Wakilii

In Re - An Appeal by Mohamed Ibrahim; Ex Parte - Gulam Mustafa Litt (Civil Appeal No. 19 of 1953)

East African Court of Appeal · [1955] EACA 157 · 1955 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application by administrator of deceased appellant to be made a party to appeal from Rent Control Board order for possession
Decision
Administrator's application to be made a party to the appeal refused

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The court held that a statutory tenant has only a purely personal right to occupy premises, which cannot be transmitted by will or pass to an administrator on intestacy. The administrator of a deceased statutory tenant has no right to be made a party to an appeal because the cause of action does not survive the tenant's death. The widow of a statutory tenant, if residing with him at death, does not derive title by succession but becomes a statutory tenant by operation of law under the Ordinance.

Outcome

Administrator's application to be made a party to the appeal refused

Facts

Mohamed Ibrahim was the contractual tenant of the respondent landlord. The contractual tenancy was terminated by notice to quit, and Ibrahim continued to occupy as a statutory tenant under the Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance, 1949. The landlord applied to the Central Rent Control Board for possession, which made an absolute order for possession effective 31 March 1953. Ibrahim appealed to the Supreme Court and obtained a stay of execution pending appeal. Before the appeal could be heard, Ibrahim died intestate on 2 December 1954. His son obtained letters of administration on 21 May 1955 and applied on 27 May 1955 to be made a party to the appeal under Order 23 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

Issues

  1. Whether the cause of action survived the death of a statutory tenant such that an administrator could be made a party to the appeal.
  2. Whether a statutory tenant's right to occupy premises is a personal right that does not pass to an administrator on intestacy.
  3. Whether the widow of a deceased statutory tenant has a statutory right to continue with an appeal.
  4. What is the effect of an absolute order for possession by the Rent Control Board on the rights of a statutory tenant and his widow.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • Costs awarded against the applicant in his capacity as administrator.

Rules and key headnotes

Statutory Tenancy — Nature of Right — Personal Right Not Transmissible
A statutory tenant under rent restriction legislation has no estate in the premises but only a purely personal right to be free from disturbance by the landlord, which right cannot be assigned during life, transmitted by will, or pass to an administrator on intestacy.
Rent Restriction Ordinance — Definition of Tenant — Derivation of Title
The definition of 'tenant' in section 2(1) of the Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance, 1949, which includes 'any person from time to time deriving title under the original tenant', applies only to persons who derive title during the subsistence of and before the termination of the contractual tenancy, not to persons claiming after the contractual tenancy has ended.
Abatement of Appeal — Survival of Cause of Action — Statutory Tenancy
Where a statutory tenant dies, the cause of action does not survive for the purposes of Order 23 rules 1 and 10 of the Civil Procedure Rules because the purely personal right to occupy ceased to exist with the death of the statutory tenant, and an administrator cannot be made a party to the appeal.
Statutory Tenancy — Widow's Rights — Operation of Law
The widow of a deceased statutory tenant who was residing with him at the time of his death does not derive title from the deceased by succession but becomes a statutory tenant automatically by operation of law under section 2(1) of the Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance, 1949, and may apply to be made a party to an appeal in her own right.
Rent Control — Effect of Absolute Order for Possession — Statutory Tenancy
Where an absolute order for possession has been made against a statutory tenant by a Rent Control Board, the statutory tenancy is terminated and the tenant ceases to be a statutory tenant, notwithstanding a stay of execution pending appeal; the widow of such a tenant does not automatically become a statutory tenant on his death but at most has an equitable right to continue with the appeal.

Legislation cited (9)

  • Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance, 1949 s.2(1)
  • Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance, 1949 s.5
  • Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance, 1949 s.16
  • Civil Procedure (Revised) Rules, 1948 Order 23 rule 1
  • Civil Procedure (Revised) Rules, 1948 Order 23 rule 3
  • Civil Procedure (Revised) Rules, 1948 Order 23 rule 10
  • Increase of Rent and Mortgage Interest (Restrictions) Act, 1920 s.12
  • Indian Limitation Act, 1877 Article 175(a)
  • Court of Probate Act, 1858 s.19

Cases cited (12)

  • John Lovibond & Sons Ltd v Vincent (1929) 1 KB 687
  • Collis v Flower (1921) 1 KB 409
  • Parkinson v Noel (1923) 1 KB 117
  • Mellows v Low (1923) 1 KB 522
  • Skinner v Geary (1931) 2 KB 562
  • Keeves v Dean (1924) 1 KB 685
  • Roe v Russell (1928) 2 KB 117
  • Salter v Lask (1925) 1 KB 584
  • Brock v Wollams (1949) 1 All ER 715
  • Haskins v Lewis (1931) 2 KB 1
  • American Economic Laundry Ltd v Little (1951) 1 KB 400
  • Brown v Draper (1944) KB 309

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

In Re - An Appeal by Mohamed Ibrahim; Ex Parte - Gulam Mustafa Litt (Civil Appeal No. 19 of 1953) [1955] EACA 157 (1 January 1955)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.