We are asked this more often than any other question that has nothing to do with money, and it is rarely the question people expect. It is almost never "is renting out property allowed". It is the three that come after it.
Before anything else: this is not a religious ruling and we are not qualified to give one. We manage property. What follows is how the practical side works and which parts of it we can actually do something about. For a ruling on your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
The starting point most people already know
Income from renting out a property you own is broadly regarded as permissible. You own a tangible asset, someone pays to use it for a period, and you are compensated for that use. It is not income generated from lending money at interest, which is the thing that is prohibited.
Short-letting does not change that in itself. A guest paying for four nights and a tenant paying for twelve months are the same transaction at different lengths. The complications people raise are not really about the letting at all. They are about three things around it.
One: how the property was bought
This is the question that matters most, and it is decided long before anyone thinks about Airbnb.
If a property was bought with a conventional mortgage, the objection is the interest, not the letting. Short-letting a property does not create that problem and does not fix it. It is a separate matter, and one worth taking to a scholar rather than solving with a management contract.
If the property was bought through a sharia-compliant home purchase plan, the structures work differently. UK providers such as Gatehouse Bank and Al Rayan Bank, along with several newer entrants, use arrangements like diminishing musharaka, where you and the bank co-own the property and you buy out their share over time while paying rent on the portion you do not yet own, or ijara, a lease arrangement, or murabaha, a cost-plus sale.
Here is the part that catches people, and it is practical rather than religious: these plans often carry their own conditions about how the property may be used. Some are written for owner-occupiers. Some permit letting and some do not, and some distinguish between a long tenancy and short-term letting. Before you list a property bought this way, read the agreement and ring the provider. That conversation takes ten minutes and it is far better than finding out afterwards.
This is exactly the same advice we give landlords with conventional buy-to-let mortgages, for exactly the same reason. Your finance agreement has a view on what you do with the property, whichever kind it is.
Two: how the property is used
You decide the terms your property is let on, and we run it to them.
Every major platform lets a listing set its own house rules, and a guest accepts them before they can book. Those can include no alcohol on the premises, no parties or events, and no smoking. Who books can be narrowed too: verified identification, a minimum age, and a minimum stay of several nights rather than single Saturday nights. A property let on those terms draws a very different guest from one taking any booking going.
Tell us at the outset what you want the rules to be and we will set the listing up to them. Where a guest breaches them, we act on it through the platform rather than letting it go because a cancellation is inconvenient.
Three: zakat
Short-let income changes how the sums look, so it is worth knowing where the numbers come from.
The broad position we most often see is that a property held to generate rental income is not itself subject to zakat on its market value. Zakat is calculated on the income it produces, once that has been held as wealth for a lunar year and it exceeds the threshold. A property bought with the intention of resale is treated differently, as trade goods. Views vary and the details matter, so this is another one for a scholar rather than a management company.
What we can do is make the calculation possible. A short let generates income unevenly across the year, with costs landing at different points, and reconstructing it from platform statements in twelve months' time is miserable. Our monthly report sets out occupancy, revenue, expenses, our fee and your payout, in writing, every month. Twelve of those is a year of accounts, which is what the calculation actually needs.
Where the flexible plan tends to fit
One practical thing worth knowing, because it comes up every year.
Landlords often want the property free at particular times: family staying over Eid, relatives visiting during Ramadan, or their own use during specific weeks. On our flexible plan, the contract is 30-day rolling, there is no minimum availability, and you block out whatever dates you want. The property earns when you are not using it and is yours when you are.
That plan carries a higher fee than the full-time one, because a calendar with holes in it is harder to price and fill. That is the honest trade, and for a lot of people it is worth paying.
What we would say to a landlord asking
Take the financing question to a scholar, because it is the one that actually decides things and it was settled when you bought.
On how the property is run, tell us the terms you want it let on and we will set it up that way from the start. Do not let a manager tell you it does not matter.
If you have a London property and you want it run to a particular set of rules, tell us the postcode and what those rules are. We will tell you what it can earn on that basis, and if the answer is that a short let is not right for your property, we will tell you that instead.
This article describes practical and financial considerations only. It is not a fatwa and not religious, legal or financial advice. Your finance agreement, lease and personal circumstances are specific to you. Consult a qualified scholar for a ruling, and your provider for the terms of your agreement.