Question:
Is it permissible to sublease?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
A tenant is duty-bound to comply with the contract he has signed with his landlord. A breach of contract would permit the landlord to terminate the agreement according to the laws of Sharī`ah.
In Sharī`ah law, subleasing is permissible unless it has expressly been disallowed by the landlord. One should also be aware of the law of the jurisdiction he lives in to ensure he does not contravene any of its laws in the process of subleasing.
As far as the rental is concerned in subleasing, it should be equal to or less than the agreed amount between the initial tenant and landlord. In order to make the sublease profitable and charge a higher rental than the one agreed to between the initial tenant and the landlord, the tenant should do one of the following two:
1) Make the rental payments in the sublease a different currency to the original lease.
2) The tenant may develop the lease asset or add an extra facility to the property. In this case, one may charge more in the same currency. However, the addition must not contravene the terms and conditions of the lease contract.
And Allah Ta’ālā Knows Best
Mufti Faraz Adam,
www.darulfiqh.com