Question:
Hi, I am religious and I live with my parents but they are not religious. They do not clean the house of chametz on Passover. Should I find another place to stay during Passover or is it ok to be in a house with chametz even though it’s not mine. Thanks.
Answer:
Thank you for your question.
It is hard to comment correctly without really knowing your situation. On the surface, living in a house that is not kosher for Passover is difficult, because the utensils etc. are all chometz, and it will be quite difficult not to mistakenly eat something etc. that has chometz. It is doable, but you will have to tread very carefully. Additionally, the atmosphere in the house where Pesach is being ignored, will not be conducive to your remembering that it is indeed a festival, and has many halachot.
However, from a strict halachic perspective, you would not be transgressing anything by actually staying in the house for Pesach. This is because the food that is chometz is not yours and neither are the utensils etc. Understandably, you will have to make your room kosher for Pesach and make sure that anything that you do own that it should not contain chometz.
Best wishes
