‘It's forbidden to take more than six months' rent’ – Landlords told

Acting Rent Control Commissioner, Frederick Opoku, has cautioned landlords against demanding more than six months' rent from prospective tenants, warning that such actions are against the law.

According to him, landlords who enter into new tenancy agreements and collect rent exceeding six months could face legal consequences.

Speaking at an event and shared by The1957News on Monday, June 22, 2026, Opoku said President John Dramani Mahama has made it clear that landlords who violate the law should be dealt with through the rent courts.

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“President John Dramani Mahama is the first president to have stated that any landlord who breaches the law and takes more than six months should face the rent courts. After the president gave that green light, it is clear that you cannot and it's forbidden in this country to take more than six months' rent,” he said.

He explained that existing agreements involving rent advances beyond six months would not be affected, but stressed that future tenancy agreements must comply with the law.

“Unless the law is reviewed, if you have already taken two years, that is granted, but make sure that no new agreement will look at more than six months,” he stated.

Opoku said the Rent Control Department is committed to enforcing the law in line with the president’s directive.

“Our president has now seen and has given a directive, and also added his voice that the law has to work. Who am I as an appointee of the president? I hear, and I worship the president, and I act based on his directives. Clearly, what the president wants is what I do. Whatever he wants me to do is what I'm going to do,” he indicated.

He reiterated that landlords who demand more than six months' rent under new tenancy agreements are violating the law.

“He says that respect the rent laws under section 25. Any landlord from today who, with a new tenancy, tries to take more than six months has fouled the law, though it is there already, but we are reminding you that you cannot do that any longer,” he added.

The Acting Rent Control Commissioner also advised tenants to honour their rent obligations, warning that defaulting could lead to eviction.

According to him, tenants are not expected to owe their landlords rent beyond the agreed period.

“No tenant in this country is expected to owe their landlord one month. Look, in Ghana, we do short tenancies, one month, two months, three months, to a maximum of six. It means that you can't owe your landlord even one month. Don't dare,” he explained.

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He noted that failure to pay rent remains one of the legal grounds for eviction.

“If you owe your landlord one month, he has the right to get you out. The grounds on which a landlord can evict you are that you don't pay your rent, and that if you default on paying your rent, you are out of the room,” he concluded.

MAG/VPO

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