How To Legally Evict A Tenant in Ghana

Unless you are lucky enough to own your own home, you'll probably be renting at some point in your life. But what happens if you can't pay the rent? Can you really be kicked out without notice? It is worse if you think you can get away with it.

The Ghana rent control laws make it clear that eviction proceedings do not immediately remove the tenant from the property. There are laydown procedures in the eviction process which take a certain amount of time. Until an order from the magistrate is served, the tenant can remain in their home.

In this article, we’ve taken an in-depth look at how a potential landlord can initiate an eviction process and offer actionable steps on how to evict a tenant in Ghana.

Why would a tenant be evicted from a property?

Tenants in Ghana can be evicted for a good number of reasons but the most common reasons usually involve a breach of contract or a breach of the lease. Most often not paying rent is the primary breach and probably the easiest reason to be able to evict a tenant in Ghana.

Eviction is the end result of a successful non-payment action, usually conducted in civil court in an expedited proceeding. You must apply to the Rent Control Department to sanction an eviction notice, especially if you are a landlord with a company or corporate name on the lease.

Some of the most common reasons for evicting a tenant in Ghana include:

Tenant failure to pay rent

The most common reason landlords evict tenants is as a result of nonpayment of rent. Though this may be the major reason for eviction, sometimes the best tenants can experience unexpected difficulties causing their inability to pay rent. 

The rent control laws of Ghana provide that the landlord can apply to the rent magistrate for the ejection of a tenant from a property where any rent lawfully due from the tenant has not been paid or tendered within one month after the date on which it became lawfully due. 

Engaging in illegal activity

If a landlord has evidence that the property is being used for illegal activities such as drug supply, prostitution, gambling or some form of crime can provide legitimate grounds for eviction in Ghana.

Subject to section 17 of the rent act, provides that where the tenant or any person residing with him has been convicted of using the premises or allowing the premises to be used for an immoral or illegal purpose, the landlord can evict the tenant.

Allowing illegal activity on your property to continue in itself is a crime. In such a case a landlord can evict a tenant engaged in criminal activity quickly as the law also frowns on such activities.

Tenant violating lease provisions

Another reason a landlord can use to evict a tenant is for violating other provisions in the lease. For example, you may discover the tenant is disturbing the peace of other tenants and that isn’t allowed in certain neighbourhoods. 

The laws governing tenants and landlords in Ghana grant landlords the power to evict tenants where the tenant or any person residing with him has been guilty of conduct which is a nuisance or an annoyance to adjoining occupiers.

Sometimes tenants can promise to fix the problems and other times they don’t. However, tenants who repeatedly violate the terms and conditions of the lease may be evicted in Ghana, but always make sure to keep accurate documentation in case you end up in court.

Destroying the leased Property

Tenants who cause damage to the property beyond normal wear and tear may also be ejected from a rental property in Ghana. Excessive damage, such as drilled holes in the wall or broken glazed windows, can be discovered during a periodic routine property inspection.

A tenant in Ghana can be evicted where the condition of the premises has in the opinion of such Magistrate or Judge deteriorated owing to acts of waste by, or the neglect or default of, the tenant or any person residing with him.

Landlord needs the property for personal occupation

Landlords can initiate an eviction process if the leased property is to provide personal shelter. In this case, the premises are reasonably required by the landlord for personal occupation as a dwelling house by himself, a member of his family or any person in his whole time employment. 

However, the eviction will not be successful if the magistrate Judge is not satisfied that such a landlord usually provides premises for occupation by an employee of the class to which that employee belongs.

How to evict a tenant in Ghana

Though the rent act provides several remedies for vulnerable tenants in Ghana, tenants are still on their knees as landlords forcefully evict tenants because the law is not properly enforced.

The steps to evicting a tenant in Ghana are as follows: 

Step 1. Written Notice to leave the property

It's criminal if a landlord evicts a tenant in Ghana without following the correct procedures. The landlord must first give you notice in writing (with at least seven days’ notice) and issue the rent to you in arrears. 

Once the seven-day period has expired the landlord must return to the Rent Magistrate or court to evict the tenant. You can apply to the court to suspend this order if you believe that the landlord will re-let the property and continue collecting the rent from a new tenant.

Step 2. Filing of Eviction Case

Any landlord who intends to eject a tenant must first of all file an eviction notice. This involves picking a complaint form also called ‘Form 7’ from the Ghana Rent Control Department Office and completing the form with details of your cause for eviction. 

Step 3. Submit completed Form 7

After indicating the facts and reasons to justify evicting the tenant. You submit the completed form to the Rent Control Department and pay a fee. Make sure the right facts are clearly indicated since they will have legal implications. Make sure to attach any Ghana rent control tenant agreement form to the completed form to support your claim of eviction.

Step 4. A summons is served on the tenant

After receiving the application the Rent Officer will have to mediate between the two and investigate before making a determination to serve a notice of summons on the tenant. Usually, the summon will be served on the tenant with a specific day and time for the tenant to appear before the Rent Control Officer. 

If the tenant fails to appear after the summon is served, a new order from the Magistrate will be sent to a police station requesting the police to bring the tenant at the adjourned date until the suit is dealt with accordingly.

Step 5. Rent officer makes a determination

Upon hearing the concerns of both the landlord and the tenant, the rent officer will review their evidence and any rent control tenant agreement form before a determination is made to grant the eviction or reject it. If the Rent Officer grants the eviction, a reference is made to the District Court for the magistrate to enforce the Rent Officer’s decision.

Step 6. Court judgement

The District Court will issue hearing notice to the tenant to appear in court before a judgement is passed. Upon listening to the parties involved the court magistrate will either adopt the Rent Officer’s decision or make a further determination. Once a judgment has been issued, no further action can take place for seven (7) days. This time gives the parties the opportunity to appeal the court decision.

Step 7. Writ of Possession

Finally, once the judgment favours the landlord, the landlord can ask the judge for a writ of possession. The Rent Officer must post a 5 days notice before executing the writ and removing the tenant's property from the rental property. This may include the amount of rent recovered from the tenant.

The Bottom Line

In general terms, tenants have no legal rights to remain in a property after the end of their tenancy agreement. Under the terms of most rental agreements, the tenant and landlord are free to agree on new rental terms at the end of the lease or they can mutually agree to extend the lease for another year or two. 

By law, however, a tenant is entitled to a specific amount of notice before they are asked to vacate the property. This period of notice must be specified in the rental agreement and cannot be less than 24 hours for most properties. In practice, rental agreements in Ghana provide for longer notice periods.

You can challenge eviction in court if your landlord fails to apply the correct procedures, or if you believe that the grounds for eviction are not valid. However, you can only make your application to the court within two months of the notice of eviction being served on you.