Q: Someone bought a property and renovated it. The sale was later voided for some reason. Is the buyer entitled to compensation for his enhancement?
A: Mahara Sason (#117, #124) rules that the buyer is considered as one who enhanced with permission (yored b’reshus); he is entitled to the going rate, even if the property was not fit for such an enhancement (C.M. 375:4).
However, if the buyer renovated the property according to his taste without any capital gain, Mahara Sason compares this to a creditor who collected a property and renovated it without any capital gain, and the borrower later redeemed the property. There is a dispute whether the creditor is entitled to compensation for his expenses; Shulchan Aruch rules — on account of this dispute — that he is not (C.M. 103:9).
Similarly, if a customer made a garment from what turned out to be defective cloth, so that the sale was voided, he is entitled to compensation for his efforts only if he enhanced the cloth (C.M. 232:14; Nesivos 205:4; Pischei Choshen, Geneivah 8:[41].)
