Laws of Mezuzah in a Rented Home
Question
I would like to ask regarding matters of mezuzah.
In practice, how do we rule regarding the sale of an apartment: are the mezuzot sold together with it or not?
(Is the ruling like Hashivat Tziyon, siman 110, or like Shevet HaLevi, vol. 2, siman 159?)
And is it possible to come to an agreement with a new tenant who is coming to replace me in the rental, that he will bring his own mezuzot and I will take mine? And may I take mine in order to have it checked, while he will bring his own after a few days, and in the meantime the house will remain without a mezuzah?
A tenant in a house discovered that the mezuzot of the house were invalid, and he placed other ones in their stead. When the rental period has ended and he wants to take his own, may he tell the landlord that since the landlord had placed invalid mezuzot for him, the landlord should put others in their place?
Or should he leave the invalid mezuzot for the next tenant and inform him of this?
Answer
A) The mezuzot belong to the buyer, and the seller cannot demand payment for them. [Since the Acharonim disagree about this matter, and the burden of proof rests upon the one who seeks to extract payment from another.]
B) The Gemara states that it is forbidden to remove the mezuzot from the house, and that there is danger involved in doing so. Therefore, you may not take the mezuzot, unless the second tenant first affixes his own mezuzot and removes yours—only then may you take them.
C) It is written in the Gemara (Menachot, Pesachim): "מזוזה חובת הדר" — "A mezuzah is the obligation of the resident." Therefore, the obligation of mezuzah rests upon the tenant, and he may not remove the mezuzah when he leaves, as explained above in section B. Only if the next resident replaces them and affixes mezuzot of his own may you take your mezuzot.
