Weerasena v. Perera, A.D.R. – sllr 1991 volume 1 page 121

In Weerasena v. A.D.R. Perera, the court examined whether the separate rating assessment of a partitioned section of rented premises—specifically the conversion of a storeroom into a tailor’s shop designated as No. 97B—created a new, independent premises under the Rent Act, 1972, thereby affecting the subsisting contractual tenancy covering the whole property. It was held that the administrative act of assigning a separate rating assessment to a part of the property did not result in the legal creation of a new premises for tenancy purposes; instead, the original, single contract of letting remained operative. This decision reaffirmed the principle that statutory protections under the Rent Act apply to the substantive contractual relationship defined by the parties and not merely to admini