What is the ruling on one who permits taking money in exchange for vacating the premises, stating that this applies only in commercial areas and not elsewhere?

The questioner : Some people say that this "vacating fee" is not a big deal. They say, "If we were in a non-commercial area, or in an area with no demand, we would not ask for a vacating fee. We ask for it because there is a lot of activity in the area..." So, this statement is from this perspective, meaning.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you, this statement has no substance. Does this statement answer what I mentioned earlier? I mean, if the place is in a commercial area, does it not refute what I said earlier? We say to the owner of this place in the most upscale commercial area: the vacating fee you are asking for, in exchange for what? There is no difference, meaning, whether the shop is in a commercial area and an important commercial center, or on the outskirts of the town, there is no difference, meaning. We want to understand why this vacating fee exists. Some people say things that may be somewhat reasonable, but they do not justify committing this haram (forbidden) act. They say that today, tenants are dealing with the landlord as if they were the owners. This has some validity; we said earlier that today people do not deal with the rulings of the Shari'ah. Among these rulings of the Shari'ah is that believers are bound by their conditions. This place must be rented and leased with clear conditions, because clarity drives away Satan, and believers are bound by their conditions.
It must be specified, for example, that the annual rent for this place is such-and-such, and that this contract is renewed every year, every two years, every five years, etc. They do not do this today, and so the tenant has become like the owner. Incidents have occurred to us in Syria; a place, possibly smaller than the one we are in, had a tenant who took millions as a vacating fee. The tenant took millions, which he might not have earned in his entire life, while he was just a tenant in this property. By what right did he take this money? By falsehood, they consume the wealth of people by falsehood. So, the point is, we say... if there is a Shari'ah condition between them, then what is called today a "vacating fee" can be taken as a pledge, not a vacating fee that makes it halal (lawful) for him as if it were rent. This pledge, when the agreed-upon time for vacating comes and you do not leave, I take it as compensation for the harm that will befall me due to your breach of the condition we agreed upon.
Another questioner: Peace be upon you.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings,
And this, in reality, reminds us that there is no problem that occurs in this world that does not have two solutions: a Shari'ah solution and a non-Shari'ah solution. People now want non-Shari'ah solutions. Do we not find Shari'ah solutions?
But people have distanced themselves from the Shari'ah in both aspects: the scholarly aspect and the practical aspect. Often, we know the Shari'ah and then deviate from it. The clearest example is men imitating women and women imitating men; this is a matter no one is ignorant of, but it is still widespread. However, there are matters that even some of the specialists do not know, let alone the general public. What is the cause of this? Distancing oneself from studying religious knowledge. So, we are facing two problems: ignorance of the correct knowledge and action, and abandoning action based on the correct knowledge. Both of them are harmful. This is the answer to that question.