Landlords are not permitted by law to remove renters who fall behind on their rent, according to Emmanuel Hovey Kporsu, head of the rent control department.
According to Mr. Kporsu, it is improper to enter a tenant’s home after their rent has expired in an effort to evict them.
He explained 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.”
In his explanation of Ghana’s tenancy laws to Umaru Sanda Amadu on Face to Face with Citi TV, Mr. Kporsu stated: “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.”
In order to reach an agreeable conclusion involving evictions, he recommended landlords disclose any critical issues to the Rent Control Department. “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 also explained what happens after an entry order is granted by a magistrate.
“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 safekeeping 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.”
Over the past 20 years, residential renting in Ghana has been on the rise. This is a result of the substantial demand for reasonably priced rental homes. The issue is made worse by landlords’ intransigent insistence that prospective renters pay one or two years’ worth of rent upfront.
According to research, just 5% of Ghana’s population is able to buy property on their own without any help. The remaining 60% need aid that the government helps them access, and the other 35% need further direct assistance.
In contrast to the lower 35% of households, those in the 60% band receive the aid they need in the form of favorable rules and affordable mortgages.
