Landlords have no right to evict tenants who report them – Rent Control

The Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Rent Control Department (RCD), Emmanuel Hovey Kporsu, has stated that the Rent Act of 1963, Act 220 section 5, forbids landlords from forcibly evicting tenants for reporting them for wrongdoings.

He explained that it is against the law for landlords or landladies to evict their tenants who report them to the Rent Control Department over misunderstanding especially if the tenant has not broken any of the terms outlined in the lease agreement.

Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb TV, the PRO stated that landlords who take advantage of tenants and evict them for such reasons will be made to bear the consequences of their conduct.

“So, there is this right of tenant that we’re not exploring. If you report a landlord for such an issue, the landlord has no right to evict you or come out with an excuse that my son is coming or I want to renovate the place.

“Until your tenancy expires, the law says that if you’ve not contravened any of the provisions in the Act, the landlord has no right to evict you.

"So, this cannot be a basis on which your landlord can stand to evict you. Of course, I understand after your tenancy he can tell you that I don’t want to renew for you again but within your tenancy, the landlord cannot say that I want to refund your money for you because you’ve gone to report me on this assessment issues so I’m evicting you.

“You have the right to stay there for the period of the tenancy that you’ve signed,” he said.

He noted that it has become difficult for the department to do its regular duties because of ineffective logistics, as sometimes they are forced to rely on clients for transportation.

He added that, out of the 58 offices of the RCD across the country, they can only boast of 4 cars nationwide.

He urged the government to assist the department by providing all the working resources and logistics they require in order to do their job efficiently.

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AM/SARA