Head of the Rent Control Department, Emmanuel Hovey Kporsu says landlords are usually not legally empowered to evict tenants that default on their rent.
Mr. Kporsu mentioned it’s unsuitable to interrupt into the premises of tenants after the expiration of their rent in an try to eject them.
He defined that: “the issue with rent in Ghana is that you cannot forcefully eject somebody from your premises after the contract has ended. The fact that the contract has expired and the tenant has not given you the keys to enter the place, you cannot enter the premises.”
Explaining the laws surrounding the tenancy settlement in Ghana to Umaru Sanda Amadu on Face to Face on Citi TV, Mr. Kporsu mentioned, “probably your tenancy has expired, and you’ve locked the premises, and then you ran away with the keys, the landlord cannot forcefully enter the premises because if he does and the tenant comes back and says he has lost a pot of flowers, the landlord is obliged to pay.”
He suggested landlords to report any pertinent points involving evictions to the Rent Control Department for amicable decision which requires that, “you come and report to the Rent Control Department, and we make you swear an affidavit to indicate that the place belongs to you, and we give you a notice to be posted in front of the door for a period of two weeks and if the tenant does not appear, we go before a magistrate to seek an order to force open the premises.”
Mr. Kporsu additionally defined what occurs after an entry order is granted by a Justice of the Peace.
“When we get the order to forcefully enter the room from the magistrate, we force open the premise and lease any item we see there and give it to the landlord for save keeping for a period of two weeks, and we go back to the magistrate to either auction the things or donate them after the tenant doesn’t appear.”
Residential renting in Ghana has been on an rising development for the previous twenty years. This is a results of the excessive demand for inexpensive rental properties. The drawback is compounded by an uncompromising demand of landlords to gather a yr or two years of pay as you go rent from potential tenants.
Research has proven that solely 5% of Ghana’s inhabitants can purchase their very own properties with none type of help, with 60% requiring assist that’s facilitated by the state to entry housing while 35% would require further direct assist earlier than they will have entry to housing.
The help required by the households falling into the 60% band comes within the type of supportive laws and competitively priced mortgages whereas the decrease 35% band wants subsidies as well as.
Source: citinewsroom.com
