Ijarah Finance operates from Bankstown under ASIC Credit Licence 387688 as a subsidiary of Mortgage Providers Pty Ltd, a brokerage trading since 2003, which makes it the longest-standing dedicated Islamic financing specialist in the country after MCCA. Its pitch is a clean rent-to-own methodology, honest deposit tiers, and something rare in this market: third-party Shariah certification you can download and read. This review covers the home product family as published, verified August 5, 2026.
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Home Ijarah: the flagship
The structure is a lease, not a loan. The funder purchases the property; you are appointed wakeel (agent) to select it; title registers in your name while the funder holds a mortgage; and you pay rental instalments indexed to a disclosed Rental Rate rather than an interest rate, with discharge at term end for a nominal $100 fee. You can sell, buy out or refinance to another financier at any time by settling the outstanding rental payout figure. Deposit tiers are published honestly: 5% plus costs for established homes, 10% for construction and home-and-land packages, higher tiers for low-doc (10%), rural and commercial (25%). At our review, a limited-time promotion advertised up to 90% finance with no Lenders Mortgage Insurance and no risk fee; treat that as a dated offer, not a standing term. The firm displays a 4.9-star Google rating across 371 reviews sitewide.
Thabet: the fixed product conventional lenders should envy
Thabet (the name means firm or stable) locks your rental payments for a chosen term of 2 to 10 years, immune to Reserve Bank moves. What makes it remarkable is what is missing: break costs. You can make unlimited extra and lump-sum payments and pay the whole thing out early without penalty, even during the fixed term, a combination conventional fixed mortgages almost never allow. The trade-offs are also published: no offset account, no redraw of extra payments, not available for commercial, development or construction finance, and at fixed-term expiry the funder re-prices, leaving you to accept, renegotiate, refinance away or pay out. There is also a low-doc path at 10% deposit with no tax returns for the self-employed. One quality signal worth noting: Ijarah Finance openly acknowledges that scholarly opinion differs on fixed-term agreements and positions Thabet with the view favouring payments fixed upfront - measured language in a market fond of blanket claims.
SMSF finance: real product, dated certificate
Launched September 2024, the Islamic SMSF product has a bare trust purchase the property (residential, commercial or industrial) and lease it to the fund under ijarah at up to 80% LVR, with refinancing of conventional SMSF loans into the Islamic structure explicitly supported and extra advance payments allowed (no redraw or cash-out). The caveat we flag: the published FSAC certificate covering the residential product family is dated December 2023 and predates this product's launch; no SMSF-specific certificate is posted. Trustees should request current certification scope in writing. More in our SMSF guide.
Governance: readable, dated, real
Ijarah Finance's products are certified by FSAC (Financial Shariah Advisory and Consultancy), a Singapore-based independent advisory firm, with the certificate PDF published on-site and five named advisors: Ustaz Mohamad Hasbi Bin Hassan (President of Pergas Singapore, MUIS Council Member), Ustaz Pasuni Bin Maulan (former President of Singapore's Syariah Court), Prof Dr Hikmatullah Babu Sahib (lead Shariah advisor to Standard Chartered Saadiq Malaysia), Azman Ismail and Dr Shamsiah Bte Abdul Karim. Honest caveats: FSAC is an engaged external certifier rather than a standing internal board, no annual audit cadence is published, and the residential certificate dates to December 2023 (the separate vehicle product carries its own September 2025 certificate). Verifiable, named, downloadable oversight still puts Ijarah Finance in this market's top governance tier alongside Amanah, MCCA and Salaam.
The gaps
No rates, rental-rate ranges or fee schedules are published; pricing emerges in the application process. The intermediary model means your contract is with an external funder whose variable rental rates track funder policy and, typically, Reserve Bank moves; payment certainty requires choosing Thabet. And the 90% no-LMI offer is a promotion with an expiry. The response is the same as everywhere in this market: written quote, dated, full fee schedule, payout formula, then compare.
Who it suits best
Three buyer profiles get disproportionate value here. Self-employed applicants with thin paper: the low-doc path takes a 10% deposit with no tax returns, which most competitors cannot match. Payment-certainty seekers who still want an exit: Thabet's 2-10 year fix with unlimited extra payments and free early payout is unique in the market, Islamic or conventional. And planners who intend to pay down aggressively: with a $100 discharge and no break costs, the product never punishes speed. The profiles it suits less: buyers who want the financier itself to hold their contract (the funder-intermediary model means an external funder does), and anyone chasing an offset account, which Thabet excludes. Business operators should also see the firm's separately certified vehicle and asset product.
Verdict
Ijarah Finance pairs two decades of operating history with the market's most consumer-friendly published exits ($100 discharge, penalty-free payout, and a fixed product with no break costs) and certification you can actually read. Its pricing opacity is standard for the market, its funder-intermediary model deserves understanding, and its SMSF certificate needs a refresh. For low-deposit buyers, self-employed low-doc applicants and anyone who values a fixed term without handcuffs, it earns its shortlist place. Compare it against MCCA, Hejaz and Amanah quotes via the home financing hub or get matched.
Frequently asked questions
What deposit does Ijarah Finance require?
Published tiers: 5% plus costs for established homes, 10% for construction, home-and-land and low-doc (no tax returns), 25% for rural and commercial. A limited-time offer at our review advertised up to 90% finance with no LMI and no risk fee.
What is the Thabet product?
A fixed-rate variant of the home Ijarah: rental payments locked for 2 to 10 years, with unlimited extra payments, no break costs and free early payout even during the fixed term. No offset or redraw, and the funder re-prices at expiry.
Who certifies Ijarah Finance's products?
FSAC, a Singapore-based Shariah advisory firm, with certificate PDFs published: December 2023 for the residential family and September 2025 for the vehicle product. Five named scholars back the certification, including the former President of Singapore's Syariah Court.
Can I exit early?
Yes, at any time, by settling the outstanding rental payout figure: sell, buy out or refinance to another financier. The home product's discharge fee is a nominal $100, and Thabet charges no break costs even during a fixed term.
Does Ijarah Finance publish rates?
No. No rental rates or fee schedules appear on the site; pricing emerges during application. Get the rate and all fees in writing with a date, and compare against at least one competitor's quote from the same week.
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Is Ijarah Finance a lender or a broker?
An intermediary: it operates under ASIC Credit Licence 387688 as a subsidiary of Mortgage Providers Pty Ltd, structuring Islamic products funded by external funders whose variable rental rates track funder policy. Your contract sits with the funder, which is why asking who the funder is, and seeing the FSAC certificate's scope, belongs early in your process.