Husseniya v. Jayawardena and Another – sllr 1981 volume 1 page 093

In the case between Husseniya (landlord) and the 1st defendant (tenant) along with the 2nd defendant (subtenant), the court addressed the issue of whether rent payments made by a subtenant in his own name, and not in the name of the tenant or on the tenant’s behalf, lawfully discharged the tenant’s arrears under the Rent Act, No. 7 of 1972. It was held that such payments did not fulfill the statutory or legal requirements necessary to discharge the arrears of the tenant. The principle reaffirmed was that, under both the Rent Act and general principles of Roman Dutch Law, payment by a third party to discharge an obligation must be explicitly credited to the debtor in order to effect a valid discharge. This decision relied on authorities such as Voet, Pothier, and Bousfield, emphasizing that