Apartment rental

Apparently, the early ones disagreed on this. The Ways of Moses (Sheld, 1) cites Mordechai (Bava Metzia 6' shema) in the name of Maharam, that a widow who rented a house and died during the rental period, her heirs do not have to pay rent until the end of the rental period. However, the Rashba (Responsa 1, Aleph 28) writes that the heirs of the tenant must pay until the end of the period, and the reason for this is: "Since Shimon rented the house, it is like a complete sale and he is liable for the rent whether he is paid or not. Even on the basis of a lease, he is liable for the rent from beginning to end. In any case, the tenant is not permitted to leave there every day and think about it for hours. Rather, he is obligated not to leave his house before him until the time is up." Simply put, the dispute depends on whether rent is a type of sale or a fee for use. If it is a sale, then of course everything must be paid even if it has not been used. And if it is a fee for use, then there is room for argument that half of the money should be returned. And since there is doubt here, the tenant is the one who takes it out of you and the burden of proof lies with her. Although in your case she has already paid and the discussion is whether to refund her, the Court of Appeals wrote in the 37th Chamber that in all opinions the rent is a sale and not a fee for use. The entire dispute over whether rent is a sale or not is only when the rent is paid in the end. Therefore, it seems that you are not obligated to return the money to her. And I wrote the following.