The Rent Control Commissioner, Frederick Opoku has warned that private hostels serving tertiary students are increasingly operating like hotels which leads to challenges over how accommodation charges are determined. The Rent Control Department is consequently moving to assess hostel facilities and establish rents under the Rent Act, 1963, as students prepare for another academic year.
The Rent Control Commissioner explained that the central issue concerns the meaning of an academic year and the period for which students pay accommodation fees. According to him, students generally spend about eight months in school across two four month semesters, yet some hostel operators treat the end of each semester as the end of a tenancy.
He argued that students who pay for an academic year should have accommodation arrangements that correspond with that payment period. In his view, removing students from their rooms after each semester creates a system that resembles short stay hotel accommodation and places additional pressure on families.
“They are operating as a hotel. When the time, the term ends, they will just get them out.”
Frederick Opoku
The Commissioner also drew attention to the scale of some hostel charges, noting that several students often share rooms while paying substantial individual fees. He cited examples of rooms generating between GH¢18,000 and GH¢30,000 in annual payments and questioned the basis upon which such charges are determined.
According to him, the Rent Control Department does not intend to determine whether a rent is high or low simply through observation. Instead, the department intends to assess each property by considering the relevant factors prescribed under the law before determining an appropriate rent.
The position places private student accommodation within an ongoing regulatory discussion involving the Rent Control Department and hostel operators. Mr Opoku argued that the Ghana Tourism Authority’s role in licensing accommodation facilities does not remove the responsibility of the Rent Control Department to assess rents where the law provides for such action.
Addressing the legal basis for the exercise, the Commissioner referenced Act 220 and explained that the legislation gives rent officers authority to determine the rent payable for premises covered by the law. He further indicated that hostel facilities fall within the category of properties that can be assessed under the legislation.
The development also follows an application submitted by the National Union of Ghana Students, which the Commissioner identified as an interested party under the law. He explained that NUGS applied for an assessment, giving the department a basis to examine the charges being imposed on students.
From his perspective, assessment is designed to establish a fair rental figure while taking the interests of both property owners and tenants into account. Factors such as the cost of land, construction expenditure, maintenance expenses and financing arrangements can all form part of the assessment.
Rent Control Targets Private Hostels Ahead Of Reopening
The Rent Control Department has begun preparations to assess about 100 private hostels as part of a wider effort to regulate student accommodation charges. Mr Opoku disclosed that the applications were already before the department and the assessments were expected to be completed within three months.
The exercise is intended to establish rental rates before tertiary institutions reopen for the next academic year. Therefore, the department is working within a timetable that places the assessment process ahead of the return of students to campus.
The Commissioner revealed that the department received applications from hostel operators as well as the application from NUGS. These submissions provide the basis for officers to inspect the facilities and examine the conditions surrounding their rental charges.
The proposed assessment is also linked to the wider responsibility of the Rent Control Department to regulate premises covered by the Rent Act. Mr Opoku explained that Section 10 of the legislation empowers rent officers to determine the rent payable for premises under their jurisdiction.
Referencing the legal framework, he explained that the assessment process differs from a valuation conducted for the purpose of selling property. A rental assessment considers the land, construction costs, maintenance requirements and other relevant expenses associated with keeping the property in use.
This distinction could shape the department’s engagement with hostel owners as it seeks to establish rental figures. According to the Commissioner, the objective is to arrive at figures that take the investment of property owners into account while providing protection for tenants.
The issue has also generated a response from hostel operators, particularly over the extent of the Rent Control Department’s authority. Mr Opoku rejected the position that private hostel facilities fall outside rent regulation because their owners operate them as commercial investments.
He further urged operators who are yet to submit their properties for assessment to engage with the department. In his view, participation would allow the relevant authorities to establish the financial basis of the charges and create a clearer framework for student accommodation.
Meanwhile, the department’s planned assessments could introduce a more structured approach to student accommodation charges across the country. Such a framework would give students, parents, hostel owners and educational institutions a clearer basis for understanding rental obligations.
Beyond the immediate assessment, the process could also influence how private accommodation develops around tertiary institutions. A transparent system for determining rents can support orderly investment while giving tenants a defined avenue through which rental disputes can be addressed.
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