GUTA demands immediate review of Rent Act

GUTA demands immediate review of Rent Act
Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh

The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), has called on the government to immediately review the country’s Rent Act, 1963 Act 220, to safeguard the business community from illegal and high rents charged by property owners (landlords or landladies) in the country.

Addressing journalists at a press conference in Accra, yesterday, the Deputy General Secretary of GUTA, Mr. Alpha Shaban, flanked by the his President, Mr. J.K Ofori, intimated that “For quite sometime now, the trading community is being saddled with a monstrous illegality termed “Good-Will” fee which some property owners have been using to fleece-off hard earned resources of the traders” and described the fee as “monster,” charged separately from the normal legal rent.

He added that the Good-Will fee was designed to defraud traders who were seeking places to rent for stores or office accommodation in the metropolis as well as some of the towns.

According to Mr. Shaban, the fee charges ranges from $45,000 to $70,000 for a period between 10 and 15 years depending on the location of the business premises and its size.

This, GUTA as union should have reacted to long-ago, but decided to thoroughly research into the legalities involved and its implications before embarking on public discourse. It, therefore, called on the landlords to put a halt to this illegal practice.

Even, Ghana’s Rent Act, 1963 Act 220 has proven without any ambiguity that it is totally illegal and fraudulent in all intents and purposes for any landlord to take “Goodwill fees” from tenants.

This is the likely reason why some landlords deliberately refuse to issue receipts covering such payments, as well as stating the fee in their Tenancy Agreements.

The Deputy General Secretary, therefore appealed to the government through the Ministry of Works and Housing, the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, the Rent Control Department and all other government agencies to stand up to the challenge to safe the investment of the business community and to also protect the ordinary Ghanaian from the shackles of these unsympathetic landlords and landladies.

GUTA however cautioned any landlord or landlady who is into this unhealthy practice to stop; else the association will be ready to defend its members and the general business community in a court of law to prove their case.

“It is very clear from the Rent Act 1963, Act 220 that the “monster” has no “leg” or basis and so would like to appeal to all and sundry to stand up to this call and cause, even though we know, the journey will be rough, the truth will eventually prevail, because, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step”, Mr. Shaban advised.

Ghanadot