Ghana student hostels: Rent Commissioner raises alarm over overcrowding and poor ventilation

Ghana's Rent Commissioner has described some private student accommodation as “cubicles, not hostels” after inspections uncovered overcrowding and poor ventilation.

Frederick Opoku said he inspected the facilities after receiving a petition from the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) raising concerns about conditions in some student hostels.

He said he wanted to establish for himself whether the complaints reflected the situation on the ground before taking a position on the matter.

“When I just started the viewing on the grounds, it was shocking, honestly,” Mr Opoku told Joy News' PM Express.

He said poor ventilation and the general conditions inside some rooms were major concerns.

“And you realise that the conditions and ventilation in the rooms were a challenge,” he said.

Mr Opoku also questioned whether some of the facilities had been properly licensed or adequately monitored.

“I was wondering, were they even licensed at all? Are they monitored at all?” he said.

The Rent Commissioner said some accommodation spaces were divided by thin partitions and housed several students in a single room.

He described rooms containing three, four or as many as six students, likening some of the arrangements to a prison.

“I don’t think it’s what you talk about when you are referring to hostels. These are cubicles, not hostels,” he said.

Mr Opoku said the problem was not confined to one university.

“So I went around to all the universities almost, and the issue was the same,” he said.

His comments raise questions about the standards under which private hostels serving university students are being operated and monitored.

The concerns are particularly significant because many students depend on private accommodation when university-provided housing is unavailable or insufficient.

The Rent Commissioner said the conditions in which students are living required a fresh look.

“The state of our children, our young people in this school, in these campuses that they call hostels, is something that needs to be looked at again,” he said.

He described the situation as “appalling” and “shocking”, warning against allowing poor conditions to continue under the guise of private investment.

“For me, it’s a shame, and we must look at it again,” he said.

Mr Opoku did not announce specific sanctions against hostel operators or provide details of any facilities that may

have breached licensing or accommodation requirements.

His comments follow earlier efforts by the Rent Control Department to address concerns surrounding private student hostels, including accommodation standards and fees. In May, the department directed hostel operators to suspend planned fee increases pending stakeholder consultations, with NUGS welcoming the move.

The latest inspection findings are likely to increase pressure for greater scrutiny of private student accommodation, particularly around overcrowding, ventilation, licensing and monitoring.

The next key question is whether the authorities will carry out further inspections and take enforcement action against facilities found to fall below required standards.