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Decent accommodation hard to find; even for middle class

By Myjoyonline.com|Faustine Akwa
General News Decent accommodation hard to find; even for middle class
OCT 21, 2014 LISTEN

Finding decent accommodation in Accra has become tougher now that it used to be – even for the middle class who are known to be well off.

The flourishing real estate market dominated by agents who charge exorbitant fees to connect clients to home owners have not made matters any better.

It takes about six to eight months before one can find a decent accommodation in the capital and the process is not devoid of agents who charge exorbitant prices.

Some aggrieved clients who spoke to Joy FMs Kuuku Abban said the agents charge up to about GHC40.00 for every house they take a client to.

The agents refuse a tour if this amount is not paid or an agreement is not reached for the client to pay the money after the tour.

Others also blamed home owners or landlords who refuse to deal with prospective clients unless it is through an agent.

A gentleman who only gave his name as Akwesi said “in fact it was very difficult for me to go round looking sometimes when you go to the landlords, they will tell you they have vacant rooms but will ask you to go and see an agent”.

But John Amoah, who is an agent said they only link between the prospective tenant and the landlord or landlady and that prospective tenants cannot go through the stress agents go through in order to get accommodation for them.

He insisted that it was right for them to charge the amount they do because even when they do not have clients, they still have to use their own resources for a tour and it was only appropriate that clients are made to pay for it.

"The agency work is such that whether you have a prospective tenant or not, your daily routine work goes on - you have to visit places - meanwhile there is no tenant for you so because of these expenses that you incur, when a prospective tenant comes into contact with an agent, the agent feels like he has to be compensated for that job he has already done when there was no tenant”.

A decent single-room-self-contained house is currently going for GHC150 a month, while a self-contained chamber-and-hall is between GHC300 and GHC1200 depending on the location of the facility. 

The bigger the property the more expensive it is, but that is without the Agency Commission of 10% charged on every successful service, calculated on the number of years agreed.

The Rent Control Department says that is an offence. But the Agents argue that a 5% commission is too meager.

Acting Chief Rent Officer with the rent Control Department, Addo Soi Dombo, said even though agents are recognized by law, they are only permitted to charge a five (5) percent fee which should be taken from the landlord and not the tenant.

"Agents are captured under the rent act under section 25 sub-section 1C. If you act as a broker, or an agent for a landlord, you only have the right to charge 5% from the one who is contracting you - in this case that's the landlord.

“All they have to charge the prospective tenant are office charges - like filling forms and transport to go the landlord's house, and if there's an agreement with the landlord on the rent, the rent advance is paid to the landlord, and the landlord will then pay 5% of a one year rent advance to the agent”.

He said prospective tenants are not supposed to pay any other charges or percentages to agents after they have helped them to get accommodation; other than what has been stated in the law.

 
 

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