President John Dramani Mahama has issued a direct call for tenants to officially report landlords who demand rent advances exceeding six months as the legal limit, as his administration moves to tackle exploitation within the country’s strained housing sector.
Speaking to Organised Labour at the Jubilee House on Tuesday, March 17, Mahama acknowledged the severe financial strain that housing costs place on Ghanaian households.
He emphasised that accommodation expenses are consuming a disproportionately large share of workers’ incomes, necessitating urgent intervention.
“We need to have a national housing dialogue and decide how, between the private sector, government, and labour, we can come together and come up with a social housing policy,” Mahama stated.
He proposed that such a policy would ensure affordable housing for workers, whether through accessible mortgages or favourable rental costs.
The President attributed the rampant demand for excessive advance payments to the country’s significant housing deficit.
He argued that this shortage has created a market dynamic where landlords feel empowered to impose unlawful charges on prospective tenants without consequence.
While Ghanaian law explicitly caps rent advances at six months, Mahama noted that the practice of demanding far longer periods, sometimes up to two years, persists largely because both parties avoid involving the authorities.
He noted that neither landlords nor tenants are currently willing to seek redress at the Rent Control Department, allowing the illegal practice to continue unchecked.
“The reason why the private house owners are taking advantage is because of the deficit in housing… the one who is renting and the house owner are both not prepared to go to the rent court,” he explained.
To break this cycle, the President urged tenants to step forward and file formal reports against offending landlords and assured the public that the government is prepared to enforce the law.
“You can report them to the rent court, and we will ensure they are dealt with,” he asserted.
