Rent Control Department Office Locked by Landlord for Non-Payment of debts

The landlord of a building occupied by the Rent Control Department of Ghana at Amasaman has locked the space due to the latter’s inability to pay its rent.

Mr. Joseph Nsiah Abugri, the landlord whose building the Rent Control Department inhabits, stormed the office and demanded payment of rent debts owed by the government institutions

According to Mr. Abugri, the Rent Control Department has failed to pay for its rent for the past five months. He said the Department initially made a two-year advance payment to rent his place; and per an agreement between both parties, the Rent Control Department was to make monthly payments after the two years advance had expired.

This, he said, has been a real challenge for the past five months after the two years advance expired. Mr. Abugri said all efforts to collect his money have yielded no positive result.

According to him, he reported the issue to the Rent Control Department at Ministries as the law requires of him as a landlord but they directed him to make an official report to the Amasaman branch – the same people who owe him.

“When there is a dispute between a landlord and tenants, it’s the Rent Control Department that settles it. As the law requires of me as the landlord, I made an official report at the head office at Ministries. They asked me to direct it to the Amasaman office since that’s where my property is situated. In effect, they asked me to report to the same people who owe me,” Mr. Abugri said.

He continued, “I was left with only one option – to buy padlocks and lock the facility. I’m demanding the full payment of the five months arrears.”

When asked if that’s the only way he would unlock the office for them to work, Mr. Abugri said “I do not want them in my facility anymore. They should look elsewhere. There are plenty of houses in Amasaman that they can rent.”

The Rent Control Department is a division under the Ministry of Works and Housing that works co-operatively with landlords and tenants to promote optimum peaceful co-existence through education, reconciliation while also providing on rent matters in compliance with the Rent Act 220.