Monetary, Interpersonal Laws and Din Torah (9)
We now resume the series we began before the Three Weeks.
Informing a Tenant About Issues. Just as a seller must notify a buyer about any blemishes in a sold item, so must a landlord inform a tenant about any problems that are not apparent to the tenant. Even if the tenant is hiring someone to inspect the area, the landlord must disclose any issues. It is not enough to say “You check it out.” This applies even if the price is reasonable for an apartment with this issue. If a prospective tenant asks an old tenant about the condition of the rental property, the old tenant is allowed to tell about issues that regular people would consider a blemish. He must do so with the intent of saving the asker from pitfalls and not out of revenge to his old landlord. He should also be careful not to exaggerate. It is advisable for the prospective tenant not to commit himself to buy - and to state clearly that he is not committing - until all is checked out.
Some of the common issues that arise are water, dampness, flooding, pest infestation, and the like. Giving bad advice is a Torah prohibition of Lifnei Iveir, and the landlord, his agent and friends, are not permitted to tell him its an ideal location, etc., when they know about an abusive neighbor or the like.
Other Obligations of a Landlord. It is forbidden for a landlord to rent his property to one who might cause physical or spiritual harm to a neighbor or his property. Today, there are ways to screen prospective tenants, and a landlord has to use these ways even if there is a cost. If one did rent to a harmful person, even if he had no way of knowing that he was harmful, or he became harmful later, Teshuvos Be’er Chaim (176) rules that he must do whatever is possible to remove him. If he cannot find another tenant who is willing to pay the fair rent market price, a shaila should be asked from a dayan involving both the landlord and the neighbors. There are restrictions about opening a business in a residential property when it disturbs a neighbor’s privacy or creates disturbing noise. It is brought in Shulchan Aruch (C.M. 156) that one is not allowed to rent to somebody who intends to operate such a business in a residential area.