Is zakat due on a down payment made for purchasing an apartment in installments that has not yet been built and will not be ready for years?

The "Hawl" (one year) considered for Zakat is the lunar year. The Nisab (minimum threshold) for banknotes is equivalent to the value of 85 grams of gold or 595 grams of silver, and the amount of Zakat due is 2.5%.

If the money met the conditions for Zakat, and you then bought the apartment after the completion of the "Hawl," Zakat becomes obligatory on it. However, if you bought it before the completion of the "Hawl," Zakat is not obligatory on it. This applies if the purpose of buying the apartment was for residence or rental, not for trade. If the purpose was for trade, then its Zakat becomes obligatory after the completion of the "Hawl" of the money with which it was purchased, provided its value reaches the Nisab by itself or when combined with other cash or trade goods owned by the questioner. In the event that Zakat becomes obligatory and you do not have an equivalent amount for the debt, then the amount of the remaining installments for the apartment's price is deducted from the apartment's value and what is combined with it that is subject to Zakat. If, after the deduction, what remains reaches the Nisab, Zakat becomes obligatory on it; otherwise, it does not.