Mr. Essien explained that his office has received enough evidence from tenants in the district to warrant this allegation against landlords and landladies belonging to such groupings.
He accused them of being the reason behind the recent astronomical rise in accommodation problems in Konongo and its environs.
Mr. Essien reckons the formation of such Associations have no place in the Rent Control Act and must be disbanded.
“In the first place, the associations are deemed not fit to fix prices. Our department is responsible for that. How can one be a player and a referee at the same time?”
Addressing stakeholders forum in the District capital Konongo, participants were asked to work collectively with the department to help address the housing deficit in the country .
Organized under the theme “bridging the gap between landlords and tenants”, the landlords and landladies were asked to acquire Certificate of Assessed Rent as a legal backing to operate their businesses.
The landlords were advised to work closely with the department anytime there is a problem between them and tenants.
Mr. Ishmael Essien also asked the house owners to do background checks of prospective tenants before giving them accommodation to enable police trace their whereabouts in case of suspicious activities.
Tenants are also advised to contact any office of the department nationwide to seek information about persons who are offering them accommodation.
The control officer asked all landlords in the district to fill in Certificates of Assessed Rent for them so they can charge the required price prescribed by the law.
The control officer hinted that their trained staff will soon visit the individual homes to assess the kind of utility landlords are giving to tenants to warrant the amount of money paid them.
-
-
Credit: Rawgist
Comments