LEAFAM INVESTMENTS (PVT) LTD v KUPARA 1987 (2) ZLR 179 (H)

Flynote

Landlord and tenant — eviction of statutory tenant — "good and sufficient grounds" — therefor — landlord requiring eviction to enable sale to take place — possibility that sale concluded only to evict tenant, previous attempts having failed — application refused.

Headnote

Before a landlord may evict a statutory tenant from commercial premises, s 22(2) of the Commercial Premises (Rent) Regulations requires that he shows "good and sufficient grounds" for evicting the tenant. The grounds which may be considered to be good and sufficient are not specified in the Regulations, and the courts must make a value judgment based on the merits of each case. In the present case, the applicant sought the eviction of the tenant, ostensibly because it had agreed to sell the premises and the sale was conditional upon the applicant obtaining vacant possession before transfer. However, the background to the case indicated that several doubts existed about the sale, such as whether the sale was merely a device designed to secure the eviction of the respondent, other attempts having failed. There was also a history of negotiations between the parties for the purchase by the applicant of the business run by the tenant and failure to agree on a purchase price.

Held, that the applicant had failed to establish good and sufficient grounds for the eviction of the tenant.