Question Summary:
Do I have to pay Zakaat on my flat?

Question Detail:

My wife inherited some money from her father but she did not receive money in cash instead they booked one flat on her name. This flat is under our possession whose value is double the amount she received. So my in-laws asked me to pay 50% of the value and I agreed on that since I had money with me. My intention at that time was an investment. Since I am not in need of money now I changed my intention that either we will rent this flat or we will let my in-laws stay there. This flat is empty and we are looking for a tenant as my in-laws do not want to shift to this flat. My question is do I have to pay zakaah on the value of this flat? Also does my wife have to pay zakaah?

 
I also myself purchased one flat with purely the intention of investment and since I am not in need of money I want to rent out this flat (I am looking for a tenant right now) so do I have to pay zakaah on this flat or on the rent I receive?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
 
 
The flat referred to as inheritance belongs to you and your wife. In principle zakaat is not payable on property used to accrue income.[1] The rental income will be treated as cash on hand and zakaat on that amount will be determined according to ones financial situation. In brief, if the rental income is equivalent to the nisaab amount and a year passes on that amount or if the cash is joined with other cash in ones possession and is equivalent or more than the nisaab, then the income earned is zakaatable if it exceeds ones liabilities and is equivalent to the nisaab amount. For more details on how to calculate zakaat refer to http://askimam.org/fatwa/fatwa.php?askid=31cdd2cfc57f1a0183dc44a77539d0e3. 
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mawlana Ali bin Cassim,
Student Darul Iftaa
Los Angeles, U.S.A
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.