Wakilii

Marwaha v Kassam (Civil Appeal No. 1204 of 1950)

East African Court of Appeal · [1951] EACA 112 · 1951 Appeal Allowed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Appeal from decision of the Central Rent Control Board at Nairobi
Decision
Matter remitted to Rent Board for retrial

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

A notice to quit purporting to determine a monthly tenancy on the 12th day of a month is invalid. Under the Transfer of Property Act section 106, a monthly tenancy commences on the first day of each month and notice must expire with the end of the month of the tenancy. A notice determining the tenancy mid-month does not comply with statutory requirements and is therefore bad.

Outcome

Matter remitted to Rent Board for retrial

Facts

The respondent landlord sought to eject the appellant tenant from premises occupied since 1 August 1947 under a month-to-month tenancy. On 12 May 1950, the landlord gave notice to quit determining the tenancy on 1 July 1950. The tenant applied for an adjournment before the Central Rent Board on grounds of illness. The Board stated it would proceed as far as possible and adjourn if the tenant appeared to be a material witness. The tenant's counsel withdrew. The Board heard the landlord's evidence and refused the adjournment, then determined the matter in favour of the landlord on 4 December 1950. The tenant appealed.

Issues

  1. Whether a notice to quit determining a monthly tenancy on the 12th day of a month (rather than the last day of the month) is valid.
  2. Whether the Rent Board erred in refusing an adjournment when the tenant claimed illness and inability to attend the hearing.

Orders

  • Appeal allowed.
  • Retrial ordered.
  • Appellant to have costs of the appeal.
  • Order of Sh. 150 costs to the landlord in the Rent Board reversed.
  • No further order regarding lower Court costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Landlord and Tenant — Monthly Tenancy — Notice to Quit — Validity
A notice to quit purporting to determine a monthly tenancy on a day other than the last day of the month is invalid where the tenancy commenced on the first day of a month and the Transfer of Property Act section 106 applies, which requires notice to expire with the end of the month of the tenancy.
Transfer of Property Act — Section 106 — Monthly Tenancy — Notice Period
Under section 106 of the Transfer of Property Act, a monthly tenancy unlimited in time requires notice expiring with the end of the month of the tenancy, meaning a new tenancy commences on the first day of each month and notice must expire on the last day of a month.
Rent Control Board — Adjournment — Procedural Error
Where a Rent Board states it will proceed with a hearing and adjourn only if a party appears to be a material witness, rather than properly considering grounds for adjournment such as illness, the Board errs in fundamental procedure and its decision is liable to be set aside.

Legislation cited (2)

  • Increase of Rent Ordinance s.16(1)(f)
  • Transfer of Property Act s.106

Cases cited (5)

  • Sidebotham v Holland (1895) 1 QB 378
  • Chanda Mohamed v Murtazakhan (1950) AIR (Nagpur) 233
  • Utility Articles Manufacturing Co v Bombay Mills Ltd (1943) B 553
  • H K Shah v Osman Allu (1947) EACA 45
  • Habib Khan's case XII E.A.C.A. p. 19

Full judgment

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

Marwaha v Kassam (Civil Appeal No. 1204 of 1950) [1951] EACA 112 (1 January 1951)
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.