Private hostel operators near KNUST say Rent Control has no power to set their fees

Owners of private hostels serving students at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have questioned the legal authority of the Rent Control Department to regulate the accommodation charges they levy.

They maintain that the Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220) and the Rent Control Law, 1989 (PNDCL 138) do not apply to purpose-built student hostels, which fall under a separate regulatory regime.

The department, under Acting Rent Commissioner Frederick Opoku, has stepped up enforcement against private hostel operators near public universities amid complaints about high fees. The drive follows student concerns raised at the National Youth Conference, where some reported annual charges of between GH₵5,000 and GH₵10,000.

While the hostel owners acknowledge the housing difficulties facing students, they warn that the department’s current approach risks discouraging private investment in student accommodation. Compelling operators to cut prices or shut down, they argue, would only shrink the already limited options available to students.

Bishop Dr Akwasi Owusu-Bi, President of the KNUST Hostel Owners Association of Ghana, has urged the Rent Control Department to respect due process and clearly define its mandate.

“In fact, in the first place, we do not operate under the Rent Commissioner. The Rent Commissioner does not control prices above a certain threshold. They were meant for single-room and chamber and hall apartments; they were not meant for such arrangements”.

“We don’t operate under tenancy law; we operate under licensing law, and this is agreed upon by the GTA. If we decide to close our hostels, how are the universities going to operate? We can do that because it is our private property,” he said.

The association’s counsel, Michael Gyang Owusu, accused the department of overstepping its authority and called for constructive talks with operators. He noted that the existing rent laws were framed long before the modern purpose-built student hostel model emerged.

“What is missing in all this is the dialogue. Also, it is clear that in the 1960s when the Rent Act was being passed and all the subsequent LIs and EIs, there was not in contemplation student hostels as they now exist,” he said.