It is to be observed that despite a growing urban migration, very little, has been done on the part of successive governments to address accommodation problem.
This unfortunate situation, has gone to further the greed of landlords and landladies, who are drawing blood out of their tenants.
Government, can continue to tout its micro-economic achievements, those figures only look good in our books, but in reality, things are still the same.
The staggering figure of about 85 percent of Ghanaians, unable to own their own homes, should be enough to awaken any government to its responsibilities.
Ghana currently has a housing deficit of 1.7 million which tilts the power to the supply side of the housing sector. With landlords at the supply end, tenants at the demand end, and demand exceeding supply, landlords have become incredibly powerful and thus dictate the terms of the rental agreement.
Over the years, we have all complained about the two-year rent advance, which is rendering many Ghanaians penniless.
This is because, the moment you are able to raise the two years advance, you start saving again to able to meet the expected increment, when that expires.
Savings is a big problem in this country, because 80 percent of workers salary is spent on rent.
The Rent Control Act 220 , restricts Landlords from charging rent payments in advance beyond six months.
Act 220 which replaced the Rent Ordinance Law, was tactically enacted to take care of exigencies of potential tenants and tenants to ensure that Landlords did not put too much financial strains on tenants who requested to hire their properties.
Something urgent must be to stem the tide where homes owners take advantage of their tenants by demanding for two years advance, this situation that has led to high rate of youth sleeping in the open.
Source: The Herald
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This is really a major problem that the government needs to tackle with immediate effect.. shelter over heads is very imperative and Ghana in its 61st year shouldn't be seeing citizens sleeping in areas not meant for humans to be sleeping..Accommodation has to be made affordable by law on monthly basis such that even the average low income earners working in these so called factories who are being paid minute salaries such as GHC350 to GHC450 for working for good eight to twelve hours per day to also be able to squeeze something out monthly to get a place to lay down their heads for a good sleep to refresh the body for the next day's task at work..NB: People doing these kinds of factory jobs with these meagre salaries find it very cumbersome to mobilize the monies to raise advances to rent and due to that they end up sleeping in very bad places and some even perching as prisons at the Nsawam prison and that's really heart breaking.
Ghana rent control should tell us how much Ghanaians should pay for rents arranging from villages, towns and cities residential and commercial. You are saying when tenants pay two years advance they become poor, but the rents are not the same around the country. In my town and house tenants are paying GHS 40 per room with shared toilet, bath and kitchen. Even though there are modern washroom facilities like, WC, sink, shower and tiles they find it difficult to pay. In the cities, some people are paying GHS100 per single room with shared facilities. The question is are we not paying the same price for cement? Even in the cities, cements are cheaper than in villages. I suggest to Ghana Rent control to fix a common rate for house rents in the Ghana country because many Landlords are very poor as a result of cheap rents they give to tenants
Nobody thinks about the ordinary Ghanaian.We have been complaining for years. We will save some money and used it to pay rent advance and we are left with nothing to pay our children school fees .
where have they been for all these years? can they enforce the laws without corruption? they will liaise with the landlords and the land ladies to rent underground. You don't know the Ghana man
Your point of saying 80 % of Ghanaian salary is use for rent is not true please, how manay ghanaians are paying 800 from a monthly 1000 cedis or 400 cedis from a monthly 500 cedis, please lets give accurate figures.
how so?
The MPs take their rent allowance for 4 years in advance and therefore cannot enforce the six months limit by law. Secondly, they take these monies and put up mansions and rent same to other business entities and take the rent advance for two years and beyond. With these, they cannot enforce the law as it will go against their greed.
The thing is let the authorities build social housings......Do you know what it takes to acquire land in Accra.....let alone develop it.....nobody can tell landlords what to do with their houses....however the weak minded politicians should be held accountable
What should I do if a landlord is demanding for 2 years advance? You people should tell us what measures we should take that's all we want from you
This is what the gov. shld takle,enforce the law on rent and stop stea-ling our money!!