Hiring, Renting, and Lease: Ruling on Returning Sarqoflī: Fixed Amount or Current Market Value?
Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei
Hiring, Renting, and Lease: Ruling on Returning Sarqoflī: Fixed Amount or Current Market Value?
English:
Question #1658:
A tenant paid a landlord a sum of money as sarqoflī for the property he leased. After a while, the tenant decided to vacate the property. Is it obligatory on the landlord to return to the tenant the amount of money he paid him at the time? Or should sarqoflī reflect the market price at the time of vacating the property?
Answer #1658:
Should the tenant lawfully have the right in sarqoflī, it is within his right to demand the payment of such sarqoflī at an equitable rate on the day. For his part, the landlord should pay the tenant the going rate. However, if the tenant had deposited a sum of money with the landlord, on the day the tenancy commenced, to be returned to them once they vacated the property; he is entitled only to demand the payment of that sum of money.
-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Hiring, Renting, and Lease