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New Rent Law To Allow One Year Advance Goes To Parliament

Headlines New Rent Law To Allow One Year Advance Goes To Parliament
APR 26, 2018 LISTEN

Government hints of putting together a new rent bill to regulate the country’s housing space.

The bill, which is set be laid before Parliament soon if approved, will make tenants pay between one month to a year’s rent advance instead of the initial six-months in the existing rent law.

Per the current laws governing the renting space, ACT 1963, tenants are supposed to pay between one to six months advance rent, but landlords demand two years or more instead; a situation many have complained about.

During an interview on Thursday April 26 2018, Chief Rent Control Officer at the Rent Control Department, Twum Ampofo, said the sector Minister is doing everything possible to ensure that the bill is tabled before Parliament soon.

“The rent advance at the moment is supposed to be six months and the new law hoping to be passed sooner or later is actually giving us a year. We have prepared the one year advance supposed to be paid by tenants. It starts from one month to one year.”

He also said that they took into consideration the issues that confront landlords before making the review.

Mr. Twum said “This is because of the conflict between the landlords and the tenants. At times the problem is that tenants are supposed to pay between one month to six months, but because of the deficit of the accommodation in this country, some people have developed their premises with the help of the estate developers. They’ve gone in for loans to build these kinds of houses for rent.”

Mr Twuma Ampofo added “…So when we ask them to take one month, the one month [amount] will not help them to pay off the loans given to them…we have come to realize that it is an inconvenience for landlords. [Also] One month or three months’ rent cannot help landlords to renovate their properties. So we have taken into consideration that one year rent will resolve the matter of paying advance to help the landlords to restructure their properties,”.

Sarah Dankwah Jeremie
Sarah Dankwah Jeremie

News ContributorPage: SarahDankwahJeremie

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