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{\creatim\yr2008\mo12\dy10\hr15\min23}{\revtim\yr2009\mo1\dy20\hr8\min24}{\version4}{\edmins268}{\nofpages2}{\nofwords821}{\nofchars4684}{\*\company USP}{\nofcharsws5495}{\vern16393}{\*\password 00000000}}{\*\xmlnstbl } \paperw11678\paperh16598\margl29\margr761\margt0\margb566\gutter0 \widowctrl\ftnbj\aenddoc\grfdocevents0\noxlattoyen\expshrtn\noultrlspc\dntblnsbdb\nospaceforul\formshade\horzdoc\dghspace0\dgvspace0\dghorigin0\dgvorigin0\dghshow0\dgvshow0 \jexpand\viewkind4\viewscale100\pgbrdrhead\pgbrdrfoot\nolnhtadjtbl\rsidroot15092214 \fet0{\*\wgrffmtfilter 013f}\sectd \linex0\headery360\footery360\endnhere\sectdefaultcl\sftnbj {\*\pnseclvl1\pnucrm\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang {\pntxta .}}{\*\pnseclvl2 \pnucltr\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang {\pntxta .}}{\*\pnseclvl3\pndec\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang {\pntxta .}}{\*\pnseclvl4\pnlcltr\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang {\pntxta )}}{\*\pnseclvl5\pndec\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang {\pntxtb (}{\pntxta )}}{\*\pnseclvl6 \pnlcltr\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang {\pntxtb (}{\pntxta )}}{\*\pnseclvl7\pnlcrm\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang {\pntxtb (}{\pntxta )}}{\*\pnseclvl8\pnlcltr\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang {\pntxtb (}{\pntxta )}}{\*\pnseclvl9\pnlcrm\pnstart1\pnindent720\pnhang {\pntxtb (}{\pntxta )}}\pard\plain \qc \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3610800 \fs20\cf1\lang1033\langfe1033\cgrid\langnp1033\langfenp1033 { \b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid3610800 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF FIJI}{\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid14621346 \par }{\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid3610800 (WESTERN DIVISION) \par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid14621346 {\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid3610800 AT LAUTOKA \par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3610800 {\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid14621346 Civil Jurisdiction \par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid14621346 {\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid14621346\charrsid2586759 \par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3610800 {\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid2586759 Action No. 77 of 1979 \par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid2586759 {\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid3610800 \par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3610800 {\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid2586759 BETWEEN \par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid2586759 {\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid3610800 \par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3610800 {\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid3610800 SULEMAN}{\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid1531478 } {\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid6772884 f/n Mohammed}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid4522646\charrsid6772884 \par AND 3 ORS}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid6772884 \par }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid2586759 Plaintiffs \par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid2586759 {\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid3610800 \par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3610800 {\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid2586759 AND \par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid2586759 {\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid3610800 \par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3610800 {\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid3610800 TUIVAI TAGIYSI \par }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid2586759 Defendant \par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid15092214 {\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800\charrsid2586759 \par }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid6584145 Mr.}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800 Verma, Counsel for the Plaintiffs \par \par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid2586759 {\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid2586759\charrsid2586759 JUDGMENT}{\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800 \par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid2586759 {\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid2586759\charrsid2586759 \par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid15092214 {\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid2586759 This is a landlord's action brought under S. 169 of the L.T.A. 1971 for possession of a flat in Nadi.}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3610800 \par }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid2586759 \par The landlord, very fairly, from the beginning has made it apparent that the flat is governed by the Fair Rents Ordinance Cap. 241. \par \par Under the Fair Rents Ordinance, S.169, the power of the Court to Order possession of a dwelling to which the Ordinance applies is restricted. A judgment for possession can only be made in certain cases which are set o ut in clauses (a) to (j) of subsection one. The plaintiff relies upon clause (e) thereof which allows an order for possession where: \par \par }\pard \ql \li720\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin720\itap0\pararsid2586759 {\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid2586759 "(e) the premises are bona fide required by the lessor for his own occupation as a dwelling house and the lessor gives at least twenty}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid15815440 }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid2586759 eight days' notice in writing to the lessee requiring him to quit and (except as otherwise provided in this section) the court is satisfied that reasonable adequate and suitable alternative }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid15815440 accommodation}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid2586759 is a}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid5520756 vailable at a rent not sub}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid2586759 stantiall y in excess of the rent of the premises to which }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid5520756 the }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid15815440 j}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid5520756 udgment or order relates;" }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid2586759 \par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid5520756 {\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid5520756 \par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid15092214 {\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid5520756 There is a proviso to clause (e) setting out five sets of circumstances (i) to (v) in which the existence of alternative accommodation shall not be a condition and number (v) is where the landlord has given the tenant at least 6 months' notice.}{ \fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid2586759 \par }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid5520756 \par It is common ground that on }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid5049260 3rd}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid5520756 August 1978 the landlord gave the tenant 6 months' notice to quit. \par \par When the action was first mentioned on 11/5/79 the defendant said that he had been unable to find any suitable alternative accommodation and although the notice to quit had expired he was still in possession. \par \par The landlord contended that since he had given the tenant 6 months' notice he was entitled to possession without any further ado. \par \par }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid14621346 I took the view that S. 19(1)}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid5520756 (e) required the Court to be satisfied not only as to alternative accommodation but also as to whether the landlord really required the premises bona fide for his own use and occupation. Although the 6 months' notice to quit o bviates any enquiry into the existence of alternative accommodation there remains the }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid530890 statutory condition that possession is bona fide required. I considered that I should hear evidence from the landlord as to his bona fides.}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid5520756 \par }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid530890 \par The dwelling in question is one of three flats which were built in 1978 by the plaintiff and the other two co-o}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid10692438 wners. The defendant}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid530890 states, and I believe him, that he moved into the flat in question at the end of April, 1978 when the building was not quite fully completed. Being a plumber he helped a little in completing the flats. He says that the last tenant moved in about a month after him, that would be about the end of May 1978. That evidence is, in my view, of significance in regard to the plaintiff' s bona fides. \par \par The plaintiff is a school teacher at Momi which he says is 4 miles from Nadi, is married and has one child which is 3 years old and he says the child suffers from asthma and has done so since it was 6 months old. Because of the asthma the chi ld has to attend Nadi}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3111727 hospital frequently and the 4 mile journey is a hardship because the plaintiff does not like to leave his wife in an area which he says is somewhat unprotected and exposed to thieves.}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid530890 \par }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3111727 \par One thing which occurs to me is that the plaintiff's problem is not of r}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid10692438 ecent origin.}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3111727 It has not arisen since the defendant went into occupation. It is 2 \'bd years old. In May 1978 it had lasted for 1\'bd years but the plaintiff did not see fit then to take one of the empty flats. About that time 3 flats had been constructed of which the plaintiff was part owner. He could have occupied any one of them, on the fact of it, yet in spite of his alleged hardship he allowed them to be let to other persons one of whom is the defendant. \par \par The defendant had only been in occupation for 3 clear months when he received 6 months notice to quit on the ground that the plaintiff bona fide required it for his own occupation. Only two months prior to issuing that notice}{ \fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid15427368 the last of the flats had been let. Surely the plaintiff's own bona fide requirements must have been as strong in April and May 1978 when the flats were leased as they are now.}{ \fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid3111727 \par }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid15427368 \par Where, after leasing his house, there is a change in the landlord's circumstances which creates some hardship or which aggravates an existing one and which can be alleviated by his occupying his own house there is strong evidence of a bona fide}{ \fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid1208236 claim. It should be noted that the section does not speak of a bona fide requirement. In the instant case the plaintiff's alleged problem of an }{ \fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid15604224 asthmatically}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid1208236 infant was in existence two years before the flats were built and he nevertheless failed to occupy one of them. Yet two months after the last one is leased he seeks possession of the defendant's fl}{ \fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid9194563 at to relieve an alleged difficulty which had been in existence all along.}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid15427368 \par }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid9194563 \par I am not greatly impressed. I have heard no medical evidence concerning the child's health and its attendances at the Nadi hospital. Before coming to a final decision I }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid7955707 would like t o hear evidence from the hospital regarding the }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid9194563 child's health and the number of times it has attended the Nadi hospital from someone who ha}{ \fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid15226882 s}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid9194563 treated the child and }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid14942349 has access to records of its attendance.}{ \fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid9194563 \par }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid14942349 \par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid7955707 {\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid14942349\charrsid7955707 (}{\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid15226882 S}{ \b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid14942349\charrsid7955707 gd) (J.T. Will}{\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid5770823 i}{\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid14942349\charrsid7955707 ams) \par JUDGE \par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid7955707 {\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid14942349\charrsid7955707 \par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid15092214 {\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid7955707 LAUTOKA}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid11358206 ,}{ \fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid14942349 \par }{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid11689237 Order:- Hearin}{\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid7955707 g 8/6/79 \par }\pard \qc \li0\ri0\nowidctlpar\wrapdefault\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid11358206 {\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid11358206\charrsid7955707 (J.T. Will}{ \b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid11358206 i}{\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid11358206\charrsid7955707 ams) \par JUDGE}{\b\fs24\cf0\lang2057\langfe1033\langnp2057\insrsid11358206\charrsid11358206 \par }}