
Why Buyers Request Changes Before Handover
A standard developer plan is built for efficiency, not for the household that will actually live there. Buyers request changes for three reasons:
Layout fit. A wall between kitchen and living space rarely matches how a family cooks, hosts, or works from home.
Material quality. Standard tile and cabinetry are chosen to hit a price point, not a lifespan.
Future-proofing. Adding a bathroom rough-in or reinforcing a wall for shelving is cheap now and expensive after handover.
The common mistake is treating the apartment as finished the day you sign. It isn’t. The plan you signed is a starting position, and the change request is your only negotiation before the concrete sets.
New Apartment Changes Before Handover: What You Can and Cannot Request
You can request most interior changes that do not touch the building’s structure or its approved permits. You cannot request anything that alters load-bearing elements, the facade, or the building’s shared systems without separate engineering and permit work.
That distinction is the whole game. Developers generally approve cosmetic and layout changes, and refuse anything that risks the building permit or their schedule.
Permitted Changes and Structural Limits
Broadly, requests fall into two buckets.
Usually approved:
Moving or removing a non-load-bearing interior partition
Changing floor and wall finishes, kitchen fronts, and sanitaryware
Adding electrical points, lighting circuits, and low-voltage outlets
Rarely approved, or requiring separate process:
Removing or moving load-bearing walls
Changing window and door openings in the facade
Altering plumbing stacks or wet-room positions beyond the developer’s allowance
Watch out: a builder who verbally says “no problem” to a structural change is not the authority who approves it. Get every acceptance in the written change document, because a verbal yes has no standing against the approved building permit.
Filing a Developer Apartment Change Request Step by Step
A developer apartment change request follows a fixed sequence, and skipping a stage usually means starting over. Here is the order we use with clients.
Read your contract’s change clause. Find the deadline, the permitted scope, and who signs off.
Request the current plan set. Ask for the latest architectural and systems drawings, not the marketing brochure.
Draft the change list. Number each item, describe it precisely, and attach a marked-up plan.
Confirm pricing method. Ask whether changes are priced per item, per square metre, or as a credit against standard specification.
Submit in writing before the deadline. Email plus a signed form, and keep the timestamp.
Attend the review meeting. Clarify scope, timeline impact, and any item the developer flags.
Receive written approval and a revised price. No approval, no work.
Verify execution at the relevant construction milestone. Check the change was actually built.
Couple and designer reviewing floor plans and tiles for a shinui diyarim apartment renovation process
For a fuller walkthrough of the filing sequence, see our guide to the 7 Shinui Diyarim steps for your new apartment.
The Shinui Diyarim Timeline and Construction Milestones
The shinui diyarim timeline is driven by construction milestones, not by the calendar on your contract. Developers typically close the change window when they reach the stage where your apartment’s systems are being set out, because after that point rework costs them money and delays the whole floor. The contract deadline is usually set earlier than the real site deadline as a buffer, which is why the two dates rarely match.
In practice, the sequence looks like this:
Stage
What Happens
Your Action
Contract signing
Change clause and deadline defined
Diarise the deadline immediately
Plan issue
Developer releases current drawings
Request the full plan set
Submission window
Written requests accepted
Submit numbered change list
Review
Developer prices and approves items
Attend meeting, confirm scope
Systems set-out
Electrical and plumbing marked
Verify approved changes are included
Finishes stage
Tiles, kitchen, sanitaryware ordered
Confirm selections match approval
Handover
Keys and inspection
Check every approved change was built
The Real Deadline Triggers
The date that matters is not the one printed in the contract. It is the day the developer’s project manager schedules your apartment’s systems set-out, the point at which electrical conduit, plumbing stacks, and wet-room positions are marked on the slab.
A common pattern is for the contract to set the submission deadline several weeks before the systems set-out date, precisely so the developer has time to price and schedule the work.
What Happens If You Submit Late
Late requests are not simply accepted at the same price. Three outcomes are common:
Refused outright if the relevant work has already been executed or materials ordered.
Accepted with a schedule-risk premium, where the developer adds a percentage to cover the risk of delaying the floor.
Accepted but pushed to a later milestone, meaning the change is built after handover at your cost rather than inside the developer’s scope.
Watch out: a verbal assurance from a site engineer that a late change is “fine” does not override the contract deadline or the developer’s written change procedure. Get any late acceptance in writing with the revised price and the revised milestone.
Milestones You Should Verify in Person
Two milestones are worth attending on site rather than trusting a photo: the systems set-out, when you can confirm approved electrical and plumbing changes are marked in the right place, and the finishes stage, when you can confirm tile, kitchen, and sanitaryware selections match the approved change document. Catching a mismatch at either stage is far cheaper than catching it at handover.
Shinui Diyarim Costs, Pricing Methods, and Negotiation
Shinui diyarim costs depend on how the developer prices changes, and the pricing method matters more than any single line item. Three methods dominate, and each behaves differently when you try to negotiate.
Per-item pricing. Each change carries a fixed price in the developer’s change catalogue. Simple to compare, though catalogue prices can differ from the underlying cost of the work.
Credit-and-charge. You receive a credit for the standard specification you drop and pay the difference for the upgrade. Ask for the credit value in writing before you agree to any upgrade.
Cost-plus. The developer charges actual cost plus a management percentage on top of procurement. Transparent, but you carry the risk of overruns and you need to see the supplier invoices to verify the base cost.
Each method suits different situations, and the right choice depends on the specific developer and scope of changes.
What Actually Drives the Number
Four cost components sit behind almost every change quote:
Design and drawing fees. If your change needs a revised architectural or systems drawing, expect a separate design fee, often quoted as a fixed sum per drawing set rather than per change.
Developer or contractor charges. The build cost of the change itself, priced by the method above.
Credits for omitted items. The value the developer deducts for the standard item you are not taking. This is the number most buyers fail to challenge.
Schedule impact. Changes that push the apartment’s systems set-out can trigger delay costs, and some contracts pass those to the buyer.
How to Request an Itemized Quote
Do not accept a single lump sum. Ask for a line-by-line quote that shows, for each item: the description, the credit for the omitted standard item, the charge for the new item, the design fee if any, and the schedule impact. A quote that cannot be broken down this way is a quote you cannot compare or negotiate.
Negotiation Levers That Actually Move the Number
Bundle several changes into one submission rather than trickling them in; a single review meeting costs the developer less than five.
Accept the developer’s standard range where it is genuinely good, and spend the budget on layout instead of finishes.
Ask for the credit value in ILS in writing before you agree to any upgrade, and compare it against a supplier quote for the same item.
Pricing for professional renovation management varies by scope, so we point clients to our breakdown of what renovation management costs rather than quote a figure that will not fit their project.
Buyer Rights, Contract Terms, and Dispute Resolution
Your rights on changes come from three places: the sale contract, the developer’s published change procedure, and the consumer protection rules that govern residential sales. Read the change clause before you sign anything, because it defines your deadline, your scope, and your remedy if the developer fails to build what it approved.
Contract terms worth checking line by line:
The exact submission deadline and whether it can be extended
Whether approval is discretionary or bound to a defined scope
The refund or credit mechanism if an approved change is not executed
A common mistake is accepting an oral assurance at the review meeting. If an item is approved, it belongs in the signed change document with a price and a description.
When a dispute arises, the practical first step is a written demand referencing the approved change document, followed by an independent inspection if the work is already built. Most disagreements resolve at that stage because the paper trail is clear.
Preparing Your Change Request With Studio DKL
The strongest change requests are prepared before the deadline, priced against a real plan set, and written in language the developer’s team can act on without a phone call.
Clients who want the whole project handled can explore our full-service interior design approach, which covers concept to completion. If you would rather start with a conversation about your apartment, our contact page is the place to begin.
You can also contact Studio DKL to discuss your plans before the developer’s deadline closes.
The change window closes faster than most buyers expect, and a missed deadline means living with a layout you did not choose.
Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat does shinui diyarim mean in a new-apartment purchase?Shinui diyarim translates as ‘change of apartments’ and refers to the formal process of requesting layout, finishing, or specification changes to a new apartment bought from a developer before handover. Instead of accepting the standard floor plan and finishes, the buyer submits a modification request with plans and material choices. The developer reviews it, prices the work, and if approved, builds the changes into the construction schedule. It is a contractual process, not an informal favour, so everything should be documented in writing.When should I submit a shinui diyarim request?Submit as early as possible, ideally within the window set in your purchase contract, which is often a few weeks to a couple of months after signing. The developer needs time to fold changes into the construction schedule before walls, plumbing, and electrical routes are fixed. Late requests either get refused or become expensive because completed work must be undone. Check your contract for the exact deadline and confirm it in writing with the developer’s project manager before you start designing.What changes can I request from the developer before handover?Typical requests include moving or removing internal walls that are not structural, relocating electrical points and plumbing fixtures, changing flooring, choosing kitchen and bathroom finishes, and adjusting door or window positions where the building specifications allow. Structural elements, load-bearing walls, and anything affecting the facade or shared areas are usually off-limits. The approved scope depends on the developer, the stage of construction, and the building’s permits, so confirm permitted changes before you commission detailed plans.How long does the shinui diyarim process take?Most of the time is spent before construction, not during it. Expect a few weeks for the developer to review plans and return a priced quote, plus time for you to approve and pay. Actual execution is tied to the construction milestones in the project schedule, so changes must fit the developer’s timeline rather than yours. If approvals stall, the window can close. A complete, professionally drawn request submitted early usually moves through review faster than a partial one that needs repeated clarification.Can a developer reject a requested apartment change?Yes. Developers can refuse changes that affect structural integrity, building permits, the facade, shared systems, or the construction schedule. They may also reject requests submitted after the contractual deadline or ones that are technically impractical at the current build stage. A rejection is not always final: revising the scope, offering an alternative specification, or negotiating timing can reopen the conversation. Get any refusal in writing with the reason stated, so you can decide whether to adjust the request or escalate.How are costs for apartment changes calculated?Developers usually price changes as a variation order: the cost of the extra work plus the developer’s management fee, sometimes offset by a credit for the standard specification you are replacing. Pricing methods vary between developers, and some charge a fixed administration fee per request. Ask for an itemised quote showing materials, labour, and fees before approving anything. Because rates and credits differ so much between projects, pricing depends on the specific developer and scope, so request a written breakdown rather than relying on estimates.
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