‘A tenant may be evicted for a month’s arrears’ – Rent Control

Public Relations Officer of the Rent Control Department, Emmanuel Hovey Kporsu says a tenant who owes a month’s rent may be evicted.

According to him, a property owner may use the arrears owed him or her to request the lessee vacates from the premises.

Speaking to Host of The Law, Samson Lardy Anyenini, Sunday, he said that a landlord or landlady who seeks possession of his property must not do so forcefully. He must write to the Rent Control Department requesting for ‘Order of Eviction’ to be served on the said tenant.

“You as a tenant should not be indebted to the landlord of a month’s rent. If you owe any landlord a month’s rent, the landlord can just stand on this, come to the Rent Control Department and apply for an order of eviction but the landlord has no right to forcefully eject the tenant because the tenant is owing him or her a month’s rent,” he explained.

Mr. Kporsu further indicated that, if a landlord wants to take back the property or space, he could also do so if the tenant breaks any obligation in the tenancy agreement or is guilty of causing nuisance or misconducting him or herself.

Again, the PRO for the Rent Control Department indicated that a tenant could be evicted if the person is convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction for using the said space rented to him or her for immoral or illegal purposes.

Mr Kporsu, however, cautioned property owners not to take the law into their own hands by forcefully evicting or ejecting their tenants.

He added that once a lessee commits an offense listed in Section 17 of the Rent Act 1963 (ACT 220), the landlord must apply to the Rent Control Department for due diligence to be conducted. If the allegations are valid, the tenant will be ordered to vacate the property or face the law.