Question:
I rent a dira in RBS, and I want to do a dira swap with a friend in Yerusholayim (who also rents). My dira costs around 4,000 shekel a month and there’s costs 7,000.
We want to do it for two weeks.
If we break this down, my dira costs 2,000 for 2 week’s, and there’s cost 3,500. It comes out that I stand to gain 1,500 shekel, we are happy to forgo each other on this. However, I am wondering if I need to perhaps pay my baal dirah the extra 1,500 I am gaining. After-all, I don’t own the dirah and it belongs to him, and I am in effect making profit from his dira?
I understand that I should probably ask my ba’al dirah before doing the swap and then ask him if I can keep profit, but I feel if I mention this he will just want to keep it. Is there a way to do it without asking him?
Please advise
Answer:
Hello,
While you might have to ask you baal dirah, if he consents to you having someone else stay in the apartment, which might even be written in your contract. If he consents, there is no need to say anything about the difference in price.
You are not paying him for his apartment, and he isn’t paying you for yours, therefore, you didn’t “make any profit” on the apartment. You are just getting a more expensive one, because the other person is nice enough not to charge you, but it is not considered “making money” on the landlord’s expense.
Best wishes
