LEGAL PRINCIPLE: WORDS AND PHRASES – Mesne Profits – Meaning of
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
Mesne profits are the rents and profits which a tenant who holds over after lawful termination/expiration of tenancy or a trespasser has or might have received during occupation, which they are liable to pay as compensation to the person entitled to possession; rent is liquidated and operative during tenancy subsistence, while mesne profits start to run when tenancy expires and tenant holds over.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
"Mesne profits has been described as the rents and profits which a tenant who holds over after the lawful termination or expiration of his tenancy or a trespasser has or might have received during his occupation of the land or premises in issue and which he is liable to pay as compensation to the person entitled to possession of such land or premises... Rent is different from mesne profits. Rent is liquidated, mesne profits are not. Rent is operative during the subsistence of the tenancy, while mesne profits start to run when the tenancy expires and the tenant holds over."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Mesne profits compensate wrongful occupation after tenancy ends. They equal the value the wrongful occupier obtained or could have obtained from the property—essentially, what they would have paid as rent if occupying lawfully. This applies to: (1) tenants holding over after lease expiration/termination; (2) trespassers occupying without right. The measure is objective—based on property’s rental value, not what the wrongful occupier actually gained. Even if the holdover tenant sublease at low rates or didn’t monetize occupation, they pay mesne profits based on market rental value. This compensates the rightful owner for being deprived of use and occupation. Unlike rent (fixed by agreement), mesne profits are assessed by courts considering property value, location, condition, and market conditions during the wrongful occupation period