I have a house that has been rented out for six years on an annual lease. Is zakah obligatory on this house, given that I spend the rental income on various necessities?
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The questioner : I have a house that has been rented out for approximately six years. Initially, the annual rent was ten thousand, then fifteen thousand, and now it is twenty thousand. I ask you, O honorable...The Shaykh : Is zakah obligatory on this house? And if it is, what is the amount, given that I spend the rental income on various necessities and nothing remains of it?
The Shaykh : A house prepared for rental is not subject to zakah, regardless of its value. However, zakah is due on the rent. But when is the zakah on this rent paid?
Some scholars said: He pays the zakah on the rent from the time he receives it, because the rent is like fruit and crops. And Allah the Exalted said:[Al-An'am 6:141].
And some scholars of knowledge said: The zakah on the rent is not obligatory on him until a full year has passed from the lease contract.
As for the first opinion, he is required to pay the zakah whenever he receives any part of the rent, as long as the total rent reaches the nisab.
And as for the second opinion, if he receives the rent after the completion of the year, he pays its zakah. If he receives it before the completion of the year, we look at whether it remains with him until the year is completed. If he has not spent it on expenses or otherwise, he pays its zakah. If he spends it on expenses or otherwise before the completion of the year, there is no zakah on him, because one of the conditions for the obligation of zakah is the completion of the lunar year.
And this woman says: She spends the rent on the needs of her house. If she spends it before the year is completed, there is no zakah on her according to the second opinion. As for the first opinion, she is required to pay zakah on every annual rent.
The Shaykh : A house prepared for rental is not subject to zakah, regardless of its value. However, zakah is due on the rent. But when is the zakah on this rent paid?
Some scholars said: He pays the zakah on the rent from the time he receives it, because the rent is like fruit and crops. And Allah the Exalted said:
give its due [zakah] on the day of its harvest
وَآتُوا حَقَّهُ يَوْمَ حَصَادِهِAnd some scholars of knowledge said: The zakah on the rent is not obligatory on him until a full year has passed from the lease contract.
As for the first opinion, he is required to pay the zakah whenever he receives any part of the rent, as long as the total rent reaches the nisab.
And as for the second opinion, if he receives the rent after the completion of the year, he pays its zakah. If he receives it before the completion of the year, we look at whether it remains with him until the year is completed. If he has not spent it on expenses or otherwise, he pays its zakah. If he spends it on expenses or otherwise before the completion of the year, there is no zakah on him, because one of the conditions for the obligation of zakah is the completion of the lunar year.
And this woman says: She spends the rent on the needs of her house. If she spends it before the year is completed, there is no zakah on her according to the second opinion. As for the first opinion, she is required to pay zakah on every annual rent.