Mezuzahs During Renovations

The Aish Rabbi Replies

Mazal tov on your new purchase first of all! May you and your family build a wonderful Jewish home in your new residence.

In terms of mezuzot, parts of the house that you will not be using at all – whether to live there or keep your furniture, do not require a mezuzah, since in such a state it is not yet considered your home. The mitzvah of mezuzah is an obligation on the dweller not the dwelling (Talmud Pesachim 4a). Thus, if you own a completely unused house, it does not require mezuzot.

The same is true if you are renovating part of your existing home and you move out beforehand and empty it of all its furnishings.

If, however, you will still be using the room somewhat and/or keeping your furniture there, then a mezuzah is required. It should be kept up as long as possible and only removed when it is actually in the way of the work (such as during painting).

After the remodeling and when you are ready to move in (or move your furniture in), you should put up the mezuzah's, reciting the blessing beforehand. You should do so even if the room earlier had a mezuzah since there was a long interruption. In truth, even if a mezuzah had to be removed for renovations for a single day or less, a new blessing is recited when re-posting it since it was impossible to have the mezuzah up during the work. (This contrasts with taking a mezuzah down to check it – when it was not impossible to have the mezuzah up in the interim.) Even so, it is better to say a blessing on a room whose mezuzah had to be down for longer than a day – since that mezuzah certainly requires a new blessing. (Note that if you're reciting a single blessing before posting mezuzah's on multiple doorways, you should do them all one after the other, without interruption.)

(Sources: Talmud Pesachim 4a, Pitchei Teshuva 289:1, Yabia Omer III Y.D. 17, Igros Moshe Y.D. IV 44:1.)