Dear Hadi,
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I hope this message finds you well. I am seeking your guidance on a difficult situation regarding my tenancy. I am an international student planning to leave my apartment next month without informing my landlord in advance. The reason for my departure is the landlord’s persistent neglect of serious issues which have made the apartment uninhabitable. I fear his reaction if I inform him, which is why I have chosen not to notify him of my departure.
My primary concern is whether it is permissible for me to tell the landlord that I do not have the money to pay rent this month if he asks for it, even if it is not true, to avoid confrontation or potential retaliation or eviction.
I also have a question regarding the rent reduction I received. I was given a discounted rate on the condition that I stay for a full year. Since I am leaving after only six months due to the landlord’s failure to address the issues that made the apartment uninhabitable, am I Islamically obligated to compensate for the difference in rent for the months I have already stayed? Given that his negligence forced me to leave early, I feel it would be unjust to pay this additional amount.
However, I do not want to act dishonestly. I would greatly appreciate your advice on how to handle this situation in a manner that is ethical and in accordance with Islamic teachings.
Jazakum Allah khayran for your time and guidance.
Dear Reader,
We understand the difficult situation you’re in and we commend you for wanting to handle this in an honest manner. Since you are interested in handling this in an ethical manner in accordance with Islamic teachings, we cannot encourage you to simply lie to the landlord regarding your rent money or to simply leave without notifying the landlord. This would not be fair to the landlord.
However, this does not mean you are out of options, and you are also entitled to a fair outcome. You haven’t told us what state you are in, but assuming you are in the United States, there is probably a local Fair Housing Council somewhat near to you – they are often located in major metropolitan areas. We encourage you to reach out to the nearest Fair Housing Council and ask for their help in navigating this situation. If, as you say, the landlord has made the apartment uninhabitable, there are legal remedies that may be available to you, including possibly withholding rent, or making needed repairs and deducting the cost from the rent owed. We encourage you to reach out to your local Fair Housing Council right away, and in the meantime, do make sure to document all problems with the unit (take photos/videos) and document your communications with the landlord about the problems. If you do not have a Fair Housing Council anywhere nearby, you may need to reach out to an attorney that handles landlord-tenant disputes. Also, you should know (and you can double check this with the Fair Housing Council or a landlord-tenant attorney), if you were to simply leave the apartment, you may very well be in breach of your rental agreement. This could cause various problems for you that might include collections actions against you, or at a minimum, difficulty renting another apartment.
While it may seem like a quick, easy fix to simply leave the apartment without paying rent or informing the landlord, we don’t think this is the right way to proceed. And we hope that a local Fair Housing Council will be able to help you achieve a just resolution to the situation.
In peace.