The Hostel Owners Association of Ghana is aggressively challenging the legal basis of the Rent Control Department’s ongoing enforcement campaign against private student hostels, sparking a contentious legal battle.
The Acting Rent Commissioner has recently initiated a relentless campaign, besieging hostel facilities to assess their operations and demand a reduction in costs. However, hostel operators at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology argue that the Commissioner lacks the legal authority to conduct such assessments, asserting that they do not fall under the Rent Control Department’s purview.
The Ghana Rent Department has intensified an enforcement campaign targeting student hostel operators at public universities, including those in Kumasi, since the beginning of 2026. This has resulted in the Rent Commissioner issuing threats of closure for unregistered facilities and those allegedly charging exorbitant accommodation fees. The association contends that the enforcement campaign lacks a legal foundation, citing the Ghana Rent Act 1963 and the Rent Control Law 1986, which define rent as including meals and services.
President of the association, Bishop Dr. Akwasi Owusu-Bi, notes that the purpose-built student hostels are commercial enterprises offering accommodation alongside services such as security, cleaning, and management, differentiating them from traditional residential dwellings. He emphasized that these hostels are independently classified across Ghana’s tourism, planning, and local governance statutes as a licensed commercial and tourism-sector enterprise, zoned separately from ordinary residential dwellings.
“Hostels are independently classified across Ghana’s tourism, planning and local governance statutes as a licensed commercial and tourism-sector enterprise, zoned separately from ordinary residential dwellings,” he noted. The association vehemently denied allegations of hostel owners being ‘exploitative’ or ‘criminal’, asserting they operate independently and are simply providing a service.
Counsel for the association, Michael Gyang Owusu, further argues that if the hostels fall under the Rent Act, the Act sets out procedure for the assessment of the rents. It does not grant the Rent Commissioner the power to impose a blanket charge or assessment. He continued, “Even if they were subject to the Rent Act, the Act sets out procedure for the assessment of the rents. It doesn’t give the Rent Commissioner the power to impose a blanket charge or assessment. The Act and its regulations say that for assessment to take place, the application must be made either by the landlord/owner or tenant or an interested person.” He warned that imposing rent controls in an already-stressed student accommodation market could force some private operators out, worsening the shortage of beds available to students.
The KNUST Hostel Owners Association is urging for a transparent, cost-based rental index for university communities, increased investment in public student accommodation, and greater utilization of public-private partnerships to expand the housing supply. Dr. Kenneth Donkor Hyieman, a lecturer at the KNUST Department of Land Economy, highlights the likely repercussions of the actions of the Rent Control on hostels, citing that countries with effective rent control regimes have seen a deterioration in the quality of housing, which would lead to a reduction in prices. He contends that, “If you look around the world, in places where Rent control has been effectively implemented, you’d realise there is a deterioration in the quality of housing which would see a reduction in prices. But as a response, the hostel owners would in turn withdraw the supply of the houses. This creates a black market too.”
The KNUST Hostel Owners Association is calling for a transparent, cost-based rental index for university communities, increased investment in public student accommodation, and greater utilization of public-private partnerships to expand the housing supply.
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Source: MyJoyOnline
