COMMUNITY MAGAZINE April 2021

44 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE In all publications of the Files of the Bet Din, the names and details of the case are changed in order to protect the privacy of the parties involved. From The Files of the BET DIN Joe recently moved out of his office in Manhattan on account of COVID-19. David, who was renting an office in Brooklyn, offered to sublet half of his office space to Joe for payment of half the rent. The arrangement continued for six months until the landlord claimed that David his tenant was in breach of contract. The landlord presented the contract to our Bet Din, which explicitly restricted David from transferring the property to another tenant. The landlord requested to evict David from his property and demanded that all proceeds illegally collected from the sublet are to be forwarded to him. David responded that he cannot afford to pay the sum of $21,000 but is willing to do so if he is required to by Torah law. He further expressed that since to date he paid in full all of his rent, he should not be required to forward the money he collected from Joe. As per the eviction, David explained that either way he is unable to pay his rent without an additional tenant to supplement the cost and he is happy to leave the property. David then informed his landlord that he needs four to six months to find a smaller property. Is the landlord entitled to the proceeds of the unauthorized six months of Joe’s tenancy? Does he have the right to evict David? Can David stay for an additional four to six months until he finds a smaller property? How should the Bet Din rule and why? According to the ruling of the Shulhan Aruch, a tenant who violates the terms of his contract is subject to penalty. A tenant being in material breach of contract is generally grounds for eviction. Nevertheless, contemporary halachic authorities rule in compliance with tenant protection laws that require a slower more methodical process when evicting a tenant. Tenant protection laws are incorporated by Torah law since they were institutedby the government for the safety andwelfareof society. More recently, however, new and progressive protection laws were added and do not necessarily represent or comply with Torah law. For further details regarding these recent additional laws, a competent halachic authority should be consulted. By rule of the Shulhan Aruch, a tenant who is authorized to sublet a property is entitled to all proceeds including any profit that is generated from the transaction. However, in the event that a tenant illegally sublets the rented property to another, he is required to forward any amount above the cost of his rent to the landlord. The underlying reasoning for this law is that once a tenant vacates the rental for the unauthorized tenant, we view the property as vacant and available for the landlord to rent. Hence, upon entry of the unauthorized tenant to the vacant property all profits are rightfully forwarded to the landlord. Additionally, an unauthorized sublet is usually a material breach of contract and is therefore grounds for eviction. The above ruling is applicable in instances in which a tenant vacates a property in order to provide an unauthorized entry to another. If, however, the tenant does not vacate but rather occupies the property while he provides another to share in the space, the above ruling is not applicable. Although providing unauthorized entry to even a portion of the landlord’s property is grounds for eviction, it nevertheless does not entitle the landlord to collect the additional profits generated from the sublet. Since all along the original tenant was occupying the property, it was not available for the landlord to rent. Hence, we no longer view the new unauthorized tenant as the landlord’s asset. But rather, the unauthorized tenant is viewed as the asset of the original tenant, who minimized his usage of the space in order to offset his rent. The ruling enabling a tenant to keep the money he collected to offset his rent is only applicable to an unauthorized tenant of the past. Regarding the months going forward, the landlord is entitled to collect all proceeds from both tenants. By Torah law, a landlord can demand of his original tenant to instruct the unauthorized tenant to leave. If the original tenant fails to abide, then the landlord may stipulate new terms going forward, which may include collection from both tenants. TORAH LAW VERDICT Moving Out Rabbi Max Sutton , Rosh Bet Din Aram Soba, Jerusalem, Israel UNAUTHORIZED TENANCY Our Bet Din enabled David to offset his rent by keeping the money he already collected from Joe. Nevertheless, the landlord is entitled to begin an eviction process since David was in breach of contract after enabling Joe’s unauthorized entry. If during the interim of an eviction process David continues to illegally share the property with Joe, the landlord is then entitled to collect payment from both tenants. The underlying reasoning for this ruling is detailed in the Torah law section of this article. THE CASE