Dear Rabbi,
At the large gathering that took place in Jerusalem, I climbed a tall building in the city center in order to view the gathering from above. The door was locked, but I managed to enter through an open window. When I came down, a woman was standing at the entrance to the roof, asked me for my details, and demanded payment because the roof is her private property.
Am I required to pay for this?
Thank you.
Shalom u’vracha,
First, it is important to clarify that one may not enter private property without the owner’s permission. Therefore, if it can be understood that the owner does not consent to people going up to the roof—as in your case, where the door was locked—it is forbidden to enter the roof.
Regarding whether you must pay after you already entered the roof and viewed from it: if the roof is not normally rented out for this purpose, and you were not asked to pay until after you had already come down from the roof, you cannot be obligated to pay. This is governed by the principle of zeh neheneh ve-zeh eino chaser: one benefits while the other incurs no loss, for which one is exempt.
With blessings,
Rabbi David Ohayon
This response was translated automatically from Hebrew and has not yet been reviewed by a person. It may therefore contain inaccuracies and should not be considered a definitive reference.
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