Tenants aid Landlords to frown on Rent control Laws - Senior Rent Control Officer

The Senior Rent Control Officer of the Kwabre East Municipal, Madam Angela Gyebiwaa has defined that tenants are aiding and abetting landlords decision to rent out their houses beyond six months.

According to her, she has not encountered a case where a landlord is being reported at the Rent Control Office for charging beyond the requisites of their laws due to occupants’ desperation to find a home.

The Ghana Rent Control laws frown at Landlords who demand more than six months advance from their tenants before renting out their property. The sentence of their act is a two-year jail term yet despite the rules, the Ghanaian fails to let justice be served for fear of being denied a home.

Although accommodation matters in the country remains a great challenge especially in a situation where landlords charge three to four of allowance before renting out their assets to interest yet the Municipal Senior Rent Control Officer believes the right thing must be done and culprits brought to books.

Madam Angela who was educating a group of house owners during the inauguration of Anidaso Landlords Association at Bampenase in the Kwabre East Municipal during a press briefing told that it is right to report such matters to the rent control for the right thing to be done yet landlords decisions have been empowered due to tenants encouragement when dishonest agreements are presented to them.

She remained that for Ghana to progress and fulfilling, such laws must be observed to give everyone a fair share of accommodation.

“The acts of the landlords are endorsed by the tenant, “she said.

“The law says any person who as a condition of the grant, renewal or continuance of a tenancy demands in the case of monthly or shorter tenancy, the payment in advance of more than a month’s rent or in the case of tenancy exceeding six months, the payment in advance of more than six months rent shall be guilty of an offence and shall upon conviction by the appropriate rent magistrate be liable to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty unit or in default imprisonment term not exceeding 2 years or both.

“Yet no tenant seem concerned. If someone charges for a rent for more than six months, it either you report the person to the rent control office.

“When you report to the office, there are means to help you but no reports come because everyone seems to have money.”

She further outlined that one of the most challenging factors of their work is when tenants relocate without settling the piled up bills in their account.

She pleaded unto the electricity Company of Ghana to try as much as possible to make available prepaid meters in homes to resolve the menace which arise when tenants relocate.