Responsibility for Cleaning and Checking Bomb Shelters [i.e. Miklatim] for Chametz^[1]

Private Bomb Shelter: A private bomb shelter—meaning a shelter that is owned or designated for use by specific individuals—falls under the responsibility of all those who have access to it. Accordingly, such a shelter must be cleaned of chametz and checked on the night of the 14th of Nissan. In the case of a shared private shelter in an apartment building, the building’s tenants who have access to the shelter are collectively responsible for ensuring that it is properly cleaned and checked for chametz. The building residents should appoint one person to do so and thus fulfill their obligation.

Public Bomb Shelter: A public bomb shelter, by contrast, is considered a public space, similar to streets, sidewalks, and public parks. As such, no specific individual bears personal responsibility to clean or check it for chametz, and it is therefore exempt from bedikat chametz. Nonetheless, if a particular public bomb shelter is regularly and primarily used by a small number of families, it is proper and commendable for those families to arrange for the shelter to be cleaned and checked for chametz, without reciting a blessing, in order to avoid any concern should chametz be present.

^[1] See Admur 433:36 regarding Shuls; Piskeiy Teshuvos 433:3 regaridng apartment buildings