Forthhotel Limited T/Coast Car Park & Amvesment Centre v Tourism Finance Corporation [2015] KEELC 184 (KLR)

The applicant himself described the respondent as a statutory body established under the laws of Kenya. The proviso to section 2(1) of Cap 301 excludes tenancies to which the Government is a party. The cases cited by the applicant were persuasive, involved no government body, and concerned rent disputes rather than a landlord seeking vacant possession for sale. The court therefore found the tenancy was not controlled.

Having found the tenancy was not controlled, no prescribed format under Cap 301 was required, so the notice could not be defective for form. The notice was served by registered mail and acknowledged by the applicant, who responded expressing an interest to buy or enter a joint venture. The applicant did not complain of insufficient duration. The landlord's right to vacant possession is supported by section 24 of the Land Registration Act and article 40 of the Constitution.

Although the respondent argued that section 12(4) of Cap 301 empowers the Tribunal to make sufficient orders, the court read the provision and found it does not clearly confer power to issue injunctions. The applicant had filed the suit precisely because the Tribunal cannot grant injunctions, and there was no similar application pending before the Tribunal. The application was therefore not an abuse of process.