When does the hawl (lunar year) for the zakah of real estate rent begin?

The questioner : The questioner says: If a person has a house or a shop that he rents out, does the hawl for the rent for the sake of zakah begin from the contract or from the receipt of the rent?

The Shaykh : The hawl for zakah begins from the contract, because the rent is established by the contract, even if it does not become fixed until the benefit is received. So, if the benefit is received and the rent is taken, and a year has passed from the contract, he is required to pay its zakah. As for if he takes it in the middle of the year and spends it before the year is completed, there is no zakah on it. So, if I say that he rented this shop for ten thousand, and after six months he took five thousand and spent it, then there is no zakah on the five thousand he took, because the hawl from the contract has not been completed for it. As for the remaining five thousand that he takes when the hawl is completed, he must pay its zakah, because the hawl from the contract has been completed for it.