The United Nations has urged the government of Ghana to strengthen the Rent Control Department with adequate funding, personnel and logistical support as rising housing costs continue to make decent accommodation unaffordable for many Ghanaians.
Koldo Casla, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, said the country needs stronger housing institutions and effective monitoring of the rental market to protect tenants against arbitrary rent increases.
The recommendation followed his 12-day official visit to Ghana, during which he assessed housing conditions, construction activities and the affordability of formal accommodation.
Mr Casla expressed concern that the rapid growth of real estate development, particularly in Accra, was not translating into affordable homes for ordinary Ghanaians. He observed that many properties being advertised on the market carried prices beyond the reach of average-income households.
“During the visit, I observed the housing construction and physical transformations taking place primarily in Accra,” he said.
“I could see flashy billboards around the capital promoting real estate investments at stratospheric prices far from the reach of the average Ghanaian.”
He warned that the housing market was increasingly treating homes as investment assets rather than providing affordable accommodation for people who need them.
According to Mr Casla, the growing gap between housing prices and household incomes is forcing many people to live in informal settlements, where access to clean water, sanitation, secure land tenure and other essential services can be inadequate.
He disclosed that about 31 per cent of Ghana’s urban population lives in informal settlements, while a considerable number of people remain homeless.
The situation has renewed concerns about the government’s capacity to protect tenants and ensure that housing policies respond to the needs of low-income households.
The Rent Control Department plays an important role in mediating landlord-tenant disputes and supporting the enforcement of rental regulations. However, limited funding, staffing and logistical resources can weaken its ability to address complaints and respond effectively to abuses in the rental market.
Mr Casla’s recommendation highlights the need to strengthen the department so it can better monitor rental practices and protect tenants from unfair treatment.
However, improving rent regulation alone will not resolve Ghana’s wider housing crisis. The UN official estimated that the construction sector employs hundreds of thousands of people and contributes between 7 and 15 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, making it an important part of the economy.
The challenge, therefore, is to ensure that the growth of the real estate and construction industries also delivers homes that ordinary workers and middle- and low-income families can afford.
This will require a broader approach, including increasing the supply of affordable housing, improving access to mortgage financing, providing serviced land and encouraging private developers to invest in housing for different income groups.
The UN’s assessment raises a fundamental question about Ghana’s growing cities: whether the country’s expanding real estate market is meeting the housing needs of the people who live and work there or increasingly catering to investors and buyers who can afford high property prices.
