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Is a 99 year lease agreement Shari’ah compliant?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Darulfiqh.com

Question:

Is a 99 year lease agreement Shari’ah compliant?

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

One of the conditions for the validity of a lease agreement is clearly defining the length of the lease.[1]
The lease agreement may be short-term or long-term spanning more than the life-expectancy of the landlord or tenant.[2]  However, a permanent lease agreement is void.[3]
Thus, it is valid to enter into a lease agreement with a 99 year lease period.[4]

And Allah Ta’ālā Knows Best

Mufti Faraz Adam,
www.darulfiqh.com


[1]  وَمِنْهَا بَيَانُ الْمُدَّةِ فِي الدُّورِ وَالْمَنَازِلِ وَالْحَوَانِيتِ (الهندية ج 4 ص 411 الرشيدية)

[2]  وَسَوَاءٌ أَكَانَتْ تِلْكَ الْمُدَّةُ طَوِيلَةً بِحَيْثُ لَا يَظْهَرُ أَنَّ الطَّرَفَيْنِ يُمْكِنُ أَنْ يَبْقَيَا إلَى نِهَايَتِهَا فِي قَيْدِ الْحَيَاةِ أَوْ قَصِيرَةً. (درر الحكام في شرح مجلة الأحكام ج 1 ص 505 دار الجيل)

[3]  غَيْرَ أَنَّ بَعْضَ الْعُلَمَاءِ قَدْ قَالُوا بِبُطْلَانِ الْإِجَارَةِ الَّتِي تَقَعُ لِمُدَّةٍ لَا يُمْكِنُ أَنْ يَبْقَى فِيهَا الْعَاقِدَانِ فِي قَيْدِ الْحَيَاةِ لِأَنَّ ذَلِكَ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْإِجَارَةِ الْمُؤَبَّدَةِ. (وَالتَّأْبِيدُ) فِي الْإِجَارَةِ مُبْطِلٌ لَهَا وَلَكِنْ بِمَا أَنَّ بَعْضَ الْفُقَهَاءِ كَالْخَصَّافِ اخْتَارَ جَوَازَهَا لِأَنَّ حَقَّ الِاخْتِيَارِ فِي ذَلِكَ يَرْجِعُ إلَى الْعَاقِدَيْنِ. وَإِطْلَاقُ الْمُتُونِ يُفِيدُ جَوَازَهَا فَقَدْ شَرَحْنَاهُ عَلَى هَذَا الْوَجْهِ (مَجْمَعُ الْأَنْهُرِ، رَدُّ الْمُحْتَارِ. الزَّيْلَعِيُّ) . (درر الحكام في شرح مجلة الأحكام ج 1 ص 505 دار الجيل)

[4]  فتاوى دار العلوم زكريا ج 5 ص 605 زمزم

This answer was collected from DarulFiqh.com, which is operated under the supervision of Mufti Faraz ibn Adam al-Mahmudi, the student of world renowned Mufti Ebrahim Desai (Hafizahullah).