Jayawardena v. Wanigasekera and Others – sllr 1985 volume 1 page 125

In the case between the trustee of the Sadhachara Bauddha Kulangana Samithiya (plaintiff) and the party occupying the premises in Kandy (defendant), the court addressed whether monetary payments made by the defendant (specifically a sum of Rs. 900 and subsequent monthly Rs. 150 payments) and the absence of rent receipts established a tenancy or merely a license. It was held that, upon evaluation of the documentary and oral evidence, including the plaintiff’s contentions regarding the nature of the payments and the ongoing use of the premises by the plaintiff’s Society, no formal tenancy was created. The findings reaffirmed the principle that mere payment of money, absent the essential indicia of tenancy and requisite legal documentation, is insufficient to constitute a landlord-tenant rela