Translation:Shulchan Aruch/Choshen Mishpat/159

Paragraph 1- If two houses were adjacent to each other and their roofs were intended for dwelling, each one must make a fence for half of his roof, not opposite the other’s fence, even if they were on two sides of the public domain. They must have the fences overlap so that they cannot see each other, notwithstanding the fact that the people in the public domain can see them. Each one can tell the other that the public only sees me by day while I am standing on my roof, but you can always see me. If the roof is low enough so that the people of the public domain can see him while standing on the roof, there is no damage-by-sight.

Paragraph 2- If one has a roof adjacent to another’s courtyard he must make a fence four amos high. With respect to the a roof among roofs, however, there is no four amos requirement because people do not have the practice of living on their roofs. Thus, there is no damage-by-sight on a roof. He must make a partition 10 tefachim high between the two roofs, however, so that he will be viewed as a thief if he were to enter into the other’s property. There are those who say that this is only where the roofs are adjacent to each other. If there is airspace that separates them, however, regardless of whether it is airspace of a private domain or public domain, an enclosure as described would be required. This seems to me to the primary view.

Paragraph 3- If one of the neighbors says he will build his half on the eastern side, and the second neighbor says that he wants to build on that side, they should conduct a lottery. If one neighbor comes to us and makes a claim on the other that either he should build the fence and I will pay half the expenses or he should pay me half the expenses, we would listen to him. If he waited until the other built his half and says because you started you should finish and the other does not want to finish, however, he does not have the power to force him.

Paragraph 4- If the roofs are far enough that the damage-by-sight would not be removed by having each one build half a fence with some overlap, but a full fence would have to be built, and they are able to agree to have one build and receive half the expenses, that is ideal. He would build the entire fence and write a document to the other stating that the half of what was built belongs to him. If they cannot agree, they would conduct a lottery to see who would build the entire amount and he would collect half the expenses from the other.