Renting in Accra is usually a daunting problem, particularly for the youth seeking to set up their independence.
The hurdles are quite a few, from steep room costs to hefty advance funds, making it almost unimaginable for a lot of to maneuver out of their mother and father’ houses.
Whereas the structure supplies safeguards, renting in Accra stays topic to challenges akin to excessive hire costs, insufficient housing provide, tenant-landlord disputes, and grasping brokers got down to prey on weak tenants.
In Accra, even a primary single-room self-contained unit, which many contemplate a modest begin for younger adults, is much from reasonably priced.
These rooms may value as a lot as GH₵ 1,000 per thirty days regardless of the common employee incomes about GH₵ 1,200 month-to-month.
Additionally, landlords in Accra sometimes demand massive upfront hire funds, usually requiring one to 2 years’ hire advance.
Even the extra lenient landlords who settle for six months’ cost upfront current an insurmountable monetary problem for many younger individuals.
Then comes brokers within the renting course of, including one other expense layer so as to add salt to harm.
These brokers cost roughly 10% of the whole hire as their price for serving to discover a rental.
This implies if you happen to hire a room that prices GH₵100o for 2 years, it would value GH₵24000 in complete, and the agent will pocket GH₵ 2400 as a ten% fee for serving to you entry a room.
That is compounded by a viewing price starting from GH₵50 to GH₵100 per each facility the agent introduces to you.
Relying on the type of rental you have an interest in, the most affordable viewing price can be GH₵ 100, additional compounding your woes and rising the general value of securing a spot to put your head.
This could considerably inflate the preliminary sum of money wanted to maneuver into a brand new place, discouraging many from pursuing leases via brokers.
The excessive prices related to renting inhibit monetary independence and contribute to a broader socio-economic difficulty drawback for younger adults.
The unlawful observe has been normalised, and tenants are helpless whereas the authorities in cost have gone to sleep.
The 1992 structure of Ghana implies that rental brokers can not cost a landlord or a tenant 10% of the whole hire as their price for serving to discover a rental; relatively, essentially the most an agent can cost is 5% of the whole one-year hire price.
Part 25 (c) ACT 220 (The Lease Act) states, “An individual who, in respect of any premises being or appearing as an agent or dealer, calls for or receives for providers in reference to the procuring of a grant, renewal, or an project of a tenancy, a consideration which exceeds 5 per cent of the recoverable hire for one 12 months of these premises commits an offence and is liable on conviction by the Lease Justice of the Peace to a nice not exceeding 2 hundred penalty items to a time period not exceeding six months or to each the nice and the imprisonment.”
At present, one penalty unit is GH¢12.00, which implies brokers who flout this legislation could possibly be charged by the court docket to pay GH¢2400 and spend six months in jail or do each.
A 2024 Ghana Housing Profile research commissioned by the Ministry of Works and Housing revealed that a number of Ghanaians are left weak and exploited by landlords and householders who cost excessive rents and extreme hire advances.
Based on the lead advisor of the research, Professor Clifford Amoako, the state of affairs is extra eminent in city areas. That is largely because of the non-functionality of techniques within the housing sector regardless of many legal guidelines.
Talking at a validation workshop on the research in Accra, Professor Amoako stated Ghana has a regulatory surroundings which ought to handle these challenges.
Nonetheless, the establishments and techniques put in place will not be working.
“There are such a lot of legal guidelines, so many laws, and so many establishments concerned, however the coordination has been weak, and because of this, we have now an exploitative personal sector that’s exploiting the common renter and making life troublesome for them.
“What this implies is that folks nonetheless pay two or three years hire advance, which is a lot cash. It additionally signifies that individuals are utilizing their very own cash to furnish and full houses and nonetheless paying advance to landlords.
“So the establishments and regulatory frameworks will not be actually working, and subsequently, the common tenant or employee is all the time confronted with exploitation”.