Source: Tenant’s bid to ‘buy out’ property backfires | Herald (Africa)
Fidelis Munyoro Chief Court Reporter
A tenant trying to force the owner of an upmarket property he was renting to sell it to him backfired when the High Court found there was no agreement of sale as claimed and simply writing “purchases’’ on his monthly payment slips established nothing and proved nothing.
Tenant Shepherd Katuruza had agreed to pay US$2 000 monthly rent to Dr Christine Peta in terms of the lease agreement.
Dr Peta leased her house for six years as she went out of the country to further her studies. Upon her return early this year, Dr Peta terminated Katuruza’s lease, but he refused to vacate, claiming ownership of the property.
This, sparked a fierce legal fight with Katuruza rushing to the High Court seeking an order compelling Dr Peta to honour a non-existent agreement of sale.
He argued that the parties concluded an agreement of sale in terms of which Dr Peta sold him 152 Port Glen Road, Ryelands, Borrowdale, Harare.
Katuruza told the court that the sale of the property could not be executed immediately because Dr Peta advised him that she wanted to sort out some boundary issues.
He argued that he occupied the house on the agreement that he would pay monthly instalments of US$2 000, which would be deducted against the purchase price of US$385 000.
He further argued that the move by Dr Peta to evict him shocked him and sought the court’s intervention. Dr Peta denied that she sold her house to Katuruza, stating categorically that the agreement entered between the parties was confined to leasing the property while she was away for six years.
After hearing arguments from both parties, Justice David Mangota tossed out Katuruza’s application. In his ruling, the judge found that Katuruza failed to prove his case on a balance of probabilities. The court rejected Katuruza’s attempt to produce copies of the transfers of money he made to Dr Peta inscribed “purchases”.
To this end, Justice Mangota ruled that it is not the writing of the word purchases on each transfer note which translates the parties’ contract from something else into that of purchase and sale of the property.
“A contract of sale should be clear and unequivocal. It is not proved in a roundabout way as Katuruza seeks to do in the present case,” said Justice Mangota, dismissing Katuruza’s application with costs.
Though Dr Peta won in this case, her bid to reclaim her property still hangs in the balance after Katuruza appealed against the court’s decision at the Supreme Court.
The noting of an appeal suspends the operation of the High Court judgment.
The post Tenant’s bid to ‘buy out’ property backfires appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.