Madam R. Onyechie V Mrs. R. Shadiya (1966)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report

BAIRAMIAN, J.S.C. 

This appeal is from the judgment of Sowemimo J., in the High Court of Lagos upholding the magistrate.

The dispute between Madam R. Onyechie and Mrs R. Shadiya (hereafter referred to as the tenant and the landlord respectively) is whether the landlord gave the tenant a rent-free tenancy for life of the premises occupied by the tenant at No. 133 Bamgbose Street, Lagos. Shortly put, the tenant’s case is that in consideration of her providing money to rebuild the premises the landlord agreed that she should live in them rent-free as long as she liked, which she submits is a tenancy for life: the landlord’s case was, in short as we understand it, that the money was a loan and the tenant was to live in 394 Supreme Court of Nigeria Law Reports 1966 the premises for two years, but has been living there since without paying rent, or to some similar effect.

The landlord sued for recovery of possession twice in the Magistrates’ Court but without success. She next applied to the Magistrate to fix the rent of the premises under s. 11 (1) of the Rent Restriction Act, which provides that-

“Any landlord or tenant or other person interested may apply to a court for an order fixing the rent of any premises.”

The tenant objected that as an issue of title was involved the Magistrate had no jurisdiction; the learned Magistrate held that there was no issue of title and went on to say–

“It is the general principle of law that the rent is attached to the property. Whether or not the respondent should pay such rent to be fixed by the court cannot be entertained in this application. I am of the view that by section 11(1) of the Rent Restriction Act, the court is empowered to fix the rent of any premises.”

And he proceeded to fix the rent.

The tenant repeated her point on jurisdiction on appeal to the High Court of Lagos. Sowemimo, J., writes in his judgment as follows:-

“I hold that on the facts as proved on the two previous judgments” [viz., of the magistrates who refused recovery of posses-sion] “title was never involved and the decision of the lower court on the application before it” (viz., to fix the rent] “did not decide on the question of title.”

Lower down the learned Judge writes as follows–

“It is contended that for those two Acts” [viz., the Rent Restriction Act and the Recovery of Premises Act] “to be called in aid of any claim there must be the relationship of landlord and tenant. The words tenant and landlord are well defined in section 2(1) of the Recovery of Premises Act Cap. 176 of Vol. V Laws of Nigeria and on the findings of the two former cases Exhibits A and C definitely decided the relationship of appellant and respondent.”

Therefore he held that it was competent to the magistrate to make the order fixing the rent of the premises.

There is a relationship of landlord and tenant, but the tenant’s point, that there is no competent decision on her case as to the precise terms of that relationship, does not seem to have been appreciated. The learned Judge’s note of the argument for the tenant reads as follows: