Hiring, Renting, and Lease: Ruling on Handling Property and Belongings of an Absent Tenant

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Hiring, Renting, and Lease: Ruling on Handling Property and Belongings of an Absent Tenant

English:

Question #1632:

A person rented two rooms from their owner on a monthly basis and received the keys. The tenant started moving some of his household appliances into the rooms. When he went away to bring his family, he failed to turn up. The landlord does not know what happened to the tenant. Has the landlord the right to do with the rooms what he likes? What should he do with the personal belongings of the absent tenant?

Answer #1632:

If the lease was not materialised in a proper and shar‘ī manner, even by failing to determine the period, the tenant has no right in the property and the landlord can occupy the rooms. However, the household appliance of the tenant should be considered as though they have been deposited in trust with the landlord who should keep them safe. The landlord has the right to demand, from the tenant after his return, payment of the normal rent [i.e. not the specified one because the contract is void] for the rooms which remained locked and occupied by his personal belongings.
Yet, should the lease have been concluded in a proper way, the landlord has to wait until the period comes to a close whereby he can demand from the tenant the rent for the entire period. As for the period in excess of the agreed one, it should be treated as though the contract was invalid at the outset.

-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Hiring, Renting, and Lease