As a rule, the laws of candle-lighting for independent, unmarried people are the same as those for a family unit (section 9 above). Therefore, if an unmarried person has his own home, regardless of whether it is owned or rented, he must light candles there. If he is visiting friends at candle-lighting time but will return home to sleep, he cannot fulfill his obligation at his hosts’ home. Rather, he must return home to light. (See sections 6-8 above for the proper times to light candles, le-khatĥila and be-di’avad.)
If an unmarried person will be staying for the night as well, his status depends on where he is sleeping. If he will be sleeping in the hosts’ home, he should pay the host the value of a pruta toward the cost of the candles (or the host may give him a share in the candles as a gift) and he can fulfill his obligation through the host’s lighting. According to Ashkenazic custom, it is better if he lights his own candles with the berakhot, thus fulfilling the custom of mehadrin min ha-mehadrin. If the unmarried guest was given a separate residence for sleeping, according to all customs he should light there with the berakhot.[20]