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Death of Lessor doesn`t Entitle Heirs to Rescind Contract

Answered as per Shafi'i Fiqh by Darul Iftaa Jordan
Does a rent contract end by the death of the lessor, and is it permissible for the heirs to terminate it?

Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions. A rent contract is among the binding contracts with a specific period of rental during which none of the contracting parties may terminate it, save with the approval of the other. Accordingly, the death of the lessor doesn`t affect the validity of the contract because the ownership of the rented property is transferred to his heirs, so the leassee may benefit from it in return for paying the agreed upon sum . Ash-Shirbeeni, a Shafii scholar, said: "The validity of a rent contract isn`t nullified by the death of the contracting parties, or one of them; rather, it continues until the specified period at which the rental ends, because it is as binding as a sale contract." Article(709) of the Jordan Civil Code stated, "The rent contract isn`t nullified by the death of any of the contracting parties." Accordingly, the aforementioned heirs don`t have the right to terminate the rent contract in question because the lessor passed away. And Allah knows best.

This answer was collected from the official government Iftaa Department of Jordan.

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