The four terms are constantly mixed up, and the difference is very practical: it determines who is responsible, who pays, and what can be done in your building at all.
Four types
- Mamad — apartment protected space. Inside the flat, used by the resident day to day, maintained by them. The fastest to reach, and therefore the preferred solution.
- Mamak — floor protected space. Serves the flats on that floor, located in the common area. It appears where a mamad per flat is not possible or not economic — for instance in some Tama 38 projects.
- Mamam — institutional protected space. In public buildings, offices and institutions. Designed for a headcount rather than a household. See office fit-out.
- Public shelter. The older type, usually shared and at ground or basement level. Not used day to day, and in many buildings not maintained.
The practical gap: time
The real difference between the types is not the level of protection — all are designed to protect. It is how long it takes to get there. A mamad is seconds. A mamak means leaving the flat and crossing a corridor. A public shelter on the ground floor of an eight-storey building is time most residents simply do not have. That is why policy has moved over the years from the shared shelter to the apartment mamad.
What to do in an older building with no mamad
This is the situation of a large share of Israel's housing stock, and there are three practical routes:
- Adding a mamad to an existing flat. A concrete box built against the flat, usually on a balcony or in an extension, with its own foundation and support. Requires a permit and consents. See building addition.
- Tama 38 or pinui-binui. The route where mamadim arrive as part of strengthening or rebuilding, at no direct cost to the resident. See Tama 38 and pinui-binui.
- Refurbishing the shared shelter. The cheapest and fastest option. It does not produce a mamad, but it turns a crowded store room into a space you can actually reach and occupy.
Who is responsible for what
- Mamad — the resident. The door, the window and the system are theirs to maintain.
- Mamak and shelter — the building, through the residents' committee budget.
- Mamam — the property owner or the institution.
With a mamak and a shelter this is where things break down in practice: there is no single owner, so nobody checks the door or the filter. It is worth raising at a residents' meeting before it is needed.
FAQ
Is a mamak less safe than a mamad?
In protection terms both are designed to meet the requirements. The difference is the time to reach it and the level of maintenance in practice.
May things be stored in a shelter or a mamak?
Storage that blocks the route or the door is not permitted, and it is the most common failure in shared buildings.
Can a mamad be added to just one flat in a building?
It is possible in engineering terms, and requires a permit and consents from the building. It is the longer route, which is why most residents wait for an urban renewal scheme.
How we work
Bramy Group builds protected spaces in new construction, in building additions and in renewal projects, to an approved drawing and in coordination with the committee. See safe room specification and envelope works. Get in touch.