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- P'ninat Mishpat
330
Ruling: The electrician testified that the electrical grids of the two apartments are linked in a way that a short circuit in pl’s apartment (the main one) blows the electricity in def’s apartment (the accessory apartment), but not vice versa. He said that he had to give instructions to both sides to limit use of electricity in order to prevent power outages.
Beit din accepts def’s account that they did not know that they had power outages due to what was happening in pl’s house, which explains why the electricity would go out and then come back without their intervention (pl lifted the fuse). Pl were aware and were generally careful (which their Shabbat guests were not), but the whole setup was problematic. Pl did not claim that def was aware of the problem before renting and, in any case, they need to prove, in a case where there is a clear blemish in the object of the transaction, that the other side knew and relinquished their right to complain.
Beit din determines that it is not reasonable for a renter’s electricity to be at the mercy of the landlord, which can cause several problems, some of which occurred. The fact that def lived there for a while does not preclude their making the claim of mekach taut (a sale based on false premises), as long as they did not continue to use the rented entity after the problem was discovered (Rambam, Mechira 15:3; Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 232:3). It is noteworthy that pl was unable to find a renter after def left for quite a while, which is some indication that the unit is more appropriate for a vacation home, as it was originally intended, than for a permanent rental home.
Therefore, def were justified in breaking the contract and need not pay anything further to pl.

P'ninat Mishpat (771)
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222 - A Flawed Rental Apartment
223 - Payment for Court Expenses
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