Law:

Section:

Sh. Muhammad Munir, petitioner is a tenant under respondent No.3, in Property No.S-94-R-3, Chowk Chauburji, Multan Road, Lahore, let out to him for residential purposes. The landlord has got a building plan sanctioned from the L.D.A. for construction of a new-building which will be a commercial building. This sanction order is sought to be dubbed as illegal, as being violative of section 11 of the Rent Restriction Ordinance, 1959, which prohibits conversion of residential building into commercial building without written permission of the Rent Controller.

2.  I have heard the learned counsel in some detail. His reliance on section 11 is ill-founded for more than one reason. According to counsel's own showing the existing building shall be completely demolished and a new building as per sanctioned plan, erected in place thereof. The existing residential building thus shall completely disappear and there would be no question of its conversion into a commercial building. It seems to me that when an existing building is completely demolished and replaced by a new one, it would be innocuous to extent section A 11 to such a situation. Further, section 46 of the Lahore Development Authority Act, 1975 expressly provides that in the event of conflict between the said Act and the provisions of any other law, the provisions of the Lahore Development Authority Act to the extent of such inconsistency, would prevail. Thus, even if there is any conflict in the provisions of two Statutes the Lahore Development Authority Act would override section 11.