What should he do with a tenant who does not want to leave the house?
Question

                We are a family whose breadwinner has died, and he left us some property. Some people have been living in this property for a long time, 18 years, for a rent of 40 Egyptian pounds. Allaah has blessed these tenants with wealth and made them so well-off that they own property themselves. One of them has put the property in his sons’ names, another has put it in his wife’s name. We are in great need of those apartments, so I went to them and asked them to vacate the apartments, and I explained the situation to them, but all I got from them was a refusal to budge. One of them asked for a huge amount of money in return for leaving. I tried to talk to them several times but without success. The law in our country is on their side. After that I asked them for more rent so that we can meet our own living expenses, but that also met with no success. What should I do?.
Praise be to Allah.
    Firstly: 

    The reason why such problems arise between landlord and 
    tenant is the failure to adhere to the laws of Allaah when drawing up 
    signing the lease. One of the things in which many people go against 
    sharee’ah, causing them a lot of problems, is not defining the period of 
    rental, because defining the period of rental prevents disputes and protects 
    the rights of both sides; it obliges the landlord to let the tenant stay in 
    the property and it obliges the tenant to pay the rent to the landlord for 
    the duration of the rental period, and it obliges him to adhere to the terms 
    of the lease and pay the rent even if he does not use the property. 

    Ibn Qudaamah said: 

    There is no dispute among the scholars concerning the fact 
    that it is permissible to rent out property. Ibn al-Mundhir said: All the 
    scholars from whom we acquired knowledge are unanimously agreed that renting 
    out houses and animals is permissible. 
And it is only 
    permissible to rent them out for a specific, defined period, after viewing 
    and defining the property in question, because it cannot be known otherwise. 
    It is not permissible not to define the timescale or describe the property. 
    This is the view of al-Shaafa’i. 

    Al-Mughni, 5/260. 

    The correct view is that the rental period does not have to 
    be limited to a specific length of time, rather it can continue for months 
    or decades, so long as that is with the agreement of both parties. 

    Ibn Qudaamah said: 
If the rental is to last 
    for a period it should be known, such as a month or a year. There is no 
    dispute concerning that as far as we know. Because the timescale is 
    important with regard to the property to be rented, so it must be known, 
    just as when selling a commodity that can be measured, it should be sold by 
    measure. 

    Al-Mughni, 5/251. 

    And he said: 

    The maximum period of renting cannot be defined, rather the 
    property that is rented may continue to be rented so long as it is still 
    sound, even if the period is lengthy. This is the view of all the scholars… 
    because Allaah tells us that Shu’ayb (peace be upon him) said: 
“on condition that you 
    serve me for eight years; but if you complete ten years, it will be (a 
    favour) from you”

    [al-Qasas 28:27]
The law of the nations 
    before us is our law too, unless there is evidence that it has been 
    abrogated.  

    al-Mughni, 5/253 

    Secondly: 

    With regard to the death of either the tenant or the landlord 
    before the expiry of the rental period, the majority of scholars are of the 
    view that the contract is not annulled by the death of either party. The 
    Hanafis and some of the Taabi’een held a different view and said that the 
    contract is annulled, unless the heirs of the landlord agree to that, and 
    that they have the right to demand that the rental property be vacated. 

    The correct view is the view of the majority, so the contract 
    remains binding on both parties for the duration of the rental period. 

    In the book al-Ijaarah, al-Bukhaari is quoted as 
    having a chapter in his Saheeh entitled “Chapter: If a person rents 
    land and one of them dies. Ibn Seereen said: The family do not have the 
    right to make him leave until the period (of the rental agreement) is ended. 
    Al-Hakam, al-Hasan and Iyaas ibn Mu’aawiyah said: The rental continues until 
    the end of the period agreed upon. Ibn ‘Umar said: The Prophet  (peace 
    and blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave Khaybar to its people in return 
    for half of the harvest. That was at the time of the Prophet  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Abu Bakr, and the beginning of Umar’s 
    caliphate, and there is no mention that Abu Bakr and ‘Umar renewed the 
    rental contract after the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be 
    upon him) died. End quote. 

    Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said: 

    The words “Chapter: If a person rents land and one of them 
    dies” mean: is the rental annulled or not? The majority view is that it is 
    not annulled. The Kufis and al-Layth were of the view that it is annulled… 
    they agreed that the rental is not annulled if the person in charge of the 
    waqf dies, and this is the case here.  

    The words “The family do not have the right to…” refer to the 
    family of the deceased. 

    “to make him leave” means, to make the tenant leave. 

    The point here is to prove that the rental agreement is not 
    annulled if one of the two parties dies. This is the apparent meaning and is 
    referred to by the words “and there is no mention that Abu Bakr and ‘Umar 
    renewed the rental contract after the Prophet  (peace and blessings of 
    Allaah be upon him) died”. 

    Fath al-Baari, 4/463. 

    Thirdly: 
With regard to what you 
    should do about the tenants who refuse to leave, we advise the following: 

    1 – You should explain to them that the contract between you 
    and them is not acceptable according to sharee’ah because it does not 
    mention the time period for the contract. We have stated above that the time 
    period must be stated, and there is no dispute among the scholars on this 
    point. 

    2 – You should give them sufficient opportunity to vacate the 
    property, and this period should be stated clearly to correct the previous 
    mistake and there should be a new contract with a set time period. 

    3 – If they refuse to leave, then you should tell them that 
    they are usurping the property and are sinning, and you should tell them of 
    the punishment for wrongdoing and the ruling on those who usurp property. 

    4 – You should bring in some influential wise men who could 
    speak to them, or some of their relatives or acquaintances whom they will 
    listen to. You can agree to pay them some money to leave the apartment. It 
    is haraam for them to consume this money, but as far as you are concerned, 
    if the person who is wronged cannot get his rights except by giving money to 
    the wrongdoer, it is permissible for him to do that. 

    See question no. 40272. 

    5 – If that does not work either, then you have three 
    choices: You can pray against them – for the prayer of the oppressed is 
    answered; or you can let them off; or you can leave their case to Allaah to 
    take your rights from them for you. 

    And Allaah knows best.