Hostel owners challenge Rent Control Department over assessment of private hostel fees

The Chairman of the Hostel Owners Association, Bishop Owusu-Bi, has rejected accusations that private hostel owners are refusing to submit to rent assessments, insisting their issue lies with the Rent Control Department's approach. He expressed willingness to have their fees evaluated but disputed Acting Rent Commissioner Frederick Opoku's method in the ongoing crackdown on what the department considers excessive hostel charges.

During an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Owusu stated he had reached out to Opoku to resolve the matter but to no avail. "Nobody is against paying assessed. We are talking about the procedure of these things," he emphasized. He further revealed that he invited Opoku to Kumasi in early August to discuss the assessment process, but Opoku declined unless his travel and other expenses were covered.

Owusu attributed the ongoing dispute between hostel operators and the Rent Control Department to the lack of stakeholder engagement on his part. He also challenged the Rent Control Department's assertion of jurisdiction over private hostel fees. According to Owusu, the original mandate of rent control focused on traditional residential accommodations, not purpose-built hostels and hotels.

He argued that the current regulation of hostels raises questions about the department's authority. Owusu questioned why the department is targeting private university hostels if it believed it had a broader mandate to regulate rents. He pointed out that the hostel fees were determined in consultation with universities and sometimes through government-led discussions.

He noted that during the previous NPP administration, a committee was established to set reasonable hostel charges.