Rent Advance: Landlords who demand more than one-year advance should be reported – Minister

Samuel Atta Akyea – Works and Housing

The Works and Housing Minister, Samuel Atta-Akyea said “Why are you going to squeeze 36 months of rent advance for the person? If you condone it, the impunity gains ground, and that is where we are.”

The Works and Housing Minister, Samuel Atta-Akyea, has called on tenants whose landlords demand more than one year advance to report them for the law to deal with them.

In an interview with Accra-based Citi FM, Mr Atta-Akyea said it is difficult to find the advance landlords charge for rent.

“Why are you going to squeeze 36 months of rent advance for the person? If you condone it, the impunity gains ground, and that is where we are.”

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Per the current laws governing the rent, ACT 1963, tenants are to only pay between one to six months advance rent.

But the law is not enforced as it should. This has led to some landlords demanding more than 12 months as a rent downpayment, exceeding the six-month ceiling.

Mr. Atta-Akyea said citizens must help sanitize the space.

“It is you the citizen of Ghana, very conscious that we must enforce laws for the sanity of the nation, who will go and alert the police that landlord X is trying to violate the law and should be arrested. And that is when the law will be meaningful.”

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The Rent Control Office has also indicated that the government is putting together a new rent Bill.

The Bill, which will be laid before Parliament soon if approved, will require tenants pay between one month to a year’s rent advance.

“We are looking at a very good balance in which we will say by operation of law rent advance, no matter the hue or colour should not exceed X months; say six months or four months,” Mr. Atta-Akyea.

Mr. Atta-Akyea stated that this new Bill was close to fruition.

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