Misrepresentation in reporting rental payments
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Question
This is a question in monetary law, and of course I do not expect a ruling to be given for me before hearing the other side; I only want to know whether there is any point in pursuing this.
I am a young man who got married, and my shver (father-in-law) rented an apartment for me for a year, in such a way that part of the time I pay the rent, and in the contract it is agreed that this includes arnona (municipal tax).
The landlady signed a contract without an amount, and instead agreed orally that the amount would be 3000. She gave me a fictitious contract in which it says that I pay 1500, so that the authorities would not know about a high income and she would receive a discount on the arnona.
The problem is that because I do not report that I spend 3000 on rent, but only 1500, I lose the discount on arnona, since my expenses appear low.
And when I asked my shver about this unfairness, that I cannot lawfully report my true expenses, he told me that he did not understand the implications — that this would cause me not to receive a discount on arnona — and he only thought that this way it would be more convenient for the landlady and that I would not lose anything from it.
My question is: Is there here any basis for a claim of ona’ah (overreaching in a transaction) or mekach ta’ut (a transaction in error), because she did not explain that as a result I would not receive the discount, or, since this was agreed upon, is she in the right?
Answer
Shalom u’vracha
There is no ona’ah (deception in the transaction) here and no mekach ta’ut (transaction in error).
The landlady did not conceal any information and stated clearly what she wanted.
Nor does the renter [your father-in-law] claim that anything was concealed; rather, he agreed to her request without having calculated the possibility that this would cause a loss for you.
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