Complete Guide On How To Write a Tenancy Agreement Contract in Ghana

You don't have to be a lawyer before you can write a binding tenancy agreement contract in Ghana. But the most difficult thing landlords face in every tenancy agreement is the contract document that legally binds a landlord and a tenant. Because of this, some landlords do not take the tenancy agreement contract seriously and often limit the clauses that are capable of proving remedies for future disputes.

What is a tenancy agreement contract?

A tenancy agreement contract is a written document that outlines the responsibilities and protections of the landlord and the prospective tenant with the view that both parties will be binding by the terms and provisions of the contract.

In Ghana, some landlords tend to pay attention to the rent payable ignoring the rental agreement contract. However, the law provides that any property you rent in Ghana requires a tenancy agreement document indicating the duration of the lease, the amount of rent paid, property usage, names of the parties involved, and property location.

Differences between a lease agreement and a rental agreement

When you rent out a property, as a landlord you have two options. You either offer your tenants a lease or a rental agreement. Although these property terms are often used interchangeably, they are not the same. The difference is in the duration of the agreement.

A lease agreement has a fixed-term, such as a year, during which the tenant agrees to rent the property. A lease agreement is generally used for long-term property rentals and usually over six months periods. During that period the tenant and the landlord must adhere to the terms of the agreement. 

Rental agreements usually depict a short-term rental period like month-to-month. At the end of each month, both the landlord and the tenant are free to change the terms of the rental agreement subject to the pre-approved agreement.

These changes may include adjusting the rent, changing the terms of the initial agreement, or asking the tenant to vacate the property. However, the landlord is required to give the tenant a minimum of 30 days' notice before any changes can be made.  

How to write a tenancy agreement in Ghana?

It is important to learn how to write a lease agreement contract and the type of clauses you must include. Even landlords who decide to draft their own lease agreement can do so with ease. It is a good practice but makes sure the rent agreement is error-free to protect the interests of both the parties. Because the contract document is going to serve as evidence in case of a dispute.

To write a lease agreement in Ghana, you should equip yourself with these steps:

Step 1. Set up your rent agreement

To make your tenancy agreement standard it should be clear and well organized. To give it good readability you have to set up a rental agreement outline to guide the writing process. This is necessary because the agreement identifies the parties, the property, the term of the rental, and the amount of rent for the term.

You can do this by including subheadings such as the following:

1. Rent Agreement

2. Leased Property

3. Term of tenancy agreement

4. Monthly rent payments

5. Late fees

6. Limitations on use of the premises

7. Rent Deposit

8. Utility Bills

9. Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

10. Landlord Rights and Responsibilities

11. Condition for Lease Termination

The headings should be in the bold font or underlined, so they stand out and can quickly be located in the document. For other subheading ideas, you can search for lease agreement templates.

Step 2. Indicate important clauses

Make sure you list all the conditions that your tenancy agreement should address. Both present conditions and future anticipations. You should indicate the rules you like to enforce, and how you would like the rental to operate. For instance, you can indicate that there will be rent reviews every 2-years. With this, the rentee will know that in two years rent will be adjusted.

Step 3. Write the rent agreement in line with the rent law

The country's laws should dictate what provisions and clauses can be included in your lease agreement. Check out the provisions in the RENT ACT, 1963 (ACT 220) and ensure you write a lease agreement subject to the provisions of the law, justifiable in court. If you are a landlord, knowing the rent act will help you understand the obligations of landlords and the things you should avoid in rent agreement contracts.

Step 4. Provide the Right Details for the Lease

It is important to pay attention to details when filling out the requested information for both the landlord and the tenant. Because anything in a lease agreement has a legal implication and should be treated as such. Depending on your scale of preference, the lease term can be the full year (12 months), a month-to-month lease, or a custom end date. 

Step 5. Signature of parties

Your lease should include adequate space for the signatures of the parties involved. You should also have formatting elements like a title and subheadings. Go through your lease agreement document to ensure that you have all necessary headings, provisions, clauses, and other elements that make a lease agreement professional and legal.

Typically elements included in a lease agreement?

What gets included in the tenancy agreement contract varies based on the type of lease agreement and the specific agreements between the landlord and tenant. Most tenancy agreements contracts in Ghana will include the following basic information:

• Identification of the premises

• Party information 

• Agreement to rent

• Term of tenancy

• Monthly rent amount 

• Late fees

• Rent deposits 

• Limitations on use of the premises

• Grounds for termination

• Assignment and subletting

• Tenants rights and responsibilities 

• Utilities and maintenance responsibilities

• Insurance

• Rights of access

• Notices

• Applicable law

Important clauses to be included in a tenancy agreement 

Some vital rent clauses landlords should include in a lease agreement in Ghana include the following:

Rent reviews – A well-drafted lease should provide room for a rent review clause.  The Rent review clause is intended to keep the rent fair in an unpredictable and ever-changing economic environment. This means that the rent may increase or decrease at the relevant review date to reflect a strong economic environment or remain static. The rent review can either be based on an open market or fixed rate.

Repairs and Insurance policy – In a commercial tenancy agreement, repairs and insurance are a major part of the contractual agreements and because of that, it is important to include a clause in the lease agreement indicating who is responsible for repairs and insurance. There are two major repairs and insurance policies. These include:

Full Repair and Insurance (FRI) – The FRI mandates the tenant to be responsible for the maintenance and insurance of the property. In this system, the tenant takes on all of the costs for repairs and insurance for the property being leased from the landlord and that includes both internal and external repairs.

Internal Repairs and Insurance (IRI) – In this case, the tenant has limited liability for maintenance, decorations, repairs and insurance confined to the internal parts of the property occupied by the tenant. The tenant will only insure and repair damages to the property.

Rent deposits – A rent deposit is a set amount of money paid at the start of renting a property to a landlord. The landlord holds the money for purposes of paying for any damage the tenant caused to the property throughout the rental agreement period. If there is any damage caused during the tenancy period, the tenant will lose the rent deposit.

Summary 

Failure to have a tenancy agreement contract signed by both parties will lead to legal inefficiencies in the case of any dispute. It is advisable for all parties to have a binding rental agreement that accounts for common situations and provides remedies to ensure coverage.

You will need a rental agreement in the following cases: (a) While renting a house, apartment, room or commercial space. (b) To register the agreement with local authorities. (c) To document & enforce general and specific clauses.