Is renting a car from a financing company instead of the original owner considered usury (riba), especially if the company imposes late fees after the contract begins, and what is the ruling for someone who unknowingly fell into that?

The validity of a lease ending in ownership depends on several conditions:

1. The company must purchase and own the car before leasing it. Otherwise, the contract is invalid, as it constitutes leasing what one does not own, or a usurious financing.

2. The lease contract must be accompanied by a promise to sell or to gift after full payment of the rent, or a new sale contract must be executed after the lease ends. It is not permissible for ownership to transfer merely upon the payment of installments.

3. Care must be taken that the conditions do not include requiring the lessee to bear the cost of warranty, maintenance, or insurance.

4. It is stipulated that the conditions be considered valid, either by being an integral part of the contract, or within the duration of the option of the session (khiyar al-majlis) or the condition (khiyar al-shart), or by mutual agreement of the parties beforehand, even if not explicitly mentioned in the contract.

5. It is not permissible to stipulate a penalty for late payment of installments, as this is a forbidden usurious condition. If this penalty is applied to you, you do not bear its usurious responsibility if you had not accepted this condition at the time of contracting.