I mentioned to my neighbor, Shimon, that I was selling my home. Unbeknownst to me, Shimon told Levi that my house was on the market. Levi ultimately purchased the house.

Shimon contacted me and suggested that since he was the one that informed Levi that I was selling my house, he deserves a commission as a broker.

Q: Am I actually obligated to pay Shimon a broker’s fee?

A: The first issue that requires clarification is what could trigger an obligation to pay a broker’s fee in this case.

If you had asked Shimon to work as your agent, you would obviously have to pay a broker’s fee, but what generates an obligation if one did not hire a broker? The answer is that one must, in principle, compensate anyone who performs a service for him, regardless of whether he was hired to perform that service (Rema C.M. 264:4). This is based on the principle of yored lisdei chaveiro, lit. cultivating someone else’s field without the owner’s knowledge. Assuming that the owner gains from the presence of this cultivation, he must reimburse the planter for the beneficial service he provided (Bava Metzia 101a, C.M. 375).

The same principle applies to a self-appointed broker. Since he provided a beneficial service, the beneficiary must reimburse the provider for that service (Gr”a 185:13).

This principle, however, is not enough to obligate you to pay Shimon. If someone is a broker by profession, or if he performs the work of a broker that people do not commonly do gratis, there is an obligation to reimburse him. In your case, since Shimon is not a real estate broker and did nothing more than share information about the availability of the house, he has no right to claim that he should be reimbursed.

Providing a service that is commonly done for friends and does not involve special effort is not a payable service. An example of this principle is illustrated in the following halacha: If Reuven asks Shimon to drop something off for him, Shimon is not considered a shomer sachar (paid custodian) unless he receives remuneration for that job (C.M. 303:1). Seemingly, since he is performing a service for Reuven, he should be entitled to be considered a shomer sachar and demand remuneration. However, since it is common for friends to drop things off for one another, Shimon has not done anything out of the ordinary that would indicate that he deserves payment; therefore, Reuven is under no obligation to pay him (Chochmas Shlomo 185:1).

Similarly, in your case, since Shimon merely passed on the information that you are selling your house - a common practice of friends and neighbors - and did nothing more to facilitate the sale of your home, you are not obligated to pay him a broker’s fee (see Teshuvas Cheishev Ho’Ephod 2:145).