Wakilii

Kagoro Solomon V Myrtha West (Civil Suit No. 0086 of 2007)

High Court · [2009] UGHC 246 · 2009 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for unpaid ground rent and re-entry to leasehold property
Decision
Lease forfeited, re-entry granted, arrears awarded to plaintiff

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that where parties agreed to a valuation to determine unimproved value for ground rent revision under a 99-year lease, the lessee could not subsequently refuse the rent computed from that valuation. Non-payment of rent for over thirty days entitled the lessor to re-enter and forfeit the lease under s.103(b) Registration of Titles Act. The court awarded arrears computed at the pre-valuation rate for 2001–2004 and the post-valuation rate thereafter, forfeited the lease, and ordered re-entry.

Outcome

Lease forfeited, re-entry granted, arrears awarded to plaintiff

Facts

The plaintiff held freehold title to land out of which he leased property (LRV 609 Folio 13 Plot 9) to Harry West on a 99-year lease from 1966. The lease required ground rent revision every 15 years at not more than one-twentieth of the unimproved land value. In 1996 the parties failed to agree revised rent. Harry West paid UGX 2 million annually from 2000. In 2004 the defendant (as administratrix of Harry West's estate) proposed professional valuation and nominated the valuer. The valuer assessed market value at UGX 750,000 per acre. The plaintiff computed revised rent at UGX 5,625,000 per annum. The defendant refused to pay, maintaining the UGX 2 million figure on economic grounds. The defendant remained in possession and attempted to sell her interest without the plaintiff's consent. The plaintiff sought re-entry and arrears.

Issues

  1. Whether the Defendant is in breach of the lease agreement.
  2. Whether the Plaintiff can lawfully re-enter the leased property for non-payment of rent.
  3. What other remedies are available.

Orders

  • The Court hereby declares a re-entry onto the suit property by the Plaintiff; thereby forfeiting the lease.
  • The Registrar of Title is hereby ordered to note the said re-entry and vacate the forfeited leasehold encumbrance from the freehold title.
  • The Defendant shall pay to the Plaintiff the sum of U. shs. 36,234,375/= (Thirty six million, two hundred and thirty four thousand, three hundred and seventy five only), as arrears of rent outstanding from the forfeited property.
  • The Defendant shall pay costs of this suit.
  • Interests shall accrue on the decretal sum from the date of the suit until payment.

Rules and key headnotes

Landlord and Tenant — Ground Rent Revision — Binding Effect of Mutually Agreed Valuation
Where parties to a lease agree to determine revised ground rent by professional valuation and the lessee nominates the valuer, the lessee cannot subsequently renege on the valuation outcome and refuse to pay rent computed from that valuation on grounds of economic inconvenience.
Landlord and Tenant — Forfeiture of Lease — Statutory Power of Re-entry
Section 103(b) of the Registration of Titles Act empowers a lessor to re-enter and forfeit a lease where rent is in arrear for thirty days or where there is breach or non-observance of lease covenants continuing for thirty days, without requirement of formal demand.
Landlord and Tenant — Ground Rent Revision — Proper Basis for Assessment
Ground rent determination under a lease covenant is not pegged on the volume of economic activity the lessee carries out on the demised property but on the terms agreed in the lease, including valuation of the unimproved land value.
Landlord and Tenant — Arrears of Rent — Assessment Period
Where a valuation report does not assess land value for a preceding period, the court may exercise discretion to maintain the previously accepted rental figure for that period when computing arrears.

Legislation cited (4)

Full judgment

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Kagoro Solomon V Myrtha West (Civil Suit No. 0086 of 2007) [2009] UGHC 246 (5 October 2009)
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.