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Is it permissible to purchase an apartment in residential compounds that require a maintenance deposit, the interest of which is used for general maintenance?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

For the permissibility of taking money for maintenance, it is stipulated that it remains the property of its owners, with the property owner overseeing its legitimate investment to benefit from its returns for maintenance. Otherwise, it would be a prohibited insurance contract. It is permissible to pay the maintenance fee if the deposit is invested in a bank whose transactions conform to Islamic law. However, it is not permissible in an usurious bank, because the property owner acts as an agent for the buyers in this investment, which implicates everyone in the sin of usury, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, cursed the one who consumes Riba (usury), the one who feeds it, its scribe, and its two witnesses, and he said: 'They are all equal (in sin).'" The Islamic Fiqh Academy has affirmed that bank deposits that yield interest are prohibited usurious loans, and that deposits handed over to banks adhering to the provisions of Islamic Sharia under an investment contract constitute Mudarabah (profit-sharing) capital. Therefore, it is not permissible to pay the maintenance fee unless the money is invested in a permissible manner.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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