Caretaker in court for ‘removing’ tenant’s door in rent dispute
A caretaker of a rental house has been charged at a Nairobi court with removing a door from a tenant’s house.
Mr David Wachira, the caretaker of Paward flats in Nairobi, is reported to have committed the offence on October 6, 2022.
The court heard his aim was to maliciously evict the tenant identified as Mr Richard Junior Kubare.
The victim said he was annoyed and he reported the matter to the police.
The prosecution states the accused committed the offence out of malice and without no notice contrary to section 29 of the Rent Restriction Act CAP 226 Laws of Kenya.
The law states that landlords are required to give tenants a 90-day notice before they increase rent.
It also has price controls for rent, based on the market value as opposed to landlords arbitrarily setting the rent.
On the fateful day, Thursday, October 6, 2022, it was reported that Mr Wachira at 7:15pm confronted the complainant and ordered him to leave the premises or face his wrath.
Asked why he decided to take such an action, Mr Wachira did not give a clear explanation why he broke the door leading to Mr Kubare’s house.
The caretaker denied the one charge of subjecting a tenant to annoyance contrary to the law before Senior Principal Magistrate Robinson Ondieki and was released on a bond of Ksh50,000 with an alternative cash bail of Ksh10,000.
Kenya also has a rent restriction tribunal which is an important service to the public as it attends to rental issues surrounding landlords and tenants or protected tenancy.
In particular, the tribunal offers arbitration services relating to disputes in these tenancies.
A protected tenant is one who lives in a ‘controlled house’ which is those residential buildings that have been put under the Rent Restriction Act, Chapter 296 of the Laws of Kenya.
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