Latest update December 4th, 2024 2:40 AM
Businessman sues GECOM over outstanding rent, breach of agreement
Kaieteur News – Businessman, Anand Sanasie is suing the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) for over close to $10 million in rent monies owed for its occupation of buildings located at Fort and Barrack Street, Kingston.
Businessman, Anand Sanasie
According to the Fixed Date Application (FDA) filed through the office of Attorney-at-Law C.V Satram, the Guyanese businessman is also suing over a purported breach of contractual tenancies made in respect to the said properties located at Lot 9 and 31 Fort and Barrack Street, Kingston Georgetown. As such, Sanasie is demanding payment for rent due to the tune of almost 10 million. He explained that the outstanding payment is for rent due under an agreement signed on February 4, 2022, for the occupation of the properties at Fort and Barrack Street, Kingston.
Chairperson of GECOM, Justice Claudette Singh (ret’d)
In a breakdown of the outstanding payments, Sanasie claims GECOM owes payment of $5,996,250 being rent due for the occupation of the building located at Lot 9 Fort and Barrack Street Kingston and the sum of $3,228, 750 being rent due for the Commission’s occupation of the building located at Lot 31 Fort and Barrack Street Kingston.
Sanasie is seeking orders from the Court that GECOM makes the outstanding payments. The businessman is also seeking orders of the court that GECOM pays $1, 998, 750 and $1076, 250 for the occupation of Lot 9 and Lot 31 Fort and Barrack Street, Kingston respectively for the duration an agreement entered on February 4, 2020, until such time that the tenancies are lawfully terminated.
The court document stated further that Sanasie had been in a long-term landlord/tenant relationship with GECOM spanning over 10 years. The applicant (Sanasie) explained in the Court document that GECOM has been tenants of Lot 9 and Lot 31 Barrack Streets enjoying the full use and benefits of the properties for over a decade. The document went on to note that on November 23, 2021, Sanasie that he entered into separate agreements with GECOM for both properties acting as the landlord and GECOM acting as the tenant entering separate agreements for the occupation of the said buildings.
Under the agreement the tenant; GECOM was required to pay $1,332,500 rent per month for Lot 9 Fort and Barrack Street and $717,506 per month for Lot 31 Fort and Barrack Street Kingston. The agreement was for the entirety of the year 2021. Both agreements exited in December 2021 but the tenancy arrangement continued with the same terms except there was an agreed 50% increase in the rent with respect to both properties. Effective January 2022, for a period of three years.
According to the FDA filed on behalf of Sanasie, this variation of the agreement was corroborated by a statutory meeting of GECOM held on January 18, 2022, and is evidenced by the agreement executed between GECOM and the applicant on February 4, 2022. Based on those terms, the rate of the rent was increased from $1,332, 500 to $1,998, 750 which represents an increase of $666,250 for GECOM’s occupation of Lot 9 Fort and Barrack Street, Kingston, and with respect to Lot 31, it went from $717,500 to $1,076,250. In supporting court papers, Sanasie contends that the agreements are still valid and subsisting but GECOM continued to pay rents at the old rates and has not to the date paid any increase in the rents. As a result of GECOM’s failure, refusal, or neglect to pay the increased sums purportedly agreed upon, the Commission is now indebted to Mr. Sanasie who claims that his decision to move to the courts came after GECOM failed, ignored, or refused to heed to multiple oral and written attempts requests to sort the rent issue and pay the outstanding sums.
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