Minhag Hamedinah
Common Commercial Practice #12
Partition Between Neighbors
Q. What form of partition are neighbors required to construct between them?
A: The Mishnah (B.B. 2a) teaches that neighbors with adjoining courtyards can require each other to construct a partition to afford privacy.
The material from which the partition is made depends on the minhag hamedinah (C.M. 157:4).
Some Rishonim maintain that if the common practice is to use a flimsy material, substandard to the lowest-quality material mentioned in the Mishnah, each party can demand a sturdier partition despite the common practice. It is considered a minhag garua – inferior practice (Rema 157:4; Sma 157:12).
If there isn’t a clear practice in that locale, some say they should build the partition as seen fit by the Dayan, based on professional recommendation. Others say, according to the lower-quality material listed in the Mishnah (Rema ibid.; Sma 157:13; Ketzos 157:2).
Even if initially there was a partition of a better kind or height, which fell, they can only force each other to rebuild according to the minhag hamedinah (C.M. 157:13).
