The Rent Control Department plans to have real estate agents licensed to help reduce high rent in Ghana.

Emmanuel Xove Kporsu, Senior Rent Officer and Head of Public Relations at the Rent Control Department, linked high rent fees to unregulated agents.

Mr Kporsu made this disclosure on an Accra-based TV station, citing the unlawful collection of more than six months of rent by landlords influenced by agents.

“You cannot sit under a tree and call yourself an agent. It is an offense to call yourself an agent if you do not have your licence. The space will be regulated,” said Mr Kporsu.

“The agent is a contributor to the high rent in Ghana. The law says the landlord does not have the right to demand more than six months’ rent in advance, but the tenant has the right to pay more than six months.

“The issue is that the agent colludes with the landlord to demand two years because they feel their fees are small if they take only six months,” he said.