L.P Holdings Limited v Midway Butchery Limited & 3 others (Environment and Land Appeal E060 of 2023) [2024] KEELC 4975 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A Kenyan court upheld a tribunal's rent assessment but backdated the increase to November 2021, splitting the delay fairly between landlord and tenants.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the Tribunal failed to consider the Appellant's valuation report in assessing rent
The Tribunal did consider the Appellant's valuation report; its discretion in setting rent at Kshs.177 per square foot and service charge at Kshs.33 was properly exercised and will not be disturbed.
The court reviewed the record and found the Tribunal acknowledged and weighed the Appellant's 2018 valuation report but found it did not reflect current market value. Section 12(1)(b) of Cap 301 grants the Tribunal wide discretion to determine or vary rent having regard to all circumstances, and no method is prescribed. Following Mbogo v Shah and United India Insurance, a discretionary decision is only disturbed on established grounds of misdirection or plain wrongness, none of which was shown.
Whether the commencement date of the new rent (June 2023 rather than 1st April 2020) was erroneous
The Tribunal erred in setting the commencement date without reasons; the court varied the date, apportioning the roughly three-year delay equally, backdating the new rates to 1st November 2021.
The Tribunal gave no reasons for postdating the new rates to June 2023. The Covid-19 justification raised by the Respondents on appeal was neither pleaded nor considered before the Tribunal, so the court could not consider it. Because the reference took about three years and three months, and caution is required in backdating rent (Supa Duka Nakuru), the court split the period equally: the landlord and tenants each give up one year and seven months, yielding a commencement date of 1st November 2021.
Legal principles established
#- An appellate court will not interfere with a discretionary decision simply because it would have given different weight to the factors; interference is only warranted on established grounds of misdirection, misapprehension of facts, wrong considerations taken or omitted, or a plainly wrong decision.
- Cap 301 prescribes no method for rent assessment; the Tribunal has wide discretion in determining or varying rent for a controlled tenancy.
- Courts should exercise caution in backdating rent increases, particularly where the tenant would bear a substantial unforeseen financial burden.
- A tribunal's discretionary order on the commencement date of a rent increase must be supported by reasons; where no reasons are given, the appellate court may interfere and fix a fair commencement date.
Court orders
#- 1.The assessment of the Tribunal in respect to the rent and service charge payable is upheld.
- 2.The commencement date of the said rent and service charge is varied from 1st June 2023 and backdated to 1st November 2021.
- 3.Each party to bear own costs of the appeal.
- On appeal from
- Business Premises Rent Tribunal
- BPRT Cases Nos. 219, 220, 221 and 222 of 2020 (consolidated under No. 222 of 2020)
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appeal from the Business Premises Rent Tribunal under the Landlord and Tenant (Shops, Hotels and Catering Establishments) Act (Cap 301), including Section 15 conferring on the court the same powers as the Tribunal
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Later judgments citing this (1)
#Judgments in the corpus that rely on this one. Where the Court said how it treated the authority, that is shown.
- Baya v Ahmed (Enviromental and Land Originating Summons E007 of 2023) [2025] KEELC 5487 (KLR)[2025] KEELC 5487 (KLR)24 Jul 2025
Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "L.P Holdings Limited v Midway Butchery Limited & 3 others (Environment and Land Appeal E060 of 2023) [2024] KEELC 4975 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2024). Business Premises Rent Tribunal Cases Nos. 219, 220, 221 and 222 of 2020 (consolidated under Case No. 222 of 2020), appeal dated 9th June 2023. Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2024/4975/eng@2024-04-30
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.