Terry is a tenant of Lucas under a lease agreement signed and executed by both parties. At the time of signing the lease, Lucas had promised Terry that he would repair a window which had broken. A year has lapsed and the window is not yet repaired.
In the meantime, Lucas has been constructing a house next to the house occupied by
Terry. He has been using Terry’s compound as a storage for timber and other construction materials.
Terry has been under constant disturbances by the builders requiring her to open the gate so that the building materials, could be bought in and taken out. This has made the compound dirty and noisy.
Terry seeks to know the rights which would protect her against these inconveniences under the lease agreement. Advise her. (8 marks)
ANSWER
• This problem is based on the rights of the tenant in a tenancy.
• In this case there is a tenancy agreement between Terry and Lucas. Both parties are subject to certain obligations for example the landlord must not derogate from the grant while the tenant must not commit waste.
• It is apparent that Lucas is in breach of the tenancy agreement in various ways, namely failure to repair the window and making the premises unsuitable for Terry. Infact Lucas has already derogated from the grant and committed private nuisance, both actionable by Terry.
• My advise to Terry is to:
o Apply for an injunction to restrain Lucas from using the compound as storage. Lucas servants and agents should also be refrained from using Terry‟s gate to access the construction site.
o Terry is also entitled to repudiate the tenancy agreement.
o Terry is entitled to repair the window in question and deduct the amount spent from the rent payable to Lucas.