A case came before the beis din of HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Eliezer Stern, rav of Bnei Brak West, concerning a dispute between a landlord and a tenant. The latter feels he is not responsible to pay monthly payments for the building’s elevator insurance, as other tenants do. The tenant feels that he is required to pay for those services from which he derives benefit, such as electricity, water, building cleaning and maintenance. He maintains that he does not benefit from the elevator insurance, and therefore, he is not compelled to pay.
He explained that he feels such a payment is attached to ownership, and therefore it falls on the landlord, not the tenant.
The landlord however has a different perspective, and he maintains the elevator insurance is part and parcel of the elevator, and therefore the tenant is required to pay.
Rav Stern ruled in favor of the tenant, explaining elevator insurance is different than insurance on the apartment. He added that if the elevator breaks down, the owner is required to pay, not the tenant.
Nevertheless, one of the rabbonim added one should check with insurance since some policies cover injuries from using it, such as if the car falls, and therefore, he does benefit and would be required to pay a portion of the insurance premium.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
in america the landlord would always all expenses associated with the apt..
he can then raise the rent if needed
Like everything else, living in Israel has its ups and downs.
I must say I really do enjoy the recent din torah articles, please keep it up!
I live in an apartment building in Israel and our insurance company is the address to get people out if they get stuck in the elevator; additionally, anytime the elevator stops working, our insurance company comes and fixes it. Therefore, it is the tenant who gets the benefits while he lives in the apartment, not the owner who never steps foot into the building or uses the elevator. This is the psak we received when we asked this shayla.