The Chairman of the Hostel Owners Association, Bishop Owusu-Bi, has rejected claims that private hostel operators are resisting rent assessment, saying their concern is with the procedure being used by the Rent Control Department.

He said hostel operators were willing to have their charges assessed but questioned the approach being taken by Acting Rent Commissioner Frederick Opoku in the ongoing crackdown on what the department describes as exorbitant hostel fees.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, August 19, Mr Owusu said he had personally tried to engage Mr Opoku to find a way forward, but the attempt failed.

“Nobody is against paying assessed. We are talking about the procedure of these things,” he said.

According to him, he invited the Acting Rent Commissioner to Kumasi earlier in August to meet hostel owners and discuss how the assessment process could be handled.

“In fact, when this month started, I personally invited Frederick Opoku to Kumasi for us to sit down and deliberate on how we are going to do this,” Mr Owusu said.

He claimed, however, that Mr Opoku declined the invitation unless his travel and other expenses were covered.

He said the failure to engage stakeholders had contributed to the current dispute between hostel operators and the Rent Control Department.

“So, he has missed the opportunity to sit down with stakeholders and think about how he can go about his work,” Mr Owusu-Bi said.

Mr Owusu-Bi also challenged the Rent Control Department’s position that it has the authority to regulate charges imposed by private hostels.

He said the original mandate of rent control was focused on traditional forms of residential accommodation rather than purpose-built hostels and hotels.

“All I know is that the Rent Control was set up to control and mediate on prices for, at that time, single rooms and hall and chamber accommodation,” he said.

According to him, purpose-built premises were excluded from the department’s remit and the current attempt to regulate hostels therefore raises questions about its jurisdiction.

“Purposely built premises were taken away from his remit,” he said.

Mr Owusu-Bi questioned why the Rent Control Department was focusing on private university hostels if it believed it had a wider mandate to regulate rents.

“He talks about rent everywhere. Why doesn't he start from East Legon?” he asked.

“When he comes to Kumasi, why doesn't he go to Nhyiaeso? Why has he targeted hostels?”

He said the fees charged by the hostels had been determined in consultation with universities and, in some cases, through government-led discussions.

“We fix the fees with the university,” he said.

He added that during the previous NPP administration, a committee was established to consider appropriate hostel charges.

“The government during the NPP time, we set up a committee, and we came up with reasonable prices,” he said.