Specific Relief Act 1950

In plain English

Not legal advice

This Act relates to specific relief. A person entitled to possess specific immovable property may recover it in the way set by the law on civil procedure. When a tenancy ends but the occupier stays in the property, the person entitled to it may recover it from the occupier only through court proceedings. A person put out of immovable property without consent, other than in due course of law, may sue to recover it. Such a suit may not be brought against any government in Malaysia.

Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.

Part I

Preliminary

Official textFrom Laws of Malaysia Online, unchanged

s 1Short title

This Act may be cited as the Specific Relief Act 1950.

s 2Interpretation

(1)

In this Act—

“obligation” includes every duty enforceable by law;

“settlement” means any instrument (other than a will or codicil)

whereby the destination or devolution of successive interests in movable or immovable property is disposed of or is agreed to be disposed of;

“trust” includes every species of express, implied, or constructive fiduciary ownership;

“trustee” includes every person holding, expressly, by implication or constructively, a fiduciary character.

(a)

Z bequeaths land to A, “not doubting that he will pay thereout an annuity of RM1,000 to B for his life”. A accepts the bequest. A is a trustee, within the meaning of this Act, for B, to the extent of the annuity.

(b)

A is the legal, medical, or spiritual adviser of B. By availing himself of his situation as such adviser, A gains some pecuniary advantage which might otherwise have accrued to B. A is a trustee for B, within the meaning of this Act, of the advantage.

(c)

A, being B’s banker, discloses, for his own purpose, the state of B’s account. A is a trustee, within the meaning of this Act, for B, of the benefit gained by him by means of the disclosure.

(d)

A, one of several partners, is employed to purchase goods for the firm.

A, unknown to his co-partners, supplies them, at the market-price, with goods previously bought by himself when the price was lower, and thus makes a considerable profit. A is a trustee, for his co-partners, within the meaning of this Act, of the profit so made.

(e)

A, the manager of B’s indigo-factory, becomes agent for C, a vendor of indigo-seed, and receives, without B’s assent, commission on the seed purchased from C for the factory. A is a trustee, within the meaning of this

Act, for B, of the commission so received.

(2)

All words occurring in this Act, which are defined in the

Contracts Act 1950 [Act 136], shall be deemed to have the meanings respectively assigned to them by that Act.