Buyers (and Sellers) Beware / Part 2

Is Sarah allowed to buy a house from a Jewish seller at a price that is way below its market value if the owner is not aware of its full value? And while she is at it, Sarah wants to know: Where and when else do the Halachot of Ona’a apply?

Putting a Price Tag

Nowadays, many items are sold in different situations for different prices. The same can of Coke would go for a different price if it were in a hotel lobby or if it were in a rest area, if you were to buy it cold from the refrigerator from the grocery or if you bought it in Costco in boxes, or even if you bought it separately in Shoprite.

Various considerations are factored in when setting a price, and each venue may be subject to different rules. For example, a supermarket would be able to charge more for its products because of the convenience involved in shopping there: spacious parking lots, one-stop shopping, efficient checkout.

No Ona’a?

Regarding real estate, the Halacha is: “Karka ein lo Ona’a” — in real estate there is no Ona’a.¹ There’s a difference in opinion exactly why there’s no Ona’a.

Some say this is because there is no real price for karka (land): so many factors go into deciding upon a home’s value. Therefore, it is practically impossible to put a price tag on a house, because it really depends upon the person buying the house and what his needs are. Accordingly, it is possible there would be no Ona’a at all regarding real estate.

However, according to many Poskim, there is a prohibition of underpaying or overcharging even with karka. In other words, although one may not go to Bet Din to claim his money back when it comes to real estate, the prohibition still exists. Additionally, when it comes to real estate, if the amount charged was double the market value, or the person underpaid by 50% (as opposed to one-sixth), one can claim a nullification of sale (Bittul Mekah) in Bet Din.

Employment and Ona’a

Ona’a is also relevant in regard to employment. In Halacha, there are actually two types of employees. One who works for his boss and gets paid by the hour is referred to as a “S’chir Yom”. A “Kablan”, on the other hand, is an independent contractor. He is self-employed, and can work as an advertiser for your business, graphic designer, or painter.

Regarding contracted services, according to the basic way of understanding the Halacha², there would be a Ona’a. Thus, if a contractor overcharges the person he is working for, he can run into problems in Halacha.

However, when it comes to a S’chir Yom, most Poskim maintain that if you have an employment agreement with somebody, then the employee has the Halacha of an Eved – a slave – which is “hukash l’karka’ot”, comparable to real estate. Therefore, just as with karka there would be no laws of Ona’a, so, too, with employment there would be no laws of Ona’a, and all the same rules would follow.

Thus, just as we find with real estate, if a person knows for sure that the salary he is paying is way below what other such workers are getting paid, it would be prohibited for the employer to pay those low wages. It is also possible that if a person is getting paid more than one-half less than the general wage for such work, there may be a problem of Ona’a even with regard to employment.

Sarah went back to her Rav and found out a lot more regarding the Halachot of Ona’at Mamon. She also learned a very important lesson: It is Halacha that governs every aspect of a Jew’s life!

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