Ghana bans landlords from renting houses to foreign tenants without coronavirus test clearance
London, April 29, 2020 (AltAfrica)-It is mandatory for landlords to request for proof of negative COVID-19 test results from all potential tenants who are foreigners, Samuel Atta Akyea, Ghana’s Works and Housing Minister has announced.
The new directive is part of the government’s efforts in containing the spread of the deadly coronavirus in the country, especially at the community level.
“Landlords must also be wary of potential tenants from foreign countries. It is very mandatory to insist that without a negative COVID-19 test clearance, the landlord should not rent out the premises” he said this afternoon at a press briefing organized by the Ministry of Information.
The Works and Housing minister cautioned landlords not to put their lives at risk by ignoring this directive just because of a few dollars they take from these tenants.
“We all know that this pandemic has been imported so be careful in the name of dollars, you don’t bring in a foreigner who hasn’t gotten a clearance that he has not been infected by the disease to come and live in your premises. I need not remind you that the virus is an importation from foreigners.”
Ghana has recorded 1,671 coronavirus cases with 11 deaths and 188 recoveries.
Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has entreated all property owners and landlords to report the arrival dates of Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian tenants who arrived in the country from March 3 to 23rd.
meanwhile, serious manhunt is underway for the driver and two passengers on board an Opel Astra with suspicious registration number plate, ‘GG 477 – 14’, who abandoned the vehicle after it crossed into Ghana from Togo, through an unapproved route near the Nyive Border Post last Friday.
