The Chief Rent Controller with the Rent Control Department of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing has cautioned the general public to be careful when dealing with rent agents.

These agents have come to be recognized in society as the main liaisons between landlords with vacant rental accommodations and persons needing places to rent.

Many have fallen prey to the activities of unscrupulous agents who mostly exploit the vulnerabilities of desperate home searchers and abscond with their monies.

According to Addo Soin Dombo, employing the services of a building agent in the search of an apartment is not a legal obligation even though their services are recognized by law.

He emphasized that it is a personal choice and that one should exercise extreme caution when advancing monies.

He told Ultimate Radio, although agents are recognized under the law, a good number of them are not registered with the rents control department as is the accepted practice.

Mr. Addo Soin Dombo says his department is mandated to prosecute agents who dupe people which include asking tenants to pay ten percent of rent sum as commission.

He explained, “under the law, an agent is not supposed to charge ten percent.”

“He is supposed to take five percent of the one year rent advance paid by the tenant to the land lord,” he said.

He called on the public to report any agent who asks for more money or acts suspiciously to the rent department for drastic action to be taken to sanitize the system.

Speaking to the issue, the Director of Public Affairs at the Ghana Police Service, DSP Cephas Arthur said his outfit continues to receive several of such cases.

He however admits tracking down these scammers remains a challenge as the fake agents don’t always give the true information about their addresses.

“Because it is con men activities, it is really difficult tracking the perpetrators down. Sometimes when you go to the houses that the complainants show you as their places of residence, they are not there and you are told they don’t have anybody like that inhabiting the place,” he indicated.

He said the only times they are able to help is when the scam is at its initial stages and they can give advice for the house searcher to stay clear of such activities.

The search for decent affordable houses continues to surge especially in big cities like Accra, Takoradi and Kumasi.?Currently, the country’s housing shortfall, which is estimated at 1.7 million units, largely in affordable homes, is expected by government to grow to 2 million by 2020.