Wakilii

Rubarema v Rugasira (CIVIL SUIT NO. 411 OF 2017)

High Court · [2020] UGHCCD 41 · 2020 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for recovery of rental arrears and damages for breach of tenancy agreement, heard ex parte after defendant failed to appear
Decision
Judgment entered for the plaintiff with damages and costs awarded; case proceeded ex parte after defendant failed to appear despite service

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 2 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 2 times with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

Held that the defendant breached the tenancy agreement by failing to pay rent for 58 months (June 2012 to March 2017), subletting the premises without the landlord's consent, and causing damage to the property. The plaintiff was awarded UGX 58,000,000 in rental arrears, UGX 84,089,500 for property repairs, unpaid utility bills totalling UGX 2,089,709, and UGX 20,000,000 in general damages, plus interest at 10% per annum from default until full payment.

Outcome

Judgment entered for the plaintiff with damages and costs awarded; case proceeded ex parte after defendant failed to appear despite service

Facts

On 1 July 2006, the plaintiff and defendant executed a tenancy agreement for premises at Plot 39B Lumumba Avenue, Nakasero, Kampala, with monthly rent of UGX 1,000,000. The defendant paid rent until May 2012, then began defaulting while continuing to occupy the premises. Text message exchanges in August 2014 showed the defendant acknowledging outstanding arrears but claiming inability to pay. The defendant sublet parts of the premises to seven other people without the plaintiff's consent, including for car dealings and restaurant businesses. Upon inspection with local authorities and police in March 2017, the plaintiff discovered the premises had been degraded and damaged. Rent arrears accumulated to UGX 58,000,000 for 58 months (June 2012 to March 2017). The plaintiff terminated the tenancy and re-entered the premises. The defendant filed a defence claiming she had paid all rent and vacated in 2012 or 2013, but failed to appear at trial despite being duly served with hearing notices.

Issues

  1. Whether the defendant breached the tenancy agreement with the plaintiff.
  2. Whether the plaintiff is entitled to the sum of UGX 58,000,000 in rent arrears from the defendant.
  3. What remedies are available to the parties?

Orders

  • Judgment entered for the plaintiff.
  • Defendant to pay UGX 58,000,000 as rental arrears for 58 months.
  • Defendant to pay UGX 84,089,500 as special damages for property repairs.
  • Defendant to pay UGX 372,033 as unpaid electricity bill.
  • Defendant to pay UGX 1,717,676 as unpaid water bill.
  • Defendant to pay UGX 20,000,000 as general damages.
  • Interest awarded at 10% per annum on rental arrears, special damages and general damages from the time of default until payment in full.
  • Costs of the suit awarded to the plaintiff.

Rules and key headnotes

Contract Law — Tenancy Agreements — Breach of Contract — Obligations of Parties
A tenancy agreement is governed by the same principles as a contract under the Contracts Act 2010. Parties are free to contract but shall be bound by the terms of their contract. A breach of contract occurs when one or both parties fail to fulfil the obligations imposed by the terms of the contract.
Land & Property — Landlord and Tenant — Breach of Tenancy — Non-Payment of Rent
Where a tenant fails to pay rent for an extended period while continuing to occupy the premises, this constitutes a fundamental breach of the tenancy agreement. Non-payment of rent for 28 calendar days or more constitutes a breach under a standard tenancy agreement.
Land & Property — Landlord and Tenant — Subletting Without Consent — Breach of Express Terms
Where a tenancy agreement contains an express term prohibiting the tenant from subletting the premises without the landlord's consent, subletting to multiple parties without seeking or obtaining such consent constitutes a breach of the agreement, even if the landlord's consent would not be unreasonably withheld.
Civil Procedure — Ex Parte Proceedings — Failure to Appear Despite Service
Where a defendant files a defence but fails to appear for the hearing despite being duly served with hearing notices several times which they acknowledged, the court may proceed ex parte pursuant to Order 9 rule 20(1)(a) of the Civil Procedure Rules.
Damages & Quantum — Special Damages — Proof Requirements — Valuation Reports
Special damages must be specifically pleaded and proved. To prove special damages, documentary evidence is not required in all cases. Where a tenant causes damage to leased premises, a valuation report by a qualified consultant particularizing the damage and estimating repair costs constitutes sufficient proof of special damages.
Damages & Quantum — Interest on Damages — Discretion of Court — Rate of Interest
Interest on rental arrears, special damages and general damages is awarded at the discretion of the court at a reasonable rate under Section 26(2) of the Civil Procedure Act. Interest at 10% per annum from the time of default until payment in full is appropriate to cushion the award against depreciation of money value by inflation.
Contract Law — Tenancy Agreements — Tenant's Obligations — Duty to Make Good Damage
Where a tenancy agreement provides that the tenant shall make good any damage caused to the premises by removal of furniture, goods or articles, the tenant is obligated to restore the premises to as near the same status as found at the time of taking possession.

Legislation cited (4)

Cases cited (2)

  • United Building Services Ltd v Muzira (High Court Civil Suit No. 154 of 2005)
  • Kyambadde v Mpigi District Administration (Civil Suit No. 229 of 1975)

Cases citing this judgment (2)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

↓ Download PDF

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

Rubarema v Rugasira (CIVIL SUIT NO. 411 OF 2017) [2020] UGHCCD 41 (20 March 2020)
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.