Ghana’s Acting Rent Commissioner has put property agents on notice that charging commissions from both landlords and tenants simultaneously is a criminal offence under the rent law, and has warned landlords that failure to obtain official rent cards before April 1 will bar them from accessing services at Rent Control offices nationwide.
Frederick Opoku, speaking on Angel FM, said Section 25c of the Rent Act limits agent commissions to five percent and places the obligation of payment exclusively on landlords, not tenants. Any agent who bypasses this and collects from both parties crosses from a regulatory breach into criminal territory. “Any agent that wants to take double from both the landlord and the tenant is a criminal. If they are caught, they will be arrested and imprisoned,” he said.
Opoku acknowledged that enforcement is complicated by the tendency of illegal agents to operate anonymously but urged members of the public to report violations to the Rent Control Department when encountered, noting that landlords sometimes actively collude with agents to impose unlawful charges on tenants.
On rent cards, the Rent Control Department announced in a February 25 press statement that from April 1, any landlord who appears before any Rent Control office without proof of having issued rent cards to their tenants will be denied all services, including rent assessment applications, dispute resolution, recovery of premises proceedings, and complaints against tenants.
The mandatory rent card requirement is grounded in Section 5 of the Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220) and People’s National Defence Council Law (PNDCL) 138 of 1986. The Rent Control Department described the April 1 directive as strict enforcement of a statutory obligation that has long existed but been largely ignored. Opoku said the cards are available at the Rent Control Department at minimal cost and carry security features that prevent duplication.
The enforcement push comes against a backdrop of widespread non-compliance with Ghana’s rental laws. Research shows the average Ghanaian tenant pays nearly two years of rent in advance, almost four times the six-month legal maximum, and the Rent Control Department currently operates with just two vehicles nationwide to carry out inspections and enforcement duties.
Opoku urged tenants who encounter landlords unable to present a valid rent card to withhold payment and report the matter to the department immediately.
