Emmanuel Kporsu, the Public Relations Officer for PRO for Rent Control Ghana, has emphasized the importance of addressing the issue of homeowners evading utility bill payments by shifting the responsibility onto tenants.
This prevalent practice among certain house owners in Ghana, where they refuse to fulfil their financial obligations for electricity, water, and other utilities, has become an unspoken norm.
Recognizing the escalating nature of this problem, Kporsu has urged tenants who encounter such challenges to promptly report these instances to the Rent Control Department. By taking this proactive step, tenants can contribute to the resolution of this issue and ensure that homeowners are held accountable for their rightful responsibilities.
“If you are going through this situation and you haven’t been able to sort it out with your house owner, then you have to make a report at Rent Control, and we will invite the house owner to come and explain why he or she is doing that.”
“No house owner has the right to pay either the water bill or the electricity bill because the property belongs to him because the house does not generate the water or electricity but rather consumes it, so everyone who consumes has to pay.”
“Once you stay in the house, no law permits you (the house owner) to share your own bills for the tenants to pay. The law even states that the bill amount should be shown to the tenants for all of them to see the total amount that came,” he said.
