I’ll Push for Passage of Rent Control Bill- Mahama

The 2024 flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama is determined to push for the passage of the Rent Control Bill when he is elected into power in the upcoming elections.

In 2022, the bill was submitted to Parliament after going through a rigorous process for its finetuning.

At a meeting with the National Tenants Union, the former President discussed his plans to tackle Ghana’s housing issues including the passage of the Bill as he “empathised” with the 19 million people in Ghana who are renting.

“In a meeting with the National Tenants Union in my office, I discussed my plans to tackle Ghana’s housing deficit by building low-cost houses across the country.”

He agrees housing is a crucial need and thus his resolve to “work tirelessly to develop SOCIAL HOUSING that is truly affordable and accessible for ordinary Ghanaians. That will be one of my legacies as President.”

“We will also push for the Rent Control Bill to be passed into law to prevent tenants from being unfairly burdened with paying more than one year’s rent in advance,” he added.

The Bill will replace the existing Rent Control Act (Act 220), passed in 1963 which many say has outlived its relevance.

It seeks to ensure that property developers are not discouraged from investing in the housing industry by rigid rent control mechanisms, which suppress chargeable rent to artificial levels.

Furthermore, the Rent Bill provides that a landlord who demands the payment of rent in advance for more than one month in a monthly tenancy, or a tenancy which is shorter than one month, or more than one year in a tenancy, which exceeds one year, commits an offence, clearly identified offence.

Meanwhile, in 2023, Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia launched the National Rental Assistance Scheme (NRAS) designed to make rental accommodation more accessible, affordable and convenient by taking away the unfair burden faced by lower-income households and the youth across the country of multi-year rent advance payments demanded by landlords.