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�Who could deny that privacy is a jewel? It has always been the mark of privilege, the distinguishing feature of a truly urbane culture. Out of the cave, the tribal teepee, the Pueblo, the community fortress, man emerged to build himself a house of his own with a shelter in it for himself and his diversions. �Every age has seen it so. The poor might have to huddle together in cities for needs sake, and the frontiersman cling to his neighbors� for the sake of protection. But in each civilization, as it advanced, those who could afford it chose the luxury of a withdrawing- place� Phyllis McGinley. The poor might have to huddle together in cities for need�s sake indeed! One of the basic needs for survival is accommodation. It is so fundamentally important that even the mentally deranged after roaming about a whole day retrace their steps to the corner or bus stop where they pass the night. Unfortunately, not all people are endowed enough to put up their own houses and as an Irish proverb has it �It is in the shelter of each other that the people live�. It is the noble dream of every human being to own their own accommodation facility where they can retire to and have some rest after the hustle and bustle of the day. But since no two fingers of the hand are not equal, the majority of the people -the poor and vulnerable- have to rent in people�s houses. This, like in all human endeavors, comes with its own challenges and difficulties: Rent advance, unlawful ejection, utility payment, to mention but a few. And it is to regulate the relationship between humans so as to promote peaceful and harmonious co-existence that we have laws. The Rent Control Act 220 of 1963 and subsequent ancillary legislative interventions such as the Rent Control law (1986) PNDC 138, as amended by law 163 was enacted and promulgated to regulate the relationship between tenants and landlords, thereby ensuring sanity and peaceful co-existence. The Act makes it clear, among other things, that landlords can only charge 6-months rent advance and succeeding rents are due every six months. Clearly this law sought to restrain the hand of a wicked, callous landlord who would demand for rent advance for a longer period from a poor, unsuspecting would be tenant. Ironically, this is exactly what is happening in Ghana today. So the question is where are the makers of the law? Where are those entrusted with the responsibility to implement the law? Where are those who are to enforce the law? Have they turned blind eye, and sitting aloof because it is the poor and ordinary man, already crashing under the weight of myriad of difficulties, who suffers? Or is it because the law is a bad law? Well Abraham Lincoln said �The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.� Several thousands of poor Ghanaians have to cough out blood to raise rent advance of up to three years for single rooms in houses where there are no water and toilet facility. Why is the poor Ghanaian who stays in winding queue under scorching sun to cast their vote for some people to swim in awe-striking largesse being treated so shabbily? Justice Vida Akoto -Bamfo, member of the Law Reform committee and also chairperson of the Rent Review Committee, at a symposium in 2007 said �The Commission is of the view that the relationship between a landlord and a tenant most often put the former in a stronger bargaining position. This is because as is the case now in the country, demand for accommodation exceeds the supply. A completely unregulated system which leaves the tenant at the mercy of market forces would also present us with a very chaotic situation in the estate/property and Rental housing industry�. Lack of enforcement of The Rent Control Act has only succeeded in presenting us with a very chaotic situation with the, as always, at the receiving end. �Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced� Albert Einstein. The ordinary person in this country is treated like the proverbial scorpion which is struck with a heavy stake while the crab is gently pierced in the belly. Listen to a deputy chief of staff in the matter of the burning of the residence of former president Rawlings. According to him the former presidents reported mansion at Adjiringano is a �red herring� and that finding a new accommodation for him is a priority to the government? Other commentators have also suggested that the need to provide office and residential accommodation for former president Kufour should be tied in to that priority. For heaven sake, are the two distinguished personalities in need of accommodation? Like DuBose Heyward said �You would not give me toys in those bleak days; so when my playmates proudly boasted theirs, you caught me to the shelter of your arms, and taught me how to laugh away my tears.� The poor masses of this country are charged three-year rent advance in direct contravention of the Rent Control Law and reversing it has never been a priority because those in authority and their families are insulated and even in many cases are the beneficiaries of lack of enforcement of the law. Yes because they have houses to rent out for foreign currencies while cooling it off in state bungalows maintained by the tax payer. I challenge Parliament, the Judiciary and the President to make enforcement of the Rent Control Law a priority if indeed the ordinary man matters in their scheme of things.