The Acting Rent Commissioner, Mr Frederick Opoku, has warned that the Rent Commission will take legal action against the University of Ghana, Legon, over its plan to increase the rent for its diaspora hostels by 26%. He disclosed that the Commission is about to write to the Attorney-General for advice on the matter.
Mr Opoku stated that the university rejected the Commission’s letter on the proposed increase, insisting that Rent Control does not supervise it and that it would not comply with the rules. He described the response as wrong and as a bad signal to the country, and he insisted that the Rent Act binds every institution established by law.
“I am saying that we will seek advice from the Attorney-General, and we will take legal action against Legon if necessary.”
Acting Rent Commissioner, Mr Frederick Opoku
Mr Opoku explained that the University of Ghana wanted to raise the rent for its diaspora hostels by 26%. The Commission wrote to the university because, in his account, it has registered as a private entity. Ordinarily, he noted, the Commission should not be involved, since it does not intervene where the government is the landlord.
The university wrote back a couple of days ago. Its reply, according to Mr Opoku, stated that Rent Control does not supervise the university and that the university would therefore not comply with the rules. That position has now moved the dispute from correspondence towards the Attorney-General’s office.
A Bad Signal to the Country
Mr Opoku rejected the idea that Legon operates in isolation. The University of Ghana, he argued, was established by law, and everyone connected with it, from the board to the vice-chancellor, is bound by the same law as every other institution. He maintained that “no one can disrespect an Act of Parliament, which is the Rent Act”.
His argument rests on the university’s own origin. A body created by statute, he suggested, cannot place itself outside another statute that applies to it. Mr Opoku made these remarks as the Commission prepares to approach the Attorney-General.
The Acting Commissioner linked the dispute to the wider mandate he has received. The President, he noted, has appointed the Commissioner, and the Commission wants to clean the system. Yet another public institution now thinks it is above the law and will not respect it.
Mr Opoku stated that the episode is “sending a bad signal to the country“. The Commission, in his view, cannot credibly enforce the Rent Act against some landlords while a public institution declines to obey it.
“Legon is not bigger than the laws of the Republic and, for that matter, the Rent Act.”
Acting Rent Commissioner, Mr Frederick Opoku
Mr Opoku reminded the public of the position he has already taken. He indicated that, “under my watch, Rent Control will not countenance any unlawful act”. He added plainly that there will be no selective justice.
The principle, he explained, applies in both directions. The Commission cannot apply the law to a private entity and then exempt another institution from the same law. In his words, the law must apply to the University of Ghana as it does to every other private entity.
A Warning Rather Than a Plea
The Acting Commissioner reserved his strongest language for the university’s letter. He insisted that the letter the university wrote to him was very wrong, and he stated that he does not expect an institution like Legon to disrespect the laws of the Republic.
The next step lies with the Attorney-General. The Commission is about to seek advice from that office, and Mr Opoku has stated that legal action against Legon will follow if it proves necessary.
For now, the 26% increase on the diaspora hostels stands at the centre of a dispute over who has authority to regulate what the university charges. The Commission maintains that it has that authority, while the university has told the Commission in writing that it does not.
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