The Hostel Owners Association of Ghana is challenging the legal basis of the Rent Control Department’s ongoing enforcement campaign against private student hostels.

The Acting Rent Commissioner has, in recent months, embarked on a relentless campaign besieging hostel facilities to assess their operations and demand a reduction in their costs.

But hostel operators at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology argue the Commissioner has no legal basis to question and further assess their operations, as they do not fall under the purview of the Rent Control Department.

The Ghana Rent Department has, since the beginning of 2026, intensified an enforcement campaign directed at student hostel operators at public universities, including those in Kumasi.

This has seen the Rent Commissioner issuing threats of closure for unregistered facilities and those said to be charging exorbitant accommodation fees.

Although the hostel owners’ association acknowledges the concern for students’ welfare, the group believes the enforcement campaign lacks a legal foundation.

According to the association, the Rent Act 1963 (Act 220) and the Rent Control Law 1986 (PNDCL 138) were drafted for premises excludes dwellings for which rent includes meals or service.

President of the association, Bishop Dr. Akwasi Owusu-Bi, notes that purpose-built student hostels are commercial enterprises offering accommodation alongside services such as security, cleaning and management.

As such, they do not fall within the traditional landlord-tenant framework under Ghana’s rent control laws but rather under the Ghana Tourism Authority.

“Hostels are independently classified across Ghana’s tourism, planning and local governance statutes as a licensed commercial and tourism-sector enterprise, zoned separately from ordinary residential dwellings,” he noted.

The association debunked assertions of hostel owners being “exploitative” and “criminal”.

Counsel for the association, Michael Gyang Owusu, further argues that if admittedly the hostels fall under the purview of the Rent Control Department, the Commissioner is not legally permitted to enter a rent out with an invitation from either party of the tenancy agreement.

“Even if they were subject to the Rent Act, the Act sets out procedure for the assessment of the rents. It doesn’t give the Rent Commissioner the power to impose a blanket charge or assessment. The Act and its regulations say that for assessment to take place, the application must be made either by the landlord/owner or tenant or an interested person.

He continued that: “The Commissioner, himself, cannot come to make assessment without any invitation”.

The group also warns that imposing rent controls in an already supply-constrained student accommodation market could force some private operators out of the sector, worsening the shortage of beds available to students.

The Association cites rising construction costs, high borrowing rates and currency depreciation as major factors behind increases in hostel fees.

“We do not dispute that some students face real affordability hardship, that Ghana’s rental market is characterized by information asymmetries that disadvantage students seeking for affordable hostels, or that the department has a legitimate and important role to play in Ghana’s housing sector,” Bishop Dr. Akwasi Owusu-Bi said.

Property economist and lecturer at the KNUST Department of Land Economy, Dr. Kenneth Donkor Hyieman, highlights the likely repercussions of the actions of the rent control on hostels.

He cites that countries with effective implementation of rent control regimes have rather hurt and compromised the quality of accommodation.

“If you look around the world, in places where Rent control has been effectively implemented, you’d realise there is a deterioration in the quality of housing which would see a reduction in prices. But as a response the hostel owners would in turn withdraw the supply of the houses. This creates a shortage. This would likely create a black market too,” he said.

The KNUST Hostel Owners Association is therefore calling for a transparent, cost-based rental index for university communities, increased investment in public student accommodation and greater use of public-private partnerships to expand the housing supply.