PIH COMPANY LIMITED VS STEPHANIE BENSON

Introduction

The Plaintiff herein, by an Amended Writ and Statement of Claim filed on the 1st of March, 2018 seeks the following reliefs against the Defendant;

a) The repayment of the sum of Forty-Five Thousand Five Hundred and Fifty-Two United States Dollars Sixty-Two Cents (USD $45,552.62) or its cedi equivalent being the amount outstanding as at November, 2017 for rent arrears due the Plaintiff.

b) Interest on the said sum at the Commercial bank rate from November, 2017 up to date of actual and final payment

c) Damages for restoration of the houses for wastage caused

Plaintiff’s Case

From the pleadings, the case of the Plaintiff, a Ghanaian registered company involved in the business of Hotel Management and Real Estate, is quite straight forward. It is this;

On the 1st of January, 2013, Plaintiff entered into a tenancy agreement for the rental of 2 houses to the Defendant, a professional musician and business woman. The said tenancy was for a fixed term of 5 years ending on the 2nd of January, 2018.

By the terms of the agreement, the Defendant was to pay a monthly rent of One Thousand United States Dollars (USD$ 1,000.00.) or its cedi equivalent. Rent for the first year was to be paid in advance and that for the remaining term paid monthly as and when it fell due.

The Defendant however failed to comply with the said terms by failing to pay the rent on time and then leaving rent for several months unpaid.

In addition to the said breach, Defendant carried out several unauthorized works and fixtures without the written consent of the Plaintiff, contrary to the terms of the tenancy agreement.

The Defendant further abandoned one of the properties without formally handing over same to Plaintiff and in or about November, 2017, handed over keys to the second apartment to Plaintiff’s lawyers without the formal termination of the tenancy agreement.

Plaintiff says rent owed by Defendant as at the date of filing the writ was Forty-Five Thousand Five hundred and Fifty-Two United States Dollars Sixty-Two Cents (USD$ 45,552.62) which the Defendant has failed to pay despite demands by the Plaintiff. It is for this reason that Plaintiff has approached this Court for redress.

Defendant’s Case

The Defendant neither denies entering into a tenancy agreement with Plaintiff nor its terms as averred to in Plaintiff’s pleadings. Her case however is that, the initial agreement was not for a tenancy but for the outright purchase of the properties in question.

She s