Consolidated Bank Kenya Ltd v Chedders Investment Limited (Environment and Land Appeal E048 of 2022) [2025] KEELC 5985 (KLR)
The bottom line
#A signed offer letter that expired in seven days did not create a written lease, so the tenancy remained controlled and within the Rent Tribunal's jurisdiction.
What this practically means
#Executive summary
#Key legal issues
#Whether the signed offer letter constituted a tenancy in writing / valid lease
No - the offer was to exist for 7 days and no lease was subsequently executed to solidify it
The court read the offer letter and noted that by its terms it was to exist for only 7 days. Apart from the offer letter there was no evidence on the record of any lease entered into by the parties. The tribunal's interpretation that the subsequent relationship was a periodic tenancy was therefore correct and adopted.
Whether the tribunal had jurisdiction over the tenancy
Yes - the tenancy being periodic and not reduced into writing, it was a controlled tenancy within the tribunal's jurisdiction
Because the offer lapsed and no written lease was executed, the tenancy fell within the meaning of a controlled tenancy under Section 2 of Cap 301. The tribunal correctly dealt with jurisdiction first and properly found it had jurisdiction over the resulting periodic tenancy.
Legal principles established
#- On a first appeal, the court is entitled to revisit the evidence, evaluate it and arrive at its own conclusion, but will not interfere with findings of fact unless based on no evidence, on a misapprehension of it, or on wrong principles
- An offer of lease that lapses by its own terms, with no executed lease to solidify it, leaves the subsequent relationship a periodic tenancy within the tribunal's jurisdiction
Court orders
#- 1.The memorandum of appeal dated 22nd June, 2022 is dismissed
- 2.Each party to bear its own costs
- On appeal from
- Business Premises Rent Tribunal (Hon Patricia May, Vice Chairperson)
- Not stated
- Jurisdiction invoked
- First appeal from the Business Premises Rent Tribunal under the Landlord and Tenant (Shops, Hotels and Catering Establishments) Act (Cap 301)
Key timeline
#Practical implications
#Frequently asked questions
#Cite this brief
#Cite this brief
Caselaw, "Consolidated Bank Kenya Ltd v Chedders Investment Limited (Environment and Land Appeal E048 of 2022) [2025] KEELC 5985 (KLR)", Case Analysis (2025). . Source: https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/keelc/2025/5985/eng@2025-09-10
Suggested citation format for research notes or client memos. Always verify the original judgment before relying on any point.