The Acting Rent Commissioner, Frederick Opoku, has said the Rent Control Department was committed to setting and regulating how much private hostels for tertiary institutions can charge in Ghana.
Expressing a disagreement with the hostel operators' association that it lacked the mandate to do that in the absence of a framework for setting the rates, the acting Rent Commissioner said there were already about 100 applications on his table for assessment.
He said the Rent Control Department was set to assess the 100 private hostels and determine the rents they should charge students before tertiary institutions reopen for the next academic year.
Speaking during a radio interview on Joy FM on Wednesday [August 19, 2026], the acting Rent Commissioner said the department had received applications from the hostel operators and expected to complete the assessments within three months.
He said the exercise was being undertaken under the Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220), which gives the Rent Control Department authority over premises across the country, except government-owned properties.
Mr Opoku disagreed with the Chairman of the Hostel Owners Association, Bishop Dr Akwasi Owusu-Bi, over the regulation of hostel charges.
“As we speak today, let me announce to you that I received 100 applications and they are all going to be assessed within the next three months, two months before school reopening,” Mr Opoku said.
“We are going to set how much they will charge in this country.”
According to Mr Opoku, private hostel operators were subject to the rent laws despite having invested in their facilities.
“Private hostels are not outside the law simply because they are investors,” he said.
He said Section 10 of the Rent Act gave rent officers the authority to determine the rent payable for premises.
Mr Opoku also warned hostel operators who had not applied for assessment, saying they were “running away from the law”.
Hostel operators
Bishop Owusu-Bi in the same radio interview said hostel operators were not against the assessment of their facilities but disagreed with the manner in which the exercise was being conducted.
He said the high cost of hostel accommodation was partly due to rising construction costs and statutory fees paid to state institutions.
Those institutions, he said, included the Ghana Revenue Authority, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Ghana National Fire Service.
Bishop Owusu-Bi said the current hostel charges had been determined several years ago after concerns were raised during the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
He said a committee involving various universities and hostel operators worked out what was considered a reasonable charge.
According to him, hostel construction was usually financed through personal funds and short-term bank loans, which were often repayable within one to three years.
He said some operators were now considering increasing their charges because they were “operating at a loss”.
He also disclosed that some hostels had been sold by banks after their owners failed to service their loans.
Kumasi meeting
The two sides also disagreed over an attempt to organise a meeting between the Rent Control Department and hostel operators in Kumasi.
Bishop Owusu-Bi said he had invited the acting Rent Commissioner to Kumasi for discussions, but claimed the commissioner requested that his travel expenses be covered.
He said Mr Opoku subsequently ended their telephone conversation before the discussion was concluded.
Mr Opoku confirmed that he had declined to travel to Kumasi without a budget for the trip.
He said he could not use public funds to attend a meeting with a private association.
“If you don't have a budget, you can't force me to come,” he said.
Mr Opoku said hostel operators should instead travel to Accra to meet him.
Public service
Asked whether hostel operators provided a public service by accommodating university students, Mr Opoku disagreed.
“I disagree,” he said.
Mr Opoku, who said he was speaking from Sunyani, also referred to Koforidua while discussing the legality of some hostels.
He said, “90 per cent of them are illegal, not even paying taxes.”
He did not specify whether the figure referred to hostels in Koforidua, private hostels generally or facilities that could be affected by the enforcement exercise.
Student accommodation
Asked what arrangements had been made for students who might be displaced if some hostels were closed as a result of the enforcement exercise, Mr Opoku said he would advise the government to consider alternative arrangements.
