Insurance and Renting

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question: Assalamu alaykum

I own a property which I want to pay a lettings agent to fully manage for me. For 10% of the monthy rental income, they will do the tenant finding, rent collection and handle all dealings with the tenant. Within this “fully managed package” is the option to pay an extra 4% per month for the Agent to deal with any tenant evictions that arise, covering all legal costs and rent guarantee for a fixed number of months. If I select this rent/legal cover option, then I will be “noted as an interested party in the Agent’s insurance policy”.

With this 4%, am I in effect buying a haram insurance policy or a comprehensive service package from the Agent? What would be the ruling according to the different schools of thought?

Answer: Wa ‘alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

I pray you are well.

It is permissible for you to enter into this agreement with the estate agent if you wish. If effect, you are paying them for a service which is clearly delineated. That is your agreement with them, and it does not contain anything impermissible.

The means they may employ to fund the service from their end does not concern you. Therefore, seeing as you are not directly entering into a interest based contract, it would be permissible for you use this service. Please ensure that all the variables are clear to you before progressing, and that there are no hidden charges, etc, or potential alterations which could lead to a dispute later. (Usmani, Fiqh al Buyu’)

I’m unable to provide you with positions from other schools of law. This is the answer I have understood from the Hanafi school, and through consultation with a senior scholar. Allah knows best.

May Allah grant you the best of both worlds.

Wassalam,
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 to study and sit at the feet of some of the most erudite scholars of our time.

Over the following eighteen months he studied a traditional curriculum, studying with scholars such as Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh Abdurrahman Arjan, Shaykh Hussain Darwish and Shaykh Muhammad Darwish.

In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years, in Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Shama’il, and Logic with teachers such as Dr Ashraf Muneeb, Dr Salah Abu’l-Hajj, Dr Hamza al-Bakri, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Dr Mansur Abu Zina amongst others. He was also given two licences of mastery in the science of Qur’anic recital by Shakh Samir Jabr and Shaykh Yahya Qandil.

His true passion, however, arose in the presence of Shaykh Ali Hani, considered by many to be one of the foremost tafsir scholars of our time who provided him with the keys to the vast knowledge of the Quran. With Shaykh Ali, he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Qur’anic Sciences, Tafsir, Arabic Grammar, and Rhetoric.

When he finally left Jordan for the UK in 2014, Shaykh Ali gave him his distinct blessing and still recommends students in the UK to seek out Shaykh Abdul-Rahim for Quranic studies. Since his return he has trained as a therapist and has helped a number of people overcome emotional and psychosomatic issues. He is a keen promoter of emotional and mental health.