Rising cost of renting in Accra worrying

Dear Editor,

It is the dream of every young adult to build and live in his or her own apartment or house and not become a tenant in another person’s house. However, such a dream looks far from becoming a reality when one considers the amount to pay to rent an apartment in the capital.

The situation has even become unbearable as the wages of most employed individuals are way lower what landlords charge.

As a young man who is not married, I always imagine getting married and live in a rented apartment with my family, and having to also pay for utility and other basic needs. That alone scares me about marriage.

In Accra, landlords take as much as GHȻ700.00 a month for an apartment with toilets and bathrooms, while some even take the same amount for single rooms without toilets and baths.

Also, one has to sometimes deal with the issue of individuals who are referred to as ‘agents’ when trying to find an apartment to rent. These agents even take monies and don’t even get their clients the type of houses they want.

We can not allow this to continue as most landlords and agents continue to extort monies from their tenants by ‘unreasonably’ increasing house rents on a monthly and yearly basis, thereby putting pressure on them.

I would like to urge the government to have a look at the rent control system of the country to ensure that tenants are not taken advantage of by landlords.

I have also seen young guys and ladies who try to move away from family houses and rent apartments because they want some privacy. My advice to such youngsters is that renting an apartment is not an easy thing, especially when you are not earning much. It is better to stay in the family house and rather save enough to get their own houses.

This is an area of concern government must take a look at and do something about it.

Atom,

Sukura