Government has announced plans to overhaul Ghana’s outdated rent laws in a bid to curb the persistent exploitation of tenants and create a fairer rental housing system.
The Minister for Works, Housing, and Water Resources, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, disclosed this when responding to an urgent question on the floor of Parliament on Thursday.
The Ministry, he said, has begun a comprehensive review of the country’s rent regulatory framework, describing the current laws as obsolete and unable to meet the demands of Ghana’s evolving housing market.
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The urgent question was filed by the Member of Parliament for Ketu North, Eric Edem Agbana, who sought to know the specific measures being taken by the Ministry to regulate the rent regime and protect tenants from exploitation by property owners.
The Minister acknowledged that the existing legal framework, anchored on the Rent Act, 1963, and the Rent Control Law, 1986, has remained largely unchanged for over six decades.
“The Ministry recognises that the current rent regulatory framework is outdated, having been in existence for 63 years, and does not adequately respond to the realities of Ghana’s evolving housing market,” he told Parliament.
According to him, the government intends to repeal the existing laws and replace them with a modern Consolidated Rent Act that will harmonise all rental housing legislation under one legal framework.
He explained that the proposed law would tackle long-standing challenges in the rental sector while creating incentives to encourage private sector investment in rental housing.
Importantly, he said, the legislation would strengthen protections for low-income and vulnerable tenants by preventing arbitrary rent increases, unfair rental practices, and other forms of abuse, while balancing the legitimate interests of landlords.
“The proposed legislation will uphold and strengthen protections for low-income and vulnerable tenants. It is structured to guard against abuse, arbitrary rent increases, and unfair rental practices,” he stated.
Hon. Kenneth Adjei revealed that drafting of the new legislation is at an advanced stage and would soon be submitted to Cabinet for approval before being laid before Parliament during the second meeting of the current session.
Mr. Agbana pressed the Minister to explain the immediate measures being implemented to address the current exploitation faced by tenants before the passage of the new law.
The MP argued that while the proposed legislation was welcome, tenants continued to suffer under the existing system and deserved immediate relief.
The Minister maintained that the reforms being pursued through the legislative process were intended to address those challenges comprehensively.