Is it permissible for a tenant to lease a property owned by an absent person whose whereabouts are unknown?

It is not permissible to dispose of the value of the due rent; rather, it is a trust to be safeguarded for its owner, unless there is despair regarding his life and whereabouts. If despair sets in, the rent is to be returned to the heirs if they exist. Otherwise, the rent is treated like a deposit. The deposit must be safeguarded for its owner until there is despair regarding his life, then it is paid to his heir. If no heir is found or known, then it becomes public property and is to be given to the just ruler. Alternatively, the depositor himself may spend it on the most pressing needs of the Muslims, prioritizing those in dire need, and it should only be spent on what the just Imam is obliged to spend it on. If one is ignorant of this, then he must inquire of the most scrupulous scholars.