Here is an interesting story.

My brother-in-law rents a home in a Chareidi neighborhood (probably because he is Chareidi). He lives there with his wife and 5 children. His landlord decided she wants them out.

Her first step was raising the rent. But as much as it hurt, he agreed. It’s not easy finding apartments in their neighborhood.

Next she claimed he owed her money and refused to pay. They had made a deal that he would install bars on the windows and it would be reduced from the rent.

Then she simply told them to get out, and decided to take them to Beit Din to get them to comply.

It should be noted that they are good tenants and keep the house in good condition. She even admitted that. She just claims she doesn’t like them and want to continue renting it out to anyone else.

So they went to the Beit Din, and first off, the landlord claimed they owed her rent money as the bars could only cost a hundred shekels each.

My sister-in-law pulled out the receipts that showed that bars cost at around 300-400 shekels each (which is about the cheapest price you can get in Israel).

So first of all, the court determined that the landlord owed my brother-in-law 500 shekel which she have need to pay (and not the other way around).

Then the court determined that if she planned to continue to rent out the apartment, and if they were willing to pay the rent, and were good tenants, then they had “first rights” to continue to live there - and it wasn’t right to kick out a family of 7 people for absolutely no tangible reason.

And finally, since she claimed her problem is that she simply didn’t like them on a personal level, the court said they (the court) would now be managing the property. The court would collect the rent and transfer it to the landlord and she needn’t interact with her tenants at all.

It’s an interesting and scary decision all at the same time.

Comments & Reactions anyone?