Piyadasa v. Suraweera – sllr 2001 volume 3 page 154

In the case between Piyadasa (Plaintiff) and Suraweera (Defendant), the court addressed whether a tenant who has applied under Section 13 of the Ceiling on Housing Property Law retains the right to purchase the property when subsequent transfers of ownership occur and the tenant has not attorned to the new owner, and at what precise stage the validity of the claim is assessed. It was held that the tenant’s right to apply is not negated by later ownership changes, and the relevant time for assessing the validity of the tenant’s claim is the inquiry stage when the Commissioner “notifies” the Minister and the vesting order is made. The legal principle reaffirmed was that requiring a fresh application on every ownership change is inconsistent with the statutory framework. This decision relied