3,814. Houses in Unwalled Cities

Hilchos Shemittah v’Yoveil 12:10

If someone sells a house in a village or in a city that isn’t properly walled, he can redeem it using both the advantages of redeeming hereditary fields and those of redeeming houses in walled cities. For example, if the owner wants to redeem the house right away, he can do so à la houses in walled cities. If the twelve months go by and he hasn’t redeemed it, he may do so until yoveil, à la hereditary fields. When he redeems it, he and the buyer calculate the value of the benefit received by the buyer, and this amount is subtracted from the repurchase price. If yoveil arrives and the owner hasn’t redeemed the house, it returns to the original owner without money changing hands, à la hereditary fields.

Hilchos Shemittah v’Yoveil 12:11

Anything inside a city’s wall – such as gardens, bathhouses and pigeon coops – is considered a house. This is derived from Leviticus 25:30, which says “that is in the city.” Fields in the city are redeemed in the same way as fields outside the city, as the same verse says: “the house that is in the city will be established.” This comes to include houses and things that are like houses, but not fields.