Landlord is imposing a no Internet rule. what to do?

KeepCalm

Tue, Jul 29 2014, 11:55 pm

My husband and I are moving to Israel in 4 week Bez'h (war or no war). After a long search which is extra hard to do from a different county, we found a decent sized, decently priced apartment in Jerusalem. I was a little bit put off when the owners mentioned that I have to be dressed b'tznius. Not sure why it had to be mentioned...

Shockingly, they also insist that I sign a contract stating that I will have a kosher phone (no smart phone) and no Internet.

My question is: what am I supposed to do? I understand that all of you will be kind of biased because we all have Internet. I guess my question is whether everyone imposes this rule and then everyone disregards it? Or is this a really serious offense in the eyes of the stringent? I'm a little bit shocked because it's nobody's business, but I'm scared of the consequences to sign with no intention of giving up my iPhone.

Please advise!

Rutabaga

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 12:03 am

My first reaction is shock

. How could a landlord impose on the personal lives of his tenants like that?

My second, more reasoned reaction is as follows: It sounds like this landlord is looking for a particular type of tenant. My guess is that if you don't fit his "standards" then he will make life miserable for you in so many ways until you leave and he can get the type of tenant that he wants. Just a guess, though. Even if he is the nicest landlord that ever was, would you really be comfortable having someone else impose their standards on you? What if the landlord has a different standard of tznius than you? Would you change your mode of dress to keep the apartment? What if he makes other rules? Where would you draw the line?

If you can't comfortably sign such a contract, then maybe this isn't the apartment for you.

RachelLA

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 12:04 am

iPhones (with Internet) have been ruled by the Gdolei haDor (Rabbi Steinman and Rabbi Kanievsky too I believe) as being tumah.

Your landlords are obviously trying to follow the guidelines of these tzaddikim. Especially now with the dinim that hang over Am Yisrael's heads, they are probably trying to be more makpid.

Ask them about having filtered internet. If that is okay. Or say that you need internet for work purposes but you will install a filter.

By the way, I am also looking for a place to live in Israel. May I ask through what websites, or how, you found yours?

Thanks!!

FranticFrummie

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 12:19 am

I don't know enough about Israeli landlord / tenant law to know if his request is illegal or not. It may be perfectly legal for him to make the request. Even so, he obviously only wants to rent to a particular type of person. The neighborhood this apartment is in might not be the best one for you.

Who knows, he may be doing you a huge favor, and saving you from making a mistake.

Heyaaa

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 12:20 am

I would not sign a contract I'm not planning to keep.

RachelLA good websites are janglo, yad2.co.il, diradirect, Craigslist Israel. There are more but try those.

DrMom

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 12:20 am

RachelLA wrote:

It would be pretty ironic if the OP found her internet-rein apt through a website. Confused

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 12:33 am

Based on my experience renting apartments in Jerusalem, make sure to get references from prior tenants regarding the landlord! I've had my fair share of absolute disasters that could have been avoided... And this contract to me sounds like a huge red flag.

notshanarishona

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 12:33 am

Never heard such a thing. No tv is standard but kosher phone,etc is extreme. R u sure this is a neighborhood u want to move too?

MaBelleVie

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 12:43 am

RachelLA wrote:

There is absolutely no source for what you wrote. I also think it's ironic considering whom you follow.

grace413

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 1:11 am

Great that you are making aliyah.

Welcome to Israel where everything is everybody's business. Very Happy

I have seen apartment buildings with banners proclaiming "This building is internet-free."

I'm relatively sure a landlord can refuse to rent to anybody for any reason they want.

If you do decide to take the apartment and then they find out you do have internet, I imagine it will be very unpleasant.

There are certainly many Charedi areas where people do have internet.

m in Israel

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 1:20 am

Exactly what Grace said. Landlords in this country have very little regulation, and can mostly do what they want.

But this definitely is not a typical type of question/ arrangement, so if he is asking it, I assume he means it. I live in a reasonably Chareidi area and have never heard anyone being asked to sign such an agreement -- if I were you I would look elsewhere to rent.

Tablepoetry

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 1:46 am

I wouldn't take the place. Sounds like a tough landlord.
That said, it's really tough to kick out a tenant in Israel. So there's not much he could do if you did show up with an iPhone. I guess he could try to make your life miserable.....
Its all supply and demand. Im guessing many charedim want to rent in that area, and he feels he has the upper hand.

blossoming

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 2:13 am

Why don't you tell the lanlord the reason you have interent in the first place is because of work, ect, and that you have a filter (which I hope you do).

A filtered interent used for a specific reason is accepted amongst the rabanim here.

Kosher phone - perhaps you could get a filter app for that too. Regardless if your going to rent there or not, its important to have it to protect yourself and your kids.

Dolly1

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 2:35 am

I wouldnt take the place just cuz I dont like it when ppl tell me how to lead my life.
But on his part, he has a right to make such requests cuz he might b looking for a particular type of tenant. He can ask for whatever he wants, and you can decide not to take the apartment. but I wouldnt take the apartment and then disregard his rules, unless u njoy getting into fights.
Good luck!

m in Israel

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 5:20 am

Tablepoetry wrote:

This is not exactly true. All he needs to do is say he needs it for a relative -- we were told you are allowed to kick out tenants if you need the place for a family member, so people who want to evict a tenant simply use that excuse and avoid the whole process of eviction. This has never happened to me, so maybe it is not true, but I have heard it from more than one source.

Tablepoetry

Wed, Jul 30 2014, 5:27 am

m in Israel wrote:

I'm not sure its true. I know more than one landlord who had a ton of trouble evicting nonpaying tenants.
Even if he says he wants the place for his son, how will the tenants be kicked out? And who will do it?

That's why it's crucially important for landlords to require a hefty deposit. Just in case.