[1966]DLSC1720 • June 27, 1966 • Supreme Court •
NIMAKO vs. ARCHIBOLD
The plaintiff, landlord of house No. 337 South Labadi Road Estate, sought recovery of possession on grounds of reasonable personal occupation for himself and his children. The defendant tenant occupied the house paying a low rent of £G3 monthly. The plaintiff had notified the defendant in mid-1962 of his need for the premises due to inconvenient living conditions at his wife's house in Weija and the return of his son from overseas who faced accommodation difficulties. The Circuit Court found the plaintiff's grounds reasonable and ordered possession to be given by September 1963. The defendant appealed to the High Court which allowed the appeal without reasons, dismissing the claim. The plaintiff then appealed to the Supreme Court.
read moreJUDGMENT OF SIRIBOE J.S.C. Siriboe J.S.C. delivered the judgment of the court. This appeal is from the decision of Hayfron-Benjamin J. delivered on 11 January 1965, in an appeal brought before him from the Circuit Court, Accra. The plaintiff as landlord of house No. 337, South Labadi Road Estate, claimed recovery of possession of the said house on the ground that he reasonably required it for the occupation of himself and his children. The house consists of two bedrooms, a sitting or living-room and a dining-room; all of which at the time of hearing, the defendant alone occupied, paying a monthly rent of £G3. This rent, as admitted by the defendant, is cheap considering the premises in question and the housing problem in Accra. That however, was not the ground for asking for possession, because, as further admitted by the defendant, the plaintiff had never at any time during the tenancy, suggested an increase of the rent to him. On the contrary, the evidence shows that some time b....