President John Dramani Mahama has raised concerns over the burden of high rent advances on Ghanaian families, saying substantial advance payments are depleting savings that could otherwise be used for children’s education or to support family businesses.
According to him, the difficulty of securing affordable accommodation is a major challenge facing many young Ghanaian families.
President Mahama said he experienced similar difficulties when he left his father’s house to begin married life with his wife, Lordina.
“When I left my father’s house to start life with Lordina as a young couple, we encountered what many young Ghanaian families face when looking for accommodation,” he said.
He recalled the difficulties they encountered while searching for a suitable and affordable home in Accra, describing the experience as exhausting.
“The miles we covered with estate agents roaming the sprawling city of Accra in search of something that was suitable and affordable was a very exhausting exercise,” President Mahama said.
He said the financial demands associated with renting a home placed significant pressure on their finances even before they had begun their married life together.
“The chalewote fees, the multiple years’ rent in advance and the one month extra rent fee that is paid to the agent who found you the house almost ruined our finances even before we had started married life together,” he said.
President Mahama said the situation was not unique to his family, stressing that many young Ghanaians continue to face similar challenges in securing accommodation.
“Many young Ghanaians are experiencing this same situation even as I speak today,” he said.
He noted that substantial rent advances could force families to use savings intended for other important needs.
“Substantial rent advances can deplete savings that were intended for a child’s education or to run a small business for the family,” he said.
The President therefore called for greater attention to affordable rental housing as part of efforts to address Ghana’s housing challenges.
He said the country’s housing policies must provide different options for households, including mortgages, rent-to-own arrangements, secure rental accommodation and finance for incremental housing.
President Mahama also announced that the National Housing Fund is preparing to introduce an Easy Rent programme aimed at reducing the burden of large rent advances on workers.
Under the programme, he said, the National Housing Fund would pay the rent advance for eligible workers, while the workers would repay the amount monthly.
“Under Easy Rent, they will pay the rent advance for the worker, and then the worker will pay monthly so that they do not have to put up those huge rent advances,” he said.
President Mahama said affordable rental housing should be central to discussions on Ghana’s housing future, particularly for young people who are often required to make substantial upfront payments before securing accommodation.
He said the ultimate objective should be to create a housing system that allows families to secure decent homes without exhausting their savings or placing excessive financial pressure on them.
