The acting Rent Control Commissioner, Frederick Opoku, has urged tenants and prospective tenants to report landlords demanding rent advances exceeding six months.
He said the department would soon undertake a nationwide enforcement operation and prosecutions against offenders.
Addressing a press conference in Accra last Monday, Mr Opoku said the department would set up an anonymous platform to receive complaints and evidence of violations.
He, therefore, urged prospective victims of such demands to gather evidence and report the matter to the Rent Control Department.
Rent Act
Under the Rent Act 1963 (Act 220), it is a criminal offence for landlords to demand or collect more than six months' rent in advance for long-term tenancies. Violating this law could result in fines or up to two years in prison.
Mr Opoku stressed that landlords in the business of renting properties were expected to know and comply with the provisions of the Rent Act.
He said the department had formally engaged the Judicial Service to request dedicated rent courts to fast-track rent-related cases.
“We are craving the indulgence of the Chief Justice to get us the rent court as he has been doing for illegal mining and others. We know rent is a very important issue, and we believe that the Chief Justice believes in what we believe in and will act in accordance,” he said.
The acting commissioner also announced a mandatory registration regime under which all landlords would be assigned unique identification numbers in a new digital database.
He said landlords seeking services from Rent Control offices must first register, while directing all offices nationwide not to entertain unregistered landlords.
“Tenants too are encouraged to register their tenancy agreements and provide landlords with details; this will help the department track properties, identify offenders and improve dispute resolution,” he added and warned that the department would no longer tolerate disregard for its directives and summonses.
Institutional reforms
Mr Opoku said the department had embarked on a comprehensive reform programme to modernise rent administration ahead of its planned transition into a Rent Authority or Rent Agency.
He said work was steadily progressing on a new rent law, which, if passed by Parliament, would replace the existing legal framework.
He said the department had made significant input into the review process and was confident the proposed legislation would address gaps in the current system.
He said many new units, including legal, compliance and enforcement, monitoring and evaluation, had been established within the unit nationwide to improve efficiency, accountability, coordination and service delivery.
Digitisation drive
Touching on digitalisation, Mr Opoku said digitising the Rent Control Department had been one of his key priorities since assuming office.
To that end, he said, the department was now working towards full digitisation to improve service delivery and ease congestion at its offices.
Under the new system, he said, tenants and landlords would increasingly access services online, with appointments scheduled to reduce overcrowding.
