Is it permissible to rent a house where the electricity consumption is unknown, given that the landlord handles the electricity but its consumption is not known to either the tenant or the landlord?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
This transaction is impermissible due to the presence of Jahala (ignorance) and (uncertainty) in it, because the tenant's electricity consumption is undefined, which makes the amount the lessor is obligated to pay unknown. This leads to Jahala regarding the house's rent, and Jahala in the rent invalidates the lease contract. The solution is for the lessor to rent the house for a known rent, and for him to undertake the payment of electricity and water bills. A separate meter can be installed for each house if there is only one meter.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/49637
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 49637
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy