Mezuza Upon Buying a Rental

Question: We have rented our house for the past five years and are now able to buy it. Should we remove the mezuzos and reaffix them?

Answer: There is a machlokes among the rishonim as to whether the obligation upon a renter to affix a mezuza is mideoraisa or miderabannan. The Sefer Hachinuch (423) and the Nimukei Yosef (Mezuza 6b) maintain that the obligation is mideoraisa, subject to a thirty-day exemption, and this also appears to be the implication of Rashi (Menachos 44a). Tosafos (Avoda Zara 21a), the Rosh (Chulin 8:26) and the Mordechai (Hilchos Ketanos 950), however, hold that the obligation is miderabannan. The Sdei Chemed (Mem 112) notes that this is the majority view.

The Pischei Teshuva (YD 286:18; Nachlas Zvi 286:22; 291:2) raises the question of whether one who initially rented a house and later purchased it must recite a new beracha. R’ Moshe Sternbuch (Teshuvos Vehanhagos 2:552) suggests that, due to the principle of taaseh, velo min ha’asuy, that a mitzva requires an act, the mezuzos should be removed and reaffixed without a beracha. Similarly, R’ Yitzchak Yosef (Yalkut Yosef, Mezuza 110) recommends removing the mezuzos, having them checked, and reaffixing them with a beracha.

Nonetheless, many poskim rule that no action is required. R’ Yitzchak Yehuda Schmelkes (Beis Yitzchak YD 2:94:9) compares this case to kiddush recited before nacht: although at the time of recitation the obligation is only miderabanan, it nonetheless fulfils the later mideoraisa obligation once nacht arrives (Magen Avraham 267:1). R’ Avraham Chaim Einhorn (Birkas Habayis 59:24) adds that no new beracha is recited even if the mezuzos were removed for checking. R’ Menashe Klein (Mishne Halachos 7:192) further argues that there is no concern of taaseh, velo min ha’asuy, since the mezuza was affixed by a person who was already obligated, even if only miderabanan. He compares this to cases where a non-Jew affixes a mezuza, which is nonetheless valid. R’ Nissim Karelitz (Chut Shani, Mezuza 289:5) adds that if the home was purchased from a Jew, the obligation of mezuza already existed on the house itself, mideoraisa. Even when purchased from a non-Jew, he questions whether Chazal ever instituted a new beracha for an obligation that was miderabanan later becomes mideoraisa.

In conclusion, there is no halachic requirement to remove and reaffix the mezuzos when purchasing a rented home. If the mezuzos have not been checked recently, they may be removed for checking and then reaffixed with a beracha.

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