Some landlords in Ashaiman have been accused of asking female tenants for sex instead of rent, a new report by the Ashaiman Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre says.
The report explains that in some cases landlords agreed to accept sex in place of rent for a period of time. It also says some caretakers took advantage of women looking for rooms, even though they did not own the houses.
In one case, a caretaker rented a room to a woman for two years while the landlord was away. After her rent ended, he started a relationship with her and told her she could stay one more year. He later added another year while they were still together.
The relationship continued even after the woman became pregnant for another man. When they broke up, the caretaker asked her to leave. She refused, saying they had agreed that she could stay for two more years.
Mediators stepped in. The caretaker admitted he was not the owner and said the landlord had asked him to take back the room. The centre helped both sides reach an agreement and the caretaker paid the woman before she moved out.
The report also mentions another case where a landlord sacked a tenant after finding him in a sexual relationship with his wife.
According to the centre, most of the cases it handled were about money problems, rent increases, and tenants losing their jobs and failing to pay rent on time. Other issues included tenants keeping pets or bringing in visitors against the rules.
The centre is calling on landlords and tenants to follow the law and settle disputes peacefully.
