A new Rent Bill has been agreed by Cabinet, and it has been suggested to Parliament for discussion.
It is anticipated that Parliament will soon begin focusing on the Bill, which will lead to a successful enactment.
Francis Asenso-Boakye, the minister of works and housing, said this last Sunday during a press briefing in Accra.
The briefing was to update the media on recent developments in the housing sector.
He said the Bill sought to ensure that a landlord who demands the payment of rent “in advance for more than one month in a monthly tenancy, or a tenancy which is shorter than one month, or more than one year in a tenancy which exceeds one year, commits an offence” clearly identified in the Bill.
The Bill, the minister said, would also ensure that the rights of “vulnerable tenants” who have been out-priced by the uncontrollable hikes in the cost of renting accommodation were safeguarded.
Outdated
Mr Asenso-Boakye said the existing Rent Act, 1963(Act 220) of 1963 and the Rent Control Law 1986 (PNDC Law138) had outlived their relevance due to the current population growth, urbanisation, housing availability, rental rates, housing redistribution and eviction controls, among other several attendant difficulties that have engulfed the housing sector.
“One subject area that has dominated the housing space for decades is the regulation of the rental housing market in Ghana; the existing law was passed by Parliament 59 years ago,” he observed.
The Bill, the minister noted, would, therefore, ultimately remove inherent constraints and offer incentives, which would stimulate private sector investment in the rental-housing sector.
This, he said, would ensure that property developers were not discouraged from investing in the housing industry by rigid rent control mechanisms.
