Rent Control Manager: Tenants Should Summon Landowners In Case of Exploitation

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Created on Tuesday, 07 May 2013 00:00

Rent Control Manager: Tenants Should Summon Landowners In Case of Exploitation

Rent charges have become a perennial issue in Ghana, especially in the metropolitan and fast developing cities.

The situation seems to aggravate as each day passes by, therefore calling for the attention of all stakeholders of housing issues and the Rent Control Department to resolve the impasse.

A Rent Control Manager, Mr. Nafis Iddrisu has charged tenants to report cases of exploitation by landowners to the Rent Control Department for the appropriate sanctions to be meted out to them.

He explained the responsibilities of landowners and tenants so as to encourage them to live together amicably.

According to him, landlords are obliged by law to evict tenants who fail to pay their rent.

He said the landlords and landladies do not contravene the laws established by the Rent Control Department if they eject tenants who run into arrears for more than a month, and become adamant to remit the arrears.

He further stated that the landowners with regard to the Rent Control regulations must issue a rent card to tenants to guide them in their stay.

The rent card, he elucidated, spells out the details of the tenancy and specifies the amount of rent per month that the tenant is supposed to pay, the period of the tenancy and the place of work of the tenant.

This he believed will avoid disagreements and resentments.

He defined a landowner as “someone who lease a room or premises or part of it to another person in consideration of the payment of rent. So, if you are a tenant; you fail to honour your obligation of paying the rent, then definitely you don’t have any business of staying in the house.”

On the flip side, the tenant is mandated to lodge a complaint at the Rent Control Department about the in-actions of landowners.

Speaking in an interview with Radio Gold, Mr. Iddrisu urged tenants to summon landholders before the Department whenever their rights of tenancy are infringed.

He advised them to obey the rules governing their places of accommodation.

“If you as a tenant, a landlord does anything that you do not like or anything you think it seems to go against your rights, the best thing for you to do is to rush to the rent control and then lodge a complaint. A landlord can also do the same,” he noted.

He however complained about logistical challenges facing the Rent Control Department and appealed to government for support.

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com