Case Analysis

Tenant Renovation Costs Against Rent Arrears Lawyer and Advocate at Milimani Commercial – Commercial & Civil Div., Nairobi: Kiburu: Reopened Appeal and Transfer to Nairobi ELC

If you need a tenant renovation costs against rent arrears lawyer or advocate for a matter connected to Milimani Commercial – Commercial & Civil Div., Nairobi, start with the actual orders and documents. This article analyses Kiburu v Boma Mart Limited & 2 others, decided by Milimani High Court — Civil Division.

Can a tenant deduct renovation expenses from rent?

In Kiburu, a tenant sought to offset renovation expenses against rent, while the landlord counterclaimed arrears and possession. The dispute originated in Nairobi CMCCC 9519 of 2019 at Milimani Commercial Courts. An appeal produced three decisions that must be read together. The July 2024 judgment rejected the claimed set-off, but that judgment was subsequently set aside. It cannot safely be cited as the final result of this litigation.

On 31 July 2025, the High Court reopened the appeal after accepting an explanation for the respondents' failure to participate adequately. On 15 December 2025, it transferred the appeal to Nairobi Environment and Land Court for determination because the tenancy claims concerned use and occupation of land. These verified orders did not finally decide the renovation credit or the outstanding rent. No later ELC merits decision is verified in this analysis.

Read the lease before calculating a renovation credit

For a tenant renovation costs lawyer, the starting documents are the signed lease, schedules and any written variation. Identify provisions about repairs, alterations, consent, compensation and rent. Keep a promise to allow building work separate from a promise to reimburse it. A landlord's knowledge that work occurred does not, by itself, explain the complete agreement about who would pay.

An advocate needs the actual correspondence supporting any alleged rent credit. Supply approval letters, messages, contractor instructions and communications about payment. Distinguish permission to carry out a particular improvement from a later agreement to deduct its cost. If the agreement was oral, give the date, participants and available supporting record without rewriting it as a signed term.

Separate improvements from routine repairs

List each item of work, its purpose and the person who requested it. A replacement fitting, structural alteration and repair of existing damage may raise different factual questions. Include photographs showing the condition before and after the work, invoices and proof of payment. Explain whether the premises were a house, apartment or commercial property and what use the lease permitted.

Do not combine a contractor's quotation with completed and paid work in one total. Mark unpaid invoices and disputed charges separately. Record whether a contractor was retained by the tenant or landlord. Where a reimbursement was already made, show it clearly so the same expense is not counted twice in the proposed credit.

Build a rent ledger alongside the works ledger

Prepare a month-by-month schedule of rent demanded, rent paid and any deduction taken. Attach receipts or bank transfer evidence to each payment. If a landlord credited part of the renovation cost, identify the communication and the ledger entry. An adviser should be able to reconcile the claimed arrears without guessing which payments were allocated to which period.

Describe the credit you are asking a court to recognise and the evidence supporting it. Avoid assuming that withholding rent becomes authorised because improvement expenditure exceeds a claimed balance. The precise contractual terms, pleadings and current orders require review. If interest, penalties or future rent appear in a demand, keep those amounts distinct from the base arrears.

Include any guarantee and possession proceedings

Provide any guarantee signed by a director or another person, alongside the lease. State who occupied the property and who was named as tenant. A guarantee dispute requires examination of its own wording and the obligations said to be secured; it should not be resolved by copying a conclusion from the now-set-aside 2024 judgment.

If distress, termination or vacant possession has been sought, supply the actual notices and court documents. Record service dates and any imminent action. An advocate reviewing the rent accounting needs to see the possession claim as well, since the remedies sought can affect the appropriate court route and the urgency of the enquiry.

Use the latest order when preparing an appeal

Attach the lower court judgment, appeal papers and every subsequent ruling. In Kiburu, relying only on the first appellate judgment would omit both its reopening and the later transfer. A transfer identifies the forum for further determination; it does not establish that a party won the underlying payment dispute.

For lawyer and advocate review of a Milimani tenancy dispute, submit the lease, consent correspondence, renovation evidence, rent ledger, guarantee and latest court orders. Explain whether the immediate question concerns a rent credit, a demand for arrears or an existing appeal. The receiving ELC registry and your advocate should confirm the current file position before any procedural step is taken.

Reopening ruling: [2025] KEHC 11472 (KLR), 31 July 2025, paragraphs 12–15, set aside the earlier judgment. Earlier judgment: [2024] KEHC 9986 (KLR), 30 July 2024, read only with that later order.

Editorial analysis checked on 5 October 2026. Practical document guidance is commentary. The cited case is not our firm’s case or a promised outcome; later orders may affect its position.