Pensioner To Get House Back - Court Rules

Accra, 4 June A High Court in Accra today ordered the State Housing Company (SHC) to hand over its estate house No. A231 at Dansoman within 30 days to Mr A. M. K. Degadzor, a retired worker of the company. The order was contained in judgement in a case in which Mr Degadzor filed a writ against the company claiming possession of the house. Mr Degadzor, according to the writ, served SHC for 22 years during which he paid rent for the period on the house allocated to him by virtue of a housing scheme operated by the company. Under the scheme, SHC was to put up a building for the plaintiff who will pay two-thirds of the cost while the company would pay the remaining one-third. The company, the writ said, asked the plaintiff to vacate the house and that a new one would be built for him, but he objected. The court presided over by Mr Justice R.K Apaloo, said " the defendants are forthwith ordered to deliver all personal effects of the plaintiff taken away from the house within 30 days as from today, failure of which plaintiff can bring specific action to recover the items". The court awarded two million cedis to plaintiff for wrongful or unlawful ejection, three million cedis for unlawful detention of plaintiff and five million cedis for loss of use of plaintiff personal effects and 2.5 million cedis for not repeat not using the house within the period. The court again awared 800,000 cedis costs against the SHC. The court further ordered the defendants and their agents from interfering with plaintiff's possession and enjoyment of the house and the defendant should deliver all documents covering the house to plaintiff within three months.