Wakilii

Trustees of the Rahimtulla Waljee Hirjee Charitable Trust v Mayer and Others (Civil Appeal No. 19 of 1954)

East African Court of Appeal · [1955] EACA 136 · 1955 Appeal Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Second appeal from Supreme Court of Kenya sitting in appellate jurisdiction on decisions of Central Province Rent Control Board
Decision
Appeal dismissed; statutory tenants not liable for structural repairs under section 28 of the Ordinance

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The Court held that while the repairing covenants in the lease contractually required the lessees to do internal structural repairs, any such covenants are inconsistent with section 28 of the Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance and therefore not binding on statutory tenants. Section 28 deems it the landlord's obligation to maintain premises in good structural repair for all purposes of the Ordinance, including the application of section 23(1), which limits a statutory tenant's obligations to terms consistent with the Ordinance. The appeal was dismissed.

Outcome

Appeal dismissed; statutory tenants not liable for structural repairs under section 28 of the Ordinance

Facts

The appellants leased hotel premises to the respondents under a five-year lease expiring 30 September 1949. Clause 3 of the lease contained repairing covenants requiring the lessees to keep the interior of the building in good and tenantable repair. The lessees held over as statutory tenants under the Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance 1949. Before the lease expired, the landlords served notice determining the lease on grounds that the premises had fallen into poor repair in breach of contract. The landlords applied to the Central Rent Control Board for possession. The Board found breach of the repair clause but ordered the lessees to deliver possession only if they failed to bring the premises into proper repair by 31 December 1950. The Medical Officer of Health subsequently served an abatement notice on the landlords requiring twenty-three items of repair. The parties disputed which repairs were the landlords' responsibility and which the lessees'. The Board held that structural repairs were the landlords' obligation under section 28 of the Ordinance. The landlords appealed to the Supreme Court, which held that the repairing covenants did not oblige the lessees to do structural repairs and that the lessees had substantially performed their obligations. The landlords appealed to the Court of Appeal for Eastern Africa.

Issues

  1. Whether the repairing covenants in the lease included an obligation on the lessees to do structural repairs.
  2. Whether a statutory tenant under the Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance can be liable for structural repairs.
  3. Whether section 28 of the Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance overrides express contractual obligations to do structural repairs.
  4. Whether section 28 is inconsistent with section 23(1) of the Ordinance.

Orders

  • Appeal dismissed.
  • Costs to the respondents.

Rules and key headnotes

Landlord and Tenant — Statutory Tenancy — Repairing Obligations — Structural Repairs
A statutory tenant under the Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance is not bound by lease covenants requiring the tenant to do structural repairs, as such covenants are inconsistent with section 28 of the Ordinance, which deems it the landlord's obligation to maintain premises in good structural repair.
Rent Restriction Legislation — Interpretation of Sections 23(1) and 28 — Consistency of Contractual Terms
Section 28 of the Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance operates for all purposes of the Ordinance, including the application of section 23(1), which limits a statutory tenant's obligations to terms and conditions of the original tenancy that are consistent with the provisions of the Ordinance.
Repairing Covenants — Scope of Tenant's Obligation — Structural vs Non-Structural Repairs
A covenant to keep the interior of premises in good and tenantable repair, including doors, windows and fixtures, and to keep the premises in good repair fair wear and tear excepted, includes a contractual obligation to do internal structural repairs during the contractual tenancy.
Rent Restriction Legislation — Legislative Intent — Override of Contractual Terms
Section 28 of the Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance is not limited to cases where the contract of tenancy contains no repairing terms; it applies to override express contractual provisions imposing structural repair obligations on tenants, notwithstanding the absence of words such as 'notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary'.

Legislation cited (3)

  • Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance 1949 s.23(1)
  • Increase of Rent (Restriction) Ordinance 1949 s.28
  • Indian Transfer of Property Act s.108(m)

Cases cited (4)

  • Lurcott v Wakely (1911) 1 KB 905
  • Proudfoot v Hart (1890) 25 QBD 42
  • Taylor v Webb (1937) 2 KB 283
  • Jones v Joseph (1918) 87 LJ KB 510

Full judgment

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

Trustees of the Rahimtulla Waljee Hirjee Charitable Trust v Mayer and Others (Civil Appeal No. 19 of 1954) [1955] EACA 136 (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.