The Acting Rent Commissioner, Frederick Opoku, has raised concerns over accommodation standards and pricing in some tertiary institution hostels, describing parts of the system as unacceptable and in need of urgent regulatory assessment.
He said the Rent Control Department has begun a nationwide compliance exercise targeting hostel operators across Ghana’s tertiary institutions following growing complaints about exploitative pricing, excessive rent advances, and arbitrary fee increases.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Mr. Opoku said inspections revealed worrying living conditions in some hostels.
“In some of the hostels in Ghana’s tertiary institutions, the rooms the students are sleeping in are very sad,” he said.
He explained that some rooms measuring about 14 by 6 feet accommodate as many as four students, with fees ranging between GH¢3,000 and GH¢8,000 per semester.
“Four students in a room paying GH¢6,000, GH¢3,000, and even GH¢8,000 per semester — that is outrageous. We are also concerned about ventilation and health issues,” he stated.
Mr. Opoku questioned whether such facilities meet basic standards, adding that regulatory oversight is necessary.
“At times we even have to ask the Ghana Tourism Authority whether they are aware that such rooms are being used. But we are not regulators in terms of registration,” he noted.
He stressed that the core mandate of the Rent Control Department is to address what he described as excessive hostel charges.
“Our issue is the exorbitant rent in hostels, and that is what we need to talk about,” he said.
According to him, many hostel operators failed to respond when asked about assessment and evaluation of their facilities.
“When we went round, we asked hostel managers if they had been evaluated and assessed, and they didn’t even respond,” he said.
Mr. Opoku clarified that no sanctions have yet been applied, but discussions are ongoing with operators.
“I have not applied any consequences of the law. I only told them to meet so we can talk and get more information on how they charge. I told them to hold on,” he explained.
“Is it too much to ask you to hold on?” he added.
He further stated that the exercise is not aimed at forcing immediate price reductions or increases but ensuring proper regulation.
“I did not say you should reduce or increase your price. The bottom line is that we want to assess every hostel in this country according to the law,” he said.
Mr. Opoku warned that unregulated hostel operations would not be tolerated, adding that enforcement action could follow in collaboration with other state agencies.
“Woe betides any hostel that is operating illegally. We are coming with the Ghana Tourism Authority to close down those that are not regulated,” he warned.
He described unregistered operators as fraudsters operating outside the law.
The move follows a petition from the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) dated April 23, 2026, calling on authorities to enforce the Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220), amid rising complaints over hostel costs in university communities.
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