Landlord and Tenant Act, 2022
Cap 238 | Last Updated: 31 December 2023
1.Application of Act
(1)This Act applies to the letting of residential and business premises.
(2)The Minister may, by statutory instrument, with the approval of Parliament, exempt particular premises from the operation of the Act.
(3)Without limiting the general effect of subsection (2), this Act does not apply to the following arrangements—
(a)residence at an institution, whether public or private, where the residence is merely incidental to detention or to the provision of medical, religious, educational, recreational or similar services;
(b)residence in a hotel, motel, or other transient lodging; or
(c)occupancy of premises under a tenancy created or arising under the terms of a contract of employment or any premises entered into in relation to such a contract.
2.Interpretation
(1)In this Act unless the context otherwise requires—
"annoyance" in relation to a tenancy, means the unwarranted, unreasonable, offensive or unlawful interference in the use or enjoyment of rented premises;
"assignment" means the transfer of the rights or interest in the tenancy from one person to another;
"business" includes trade, profession or employment and includes any activity carried on by a body of persons; whether corporate or unincorporate;
"business premises" in relation to a tenancy, means premises occupied by the tenant for the purposes of a business carried on by the tenant;
"court" means a court of competent jurisdiction and includes local council courts;
"currency point" has the value assigned to it in Schedule 1 to this Act;
"landlord" means a person who lets premises under a tenancy and includes the duly authorised agent of the landlord or a person who is in lawful possession of the premises and has the right to let them;
"lease" includes a sublease;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for housing;
"premises" means business or residential premises to which this Act applies;
"rent" in relation to a tenancy, means the amount paid to a landlord by a tenant to occupy premises and use facilities and services;
"rented premises" in relation to a tenancy to which this Act applies, means business or residential premises let under the tenancy;
"residential premises" means—
(a)premises which are used solely as a home, residence, sleeping place by a tenant and includes housing estates, tenements, apartment buildings, mobile homes;
(b)mixed-use premises which are used simultaneously for both residential purposes and to carry out a home-based business;
"services" in relation to a tenancy, means the use of water, light or power, conservancy, sewerage facilities, sweepers, watchmen, telephone or other amenities or facilities available to the tenant except—
(a)the supplying of means, and the right of access to any place or accommodation accorded to the tenant by reason of the tenant's occupation of the premises comprised in the tenancy;
(b)capital expenditure on maintenance;
"tenancy" means a relationship created by a lease, agreement or assignment and includes a sub-tenancy but does not include a relationship between a mortgagor and mortgagee;
"tenancy agreement" means an agreement, in writing or otherwise, express or implied, under which a tenancy is created;
"tenant" means the person to whom premises are let under a tenancy;
"utilities" includes water, light or power, conservancy, sewerage facilities, sweepers, watchmen, telephone or other amenities or facilities available to the tenant.
(2)Notwithstanding anything in any other written law requiring the registration of tenancies, evidence of a tenancy may, for any of the purposes of this Act, be given in court, whether the tenancy is registered or not.
3.Making of tenancy agreements
(1)A tenancy agreement may be—
(a)made in writing;
(b)by word of mouth;
(c)partly in writing and partly by word of mouth;
(d)in the form of a data message; or
(e)implied from the conduct of the parties,
provided that where the parties execute a tenancy agreement, the landlord tenant relationship between the parties shall be governed by the terms of the tenancy.
(2)A tenancy agreement in writing shall be in the form prescribed in Schedule 2 to this Act, except that the parties may make any modification to the prescribed form.
(3)Where a tenancy agreement is not in writing, the landlord shall keep a record—
(a)of the particulars of the parties to the tenancy;
(b)of the premises comprised in the tenancy;
(c)in the case of a non-citizen, of the details of the immigration status of the non-citizen; and
(d)of the details of the rent payable and the manner of payment.
(4)The landlord shall give the tenant a copy of the record kept under subsection (3) within fourteen days of the tenant taking vacant possession of the premises.
(5)A landlord shall not enter into a tenancy agreement—
(a)with an individual, unless the individual provides his or her national identification card or alien's identification card, or any other identification document; or
(b)with a legal person, unless that person provides details of registration or other form of incorporation.
(6)For the purposes of this section, "other identification document" includes a driving permit, passport or certified student identification card.
(7)This section shall not affect a tenancy agreement entered into under any other law requiring a tenancy agreement to be made in a specific manner.
4.Tenancy agreement of twenty-five currency points or more to be in writing
A tenancy agreement of the value of twenty-five currency points or more shall not be enforceable by action unless—
(a)the agreement is in writing or in form of a data message; or
(b)the party against whom enforcement is sought admits that the agreement was entered into.
This is the complete text of Landlord and Tenant Act, 2022 (Cap 238). For legal advice, please consult a qualified lawyer.