Is zakat immediately due on real estate rent received in advance for two years or more, or after the passage of a Hawl (one year)?

The opinions of jurists differ regarding the zakat on rent received in advance. According to the Hanbalis and some Shafi’is, zakat becomes obligatory on it if a year passes from the day it was received.

The Malikis elaborate on this, stating that zakat is not obligatory on the landlord until his ownership is complete. So, if he receives three years' rent in advance, there is no zakat on him in the first year because it is considered a deposit. In the second year, he pays zakat on twenty dinars of rent, and in the third year, on forty. There is another opinion among the Malikis, which is the more apparent one among the Shafi’is, that obligates zakat only on what has become settled.

As for the zakat on rent paid immediately upon receipt, it is a narration from Imam Ahmad chosen by Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, who holds that zakat is obligatory on all types of received rent, and the passing of a year is not a condition for it.