Africa-Press – Uganda. Landlords can break into and reoccupy premises whose tenants have failed to pay rent for an unreasonably long time, the High Court in Kampala has ruled.
Justice Musa Ssekaana, the head of the Civil Division of the High Court, ruled that city landlord Francis Drake Lubega was within the law and his rights when he broke into a shop he had rented to businesswoman Ruth Nalubega and her firm, Nyonyi Traders. She had not paid rent for six months.
“Any landlord whose premises have been permanently locked by an absconding tenant who has not paid rent for such unreasonable time is at liberty to break into the premises and mitigate on the continued loss being occasioned to them,” Justice Ssekaana ruled.
He added: “Such defaulting/absconding tenant who acts unreasonably by locking premises without paying rent or keeping his/her side of the bargain should not be assisted by [the] court in other claims of detinue, trover or conversion which may actually be frivolous and vexatious.”
It was not immediately clear from the ruling what is considered a reasonable period of default in which a landlord can forcibly re-enter their premises. But Justice Ssekaana said the burden of meeting the obligation to pay rent rested with the tenants.
“The plaintiff’s conduct of failing to pay rent for a period of six months in equity entitled [Mr Lubega] to take possession and or cause the removal of the plaintiff’s goods or belongings from the premises,” he said.
“It is bad practice for the defaulting tenants to lock premises and expect the landlord to continue looking for them to unlock or remove the property which sometimes is valueless and only intended to inconvenience the landlord.”
The ruling will be welcomed by landlords who often spend time and money pursuing defaulting tenants all the while unable or reluctant to break into the rental premises to remove the tenant’s possessions and let the property out afresh.
It is also likely to expose defaulting tenants who disappear leaving behind empty locked premises or those with items of little or no value.
Chasing arrears
Court records seen by this publication show that Ms Nalubega rented a shop at Mr Lubega’s Farmers Centre in Container Village in downtown Kampala. Amidst the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, she failed to pay rent amounting to Shs2.3 million, equivalent to six months.
However, the tenant sued Mr Lubega and argued that although she was up to date with her rent payments, his employees or agents broke the padlocks to her store, made away with her merchandise, and reallocated the store to another person.
However, the court found for Mr Lubega who argued that Ms Nalubega had closed her shop when the first lockdown was announced in March 2020 and had disappeared without a trace.
After six months, the landlord told the court, they broke into the shop in the presence of the area local council officials, removed her property and reallocated the store to a new tenant.
A day later, Ms Nalubega paid up the six-month rent arrears. In his ruling, Justice Ssekaana agreed with the submissions of Mr Lubega’s lawyers that the tenant only rushed to pay after learning of the break into her store as a cover-up for her default.
“The rent was paid on September 9, 2020, and the goods were removed on September 8, 2020, which means at the time of removal the rent was due for the period April to September,” he held, also noting that the lockdown was lifted in June 2020, long before the date the store was re-entered.
Justice Ssekaana added: “The plaintiff after the store was opened hurriedly paid her outstanding rental arrears and started alleging that her store was erroneously opened and goods removed. Following the complaint at [the] police, the goods were removed from storage and the plaintiff was advised to pick the goods removed, which she neglected or refused to do and started complaining that the goods were stolen. The goods remained with the police and the plaintiff to date refused to collect the same.”
The judge further held that Mr Lubega’s actions did not amount to breaking into Ms Nalubega’s store because he removed her property with no intention of permanently possessing it.
“Therefore, the mere taking or removal of the chattel will, not on its own, constitute an act of conversion unless it is proved the taker had the intention to assert a possessory title that is superior to that of the claimant,” ruled the judge.
He added: “In the present defendant removed the plaintiff’s goods with no intention of permanently taking them over rather for the purpose of creating space for another potential tenant to take over the store. The plaintiff’s alleged theft was baseless and the said goods were presented to police as exhibits and the plaintiff for her personal reasons refused to take the goods contending that it was not enough.”
In her lawsuit, Ms Nalubega had asked for Shs271 million in damages. Her claim was dismissed with costs.
KACITA reacts
Meanwhile, Mr Issa Ssekito, the spokesperson of the Kampala City Traders Association, opposed the ruling, by saying: “The judge should have looked at Covid-19 circumstances at the time and not the law. It’s now unfortunate that this decision will be used by some aggressive landlords against us, the tenants.’’
what the law says
On April 12, 2022, President Museveni assented to the Landlord and Tenants Act, 2022.
According to the Act;
•If a tenant defaults on rent payment, and is in arrears, the landlord can apply to courts of law to recover the said accumulated rent.
•Where the default continues for more than 30 days, the landlord shall be entitled to re-enter the premises and take possession in the presence of the area LC officials.
•The landlord or his/her agent has the right to enter the premises to inspect the condition of the premises upon giving the tenant at least twenty four hours’ notice in writing/ message/ by word of mouth. •Notice can only be waived in case of an emergency.
•If a tenant fails to pay rent as per the agreement, the tenant has a right to be given a 30-day (at least) notice of eviction.
• A landlord letting out a business premise in a city or municipal is obligated/ legally mandated to provide the tenant with his/ her bank account into which all rent payments will be deposited.
The parties (landlord and tenant) have the liberty to determine the amount of rent payable.
•The tenant must permit the landlord or his/ her authorised agents at reasonable times to enter the premises or any part thereof after twenty-four hours’ notice, to examine the state and condition of the premises.
• Where a tenant does not vacate the premises upon receiving notice of termination, the landlord has a right to re-enter the premises and take possession in the presence of the area local council officials and the police where the tenant refuses to vacate the premises upon termination of the tenancy.
• Where a tenant is unlawfully evicted (i.e. not in accordance with the Act or the terms of the tenancy agreement) the tenant is entitled to challenge such eviction in court.
•The court may order the landlord to pay the tenant the equivalent of three (3) months’ rent payable as compensation, and in addition, payment of any damages arising from the unlawful eviction, among other reliefs.
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