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Fatwa CenterTaking full housing allowance while owning part of house
Question
An organization provides/entitles rent for a house to its employees as a pay package. The organization pays rent to owner of the house in favor of its employee. If an employee and an Islamic bank are shareholders of a house in which he pays a monthly rent to the bank for its share in the house as well as purchases shares of the house on a monthly basis, can he enjoy the rent provided by the organization given that he is not only owner of that house? May Allaah reward you.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
According to the information mentioned in the question, the bank and the employee are partners and co-own the house, whose full rent is paid by the employee's organization. If this is the case, then the organization must be informed that the employee is a joint owner with the bank and owns a share in the house. If the organization agrees to pay the full rent to the employee to take his share from it and give the bank its share, then there is no harm in that. But it is impermissible for the employee to trick the organization by concealing this information from it so as to take the rent. Perhaps the organization would not accept to pay the rent if it was informed that he owns part of the house or is entitled to some of its utilities based upon his contract with the bank, regardless of whether it is a rent-to-own or diminishing co-ownership.
Allaah, The Exalted, says (what means): {O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly...} [Quran 4:29] Abu Hurayrah 
reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, “He who cheats us is not of us.” [Muslim] Another version of the hadeeth reads, “He who cheats us is not of us, and cunning and deception lead to Hellfire.” [At-Tabaraani]
If the case is not as we mentioned, then please make it clear. We advise you to refer the case to scholars in your country of residence and consult with them directly; they have better knowledge of the laws and regulations of the country and can make a more comprehensive and accurate conceptualization of such matters.
Allaah knows best.
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