Ghana's 63-Year Rent Law: Why Are We Still Renting in 1963? The Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220), the rental crisis and the urgent case for a modern Ghanaian renting system

There is a question Ghana must confront with uncomfortable honesty:

How can a country whose population, cities, economy, technology, housing market and cost of living have transformed so dramatically still depend substantially on a rental law enacted in 1963?

The Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220) was enacted on 12 December 1963 to consolidate and amend the law relating to rent control and recovery of possession of premises. It was created for a Ghana that was vastly different from the Ghana of 2026.

More than six decades later, Ghana has experienced rapid urbanisation, population growth, new forms of housing, private real-estate investment, student accommodation, digital payments, property-management companies, online housing platforms and dramatically different rental prices.

Yet the legal framework governing the relationship between millions of landlords and tenants remains rooted in legislation from another era.

That should not merely provoke political debate.

It should provoke national reflection.
And perhaps the most uncomfortable question is this:

«If Ghana has had 63 years to modernise its rent laws, why are ordinary tenants and landlords still being asked to navigate a rental market whose legal architecture belongs largely to another generation?»

What exactly is the Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220)?

The Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220) is Ghana's principal legislation dealing with rent control, landlord-tenant relationships, rent assessment, recovery of possession, certain obligations of landlords and tenants, offences and related matters.

It established the legal framework for controlling rents and regulating possession of premises in specified circumstances. Parliament's official repository still identifies the Act as Act 220, enacted in 1963.

Importantly, however, saying that "Act 220 is no longer applicable" is technically inaccurate.

The Act has not simply disappeared.
It remains part of Ghana's rental-law framework and has been amended, including through the Rent Control Law, 1986 (P.N.D.C.L. 138). The current legal framework therefore consists of an old Act together with subsequent amendments and related laws.

The real problem is different:
Act 220 is still applicable, but large parts of the framework are increasingly inadequate for the realities of today's rental market.

That distinction matters.
A law can remain legally valid while becoming increasingly difficult to enforce, increasingly disconnected from economic reality and increasingly incapable of solving the problems it was designed to address.

That is the situation Ghana appears to be confronting.

The Six-Month Question: If the Law Says One Thing, Why Does the Market Do Another?

One of the most controversial issues surrounding Ghana's rental system is advance rent.

The amended legal framework restricts advance rent: for a tenancy exceeding six months, the law prohibits demanding more than six months' rent in advance, while shorter/monthly tenancies are subject to stricter limits.

Yet anyone familiar with Ghana's housing market knows the reality can be radically different.

Two years.
Three years.
Sometimes even more.
Academic research published in 2024 found that the prevailing rental norm in Ghana involved advance payments of two years or more, creating significant financial pressure on renters and affecting savings, personal development and household finances.

Earlier research likewise documented severe conflict between landlords and tenants over advance rent and showed how informal rental-market practices could diverge significantly from the statutory framework.

So here is the uncomfortable question:
What is the value of a law that says a landlord cannot demand excessive advance rent if thousands of tenants cannot realistically secure accommodation without paying exactly that amount?

And another:
Is the problem the law, enforcement, housing supply, economic conditions or all three?

The honest answer is probably all three.
Why Has the Law Become Difficult to Apply?
It would be unfair to blame everything on the Rent Control Department.

The Department does not build houses.
It does not determine the national interest rate.

It does not control inflation.
It does not manufacture cement.
It does not determine land prices.
It does not control population growth or urban migration.

And it does not have the constitutional power to pass an Act of Parliament.

Its mandate includes investigating complaints, assessing recoverable rent, examining compliance, maintaining relevant records, educating the public and taking steps against violations under the existing legal framework.

But enforcement becomes extraordinarily difficult when the economic environment itself pushes people towards behaviour that legislation seeks to restrict.

Imagine a landlord who has spent millions of cedis constructing a property.

The landlord faces:
- expensive construction materials;
- land acquisition costs;
- financing costs;
- property taxes and other charges;
- maintenance;
- utility and infrastructure costs;
- risks of default;
- difficulty recovering possession;
- inflation and currency depreciation.
Now consider the tenant, who may face:
- low or irregular income;
- unemployment;
- high food prices;
- transportation costs;
- school fees;
- medical expenses;
- insufficient savings;
- high housing demand.
The landlord wants security.
The tenant wants affordability.
The law must therefore protect both sides without pretending the market of 2026 operates like the market of 1963.

The Rent Control Department: Is It Failing or Is It Being Set Up to Fail?

This is one of the hardest questions Ghana must ask.

The Department has itself raised serious concerns about enforcement and resources.

In October 2025, the Principal Rent Manager disclosed that the Rent Control Department was operating with only two vehicles nationwide, describing the logistical situation as a major constraint on its operations.

Think about that.
A national institution responsible for dealing with landlord-tenant disputes, rent assessments, inspections, enforcement and public education across Ghana operating with such severe logistical limitations raises an obvious institutional question:

Can Ghana realistically expect effective nationwide rent regulation without giving the regulator the resources required to regulate?

And if a tenant in a remote district has a complaint, how quickly can an officer investigate?

If a landlord is allegedly violating the law in another region, what logistical capacity exists to inspect the property?

If enforcement requires evidence, field visits and follow-up, where are the resources?

This is not simply a Rent Control Department problem.

It is a governance problem.
But the Rent Control Department Must Also Answer Some Difficult Questions

While the Department deserves adequate resources, citizens also have legitimate questions for the institution.

Where is the sustained national campaign demanding modern rent legislation?

Why has the rental crisis been allowed to become so deeply entrenched before becoming a sustained national policy emergency?

Why should citizens be the ones continuously complaining about excessive advance rent, arbitrary increases and poor enforcement?

Where is the Department's comprehensive annual public report showing:

- the number of complaints received;
- number resolved;
- number referred to court;
- number of landlords prosecuted;
- number of tenants prosecuted;
- number of rent assessments conducted;
- regional enforcement statistics;
- number of properties inspected;
- major violations identified;
- resources required;
- resources actually received?
The Department has been taking steps.
In 2026, it intensified enforcement of rent-card requirements, pursued action against excessive advance rent and began engagements with the Judicial Service over specialised rent courts.

It is also developing a standard tenancy agreement intended to reduce disputes and clarify the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants.

These are important steps.
But the bigger question remains:
Should the Rent Control Department merely administer an old legal framework, or should it be one of the strongest institutional voices demanding that the framework itself be transformed?

Parliament Cannot Escape This Debate
This is where the national conversation becomes particularly uncomfortable.

A Rent Bill was introduced in Parliament in 2023. Parliament's official records show that the Rent Bill, 2023 was laid by the then Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso Boakye, on 29 March 2023.

Parliament's own records also show that by July 2023, the Rent Bill remained among bills requiring committee attention before the Eighth Parliament adjourned.

And there was no enactment before the Eighth Parliament expired.

That meant the process effectively had to be revisited.

This is an important distinction:
It is not accurate to say Parliament has never considered rent reform.

It has.
The problem is that Ghana has repeatedly failed to convert recognition of the problem into a completed modern legal framework.

The Ministry itself later acknowledged that the revised Bill submitted to the Eighth Parliament could not be passed before that Parliament expired, partly because additional issues had emerged requiring further work.

That leads to the question that should be asked without fear:

How many more parliamentary cycles must Ghana pass through before housing becomes important enough for rent legislation to receive the urgency routinely given to other national laws?

Government Has Now Promised Another Attempt
There is, however, an important development.
In June 2026, the Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, told Parliament that government had begun a comprehensive review of Ghana's rent laws and intended to submit legislation to repeal and replace the outdated framework. The Minister described the existing framework as 63 years old and inadequate for the realities of Ghana's evolving housing market.

The Ministry has also reported that stakeholder consultations were being used to refine a revised Rent Bill before resubmission to Cabinet and subsequently to Parliament. Key issues included rent assessment, hostel accommodation and rent advance.

Government's policy documents also contemplate restructuring the Rent Control Unit into a stronger Ghana Rent Authority, alongside reforms to rent regulation, housing standards and rental assistance.

This is encouraging.
But Ghanaians have heard promises before.
Therefore, the question is no longer simply:
"Will government review the Rent Act?"
The question should be:
"When exactly will the Bill reach Parliament, what will it contain, what will Parliament do with it, and when will the President be able to assent to it?"

Citizens deserve a timeline.
What Should a Modern Ghanaian Rental System Look Like?

A modern rental system should not simply replace one old Act with another.

It should rethink the entire rental ecosystem.

The future Ghanaian rental system should include:

1. Digital tenancy agreements
Every tenancy should have a standardised, legally recognised agreement that clearly states:

- monthly rent;
- duration;
- deposit;
- responsibilities of landlord and tenant;
- maintenance obligations;
- rent-review mechanism;
- termination provisions;
- dispute-resolution procedures.
2. Digital property and landlord registration

Rental properties should progressively enter a national rental database.

This would help government understand:
- where rental properties exist;
- prevailing rents;
- housing shortages;
- vacant properties;
- rental trends;
- landlord compliance.
3. Transparent rent assessment
Rent should not be determined solely by arbitrary demands.

A modern system could use transparent criteria such as:

- location;
- property size;
- facilities;
- condition;
- infrastructure;
- comparable rents;
- accessibility;
- market conditions.
4. Fair rent-review mechanisms
Landlords need protection against inflation.
Tenants need protection against arbitrary increases.

A modern Act should therefore establish clear rules governing when and how rents can be reviewed.

5. Stronger protection against unlawful eviction

A tenant should not be able to abuse a landlord.

But neither should a landlord be able to remove a tenant through intimidation, harassment, utility disconnection or other unlawful means.

6. Fast-track rental dispute resolution
The establishment of specialised rent courts or tribunals could dramatically reduce delays.

The Rent Control Department has already begun engagements with the Judicial Service towards specialised rent courts.

7. A modern rent-payment system
Ghana should encourage monthly or otherwise manageable payment arrangements supported by:

- digital payments;
- standing orders;
- verified tenancy agreements;
- rent-payment histories;
- automated receipts.
8. Protection for landlords
A new Rent Act must not become an anti-landlord law.

Landlords should have enforceable rights where tenants:

- fail to pay;
- damage property;
- breach agreements;
- unlawfully sublet;
- engage in illegal activities.
9. Protection for tenants
Tenants should have protection against:
- illegal eviction;
- excessive advance rent;
- arbitrary rent increases;
- harassment;
- discriminatory practices;
- unsafe accommodation;
- unlawful charges.
10. A functioning rental-data system
You cannot effectively regulate what you cannot measure.

Ghana needs reliable national rental data.
The Government Has Already Recognised That Housing Supply Is Part of the Problem

There is another uncomfortable truth.
A Rent Act alone cannot solve Ghana's housing crisis.

If ten families are competing for one available house, legislation cannot magically create nine houses.

That is why government policy must combine rent regulation with housing supply.

The 2025 Budget stated that government would review the Rent Act, 1963 and P.N.D.C.L. 138 while seeking to remove constraints and stimulate private-sector investment in rental housing.

More recently, President John Dramani Mahama announced a national housing initiative intended to increase housing supply, expand affordable homeownership and reduce the burden of high rent advances.

This is critical.
Regulate the market but also expand the market.

Build more affordable houses.
Support private rental development.
Encourage institutional investors.
Expand affordable housing.
Use public-private partnerships.
Develop rental housing around transport corridors.

Support student accommodation.
Encourage professionally managed rental properties.

Because the most effective way to reduce excessive rent pressure is ultimately to increase supply.

What Are Landlords Saying?
Many landlords would argue:
"Government cannot tell us how to manage properties we spent our money to build."

They have a point.
If a landlord invests heavily in a property, the law should recognise the legitimate economic interests of the property owner.

Landlords also complain about tenants who:
- refuse to pay rent;
- damage property;
- stay beyond tenancy agreements;
- sublet without permission;
- resist lawful rent increases;
- make recovery of possession difficult.
A modern Rent Act must therefore create confidence for property owners.

Because if regulation becomes too punitive, investors may stop building rental housing.

And that could make the housing shortage worse.

What Are Tenants Saying?
Tenants have an equally powerful argument:
"We earn monthly salaries. Why should we be forced to find two or three years' rent at once?"

Research has documented how extended advance-rent requirements can place severe financial pressure on renters and affect savings and personal development.

For a young worker earning GH¢4,000 a month, demanding two years' rent on a property costing GH¢2,000 per month means finding GH¢48,000 before moving in.

That is not simply a housing problem.
It is a capital-access problem.
It can prevent young people from:
- starting businesses;
- pursuing education;
- saving;
- investing;
- supporting families;
- relocating for employment.
This is why Ghana's National Rental Assistance Scheme was introduced to help tenants manage large rent-advance obligations through financing arrangements. Government reported that the scheme had benefited thousands of people.

But assistance schemes should complement not replace legal reform.

The Question Nobody Wants to Ask
Here is perhaps the most important question in this entire debate:

Why has Ghana normalised behaviour that its own law restricts?

If two years' advance rent has become socially normal while the law restricts excessive advance payments, what does that tell us?

It tells us there is a gap between:
law and reality.
And whenever that gap becomes too wide, respect for the law itself begins to suffer.

People begin saying:
"Everybody does it."
That is how illegal practices become social norms.

Hard Questions for Government
The government should answer these questions publicly:

1. When exactly will the new Rent Bill be completed and laid before Parliament?

2. What is the government's definitive timetable for replacing Act 220 and P.N.D.C.L. 138?

3. What specific provisions will the new legislation contain on advance rent?

4. Will monthly rent become the preferred standard, and if not, why not?

5. How will the new law protect landlords from tenants who deliberately refuse to pay rent?

6. How will tenants be protected against arbitrary rent increases?

7. Will rental properties and landlords be registered nationally?

8. Will tenancy agreements become mandatory?
9. Will rent prices become digitally recorded?

10. How will government prevent a new law from becoming another law that exists beautifully on paper but poorly in practice?

Hard Questions for the Ministry
The Ministry responsible for housing should also answer:

Why should Ghana wait another five, ten or twenty years for reform?

What lessons were learned from the failure of the 2023 Rent Bill to become law?

What happened during the legislative process?

Which provisions generated disagreement?
What stakeholder interests delayed the process?

How much has the review cost taxpayers?
What measurable targets have been established?

When will the public see the revised Bill?
And most importantly:
Will the Ministry publish a public implementation roadmap so that citizens can track progress?

Hard Questions for Parliament
Parliament deserves perhaps the strongest scrutiny because Parliament is the institution that ultimately makes laws.

The people of Ghana should ask:
Why did the Rent Bill of 2023 fail to become law before the Eighth Parliament expired?

Was rent reform genuinely treated as a national priority?

If Parliament could process legislation dealing with many complex areas of national life, why could a critical housing law not be completed?

Why should a tenant struggling to raise two years' rent have to wait for another parliamentary cycle?

Why should a landlord operating in an uncertain regulatory environment also wait?

And the question that should perhaps echo through Parliament:

If MPs themselves had to search for accommodation in Accra every year and were required to pay two years' rent in advance, would the Rent Bill still be waiting?

What About the Rent Control Department?
The Department should also look inward.
It needs to become more than a dispute-resolution office.

It should become a data-driven national rental regulator.

It should publish annual rental-market reports.

It should establish measurable enforcement targets.

It should publicly report violations.
It should intensify landlord and tenant education.

It should develop standard tenancy agreements.

It should expand digital services.
It should advocate professionally for legislative reform.

It should tell Parliament what happens every day on the ground.

Because the Department sees the consequences of weak rental regulation firsthand.

If the regulator knows where the system is failing, its evidence should be one of the strongest forces driving legislative reform.

Citizens Also Have a Responsibility
Government cannot reform the rental market alone.

Citizens must become organised advocates.
Tenants' associations, landlords' associations, professional bodies, lawyers, journalists, academics, civil society organisations, students and housing experts should demand a transparent process.

Citizens can:
- petition Parliament;
- engage their MPs;
- attend stakeholder consultations;
- submit memoranda;
- use traditional and social media;
- organise public forums;
- demand publication of the draft Bill;
- ask MPs for constituency-level positions;
- support evidence-based advocacy;
- report violations;
- educate tenants and landlords about existing law.

The issue should not become NDC versus NPP.
It should not become landlord versus tenant.
It should become:
Ghana versus an outdated rental system.
The New Rent Act Must Not Be Written Only for Tenants

This point is essential.
A successful modern Rent Act must be balanced.

A law that protects tenants while destroying landlords' confidence will fail.

A law that protects landlords while leaving tenants vulnerable will also fail.

The objective should be a rental ecosystem where:

Landlords can invest with confidence.
Tenants can rent with dignity.
Government can regulate effectively.
Courts can resolve disputes quickly.
Investors can predict returns.
Citizens can understand their rights.
And the rental market can function transparently.

What Ghana Could Gain From a Modern Rent Act
A properly designed modern rental law could have consequences far beyond landlord-tenant disputes.

It could:
Improve investment
Investors are more likely to develop rental housing when the legal environment is predictable.

Reduce exploitation
Clear rules can reduce arbitrary charges and unlawful practices.

Improve tax compliance
A formal rental database could make rental-income taxation more transparent.

Improve housing statistics
Government would gain better information about the country's rental stock.

Reduce disputes
Standard agreements and specialised dispute mechanisms could prevent many conflicts.

Improve mobility
People could relocate more easily for jobs and education.

Support young workers
Reduced upfront housing costs could free income for productive economic activity.

Promote digitalisation
Digital agreements, receipts and property registration could modernise the sector.

Strengthen urban planning
Government would have better data for planning transport, schools, water, sanitation and infrastructure.

Encourage construction
A predictable rental market could encourage private-sector investment in housing.

The Biggest Lesson: A Rent Act Is Not a Housing Policy

This is where Ghana must be careful.
A new Rent Act will not automatically make houses affordable.

It will not automatically eliminate the housing deficit.

It will not automatically reduce construction costs.

It will not automatically stop landlords from demanding excessive advance rent.

It will not automatically solve unemployment.

It will not automatically make Accra affordable.

The law must therefore form part of a larger national housing strategy.

More houses.
Better regulation.
Better financing.
Better data.
Better enforcement.
Better courts.
Better planning.
That is the combination Ghana needs.
The Way Forward: Ten Actions Ghana Should Take

1. Complete the new Rent Bill urgently
Government should publish a clear timeline from review to Cabinet, Parliament, passage and presidential assent.

2. Publish the draft for public scrutiny
Ghanaians should know what Parliament will eventually be asked to pass.

3. Establish a national landlord-tenant consultation mechanism

Both sides must have a permanent voice.
4. Transform Rent Control into a properly resourced Ghana Rent Authority

Government policy already contemplates this institutional transformation.

5. Digitise the rental market
Create national systems for property registration, tenancy agreements, rent cards, complaints and dispute tracking.

6. Establish specialised rent courts
Fast justice is essential for both tenants and landlords.

7. Create a transparent rent-data system
Government cannot regulate rental markets blindly.

8. Expand affordable housing supply
Regulation without supply will never fully solve the problem.

9. Reform rent financing
Expand and improve rental-assistance mechanisms so tenants do not need years of savings simply to secure shelter.

10. Make enforcement measurable
Publish annual national statistics on complaints, investigations, settlements, prosecutions and compliance.

The Final Question
Ghana does not have a shortage of intelligence.

It does not have a shortage of lawyers.
It does not have a shortage of Parliamentarians.

It does not have a shortage of housing experts.

It does not have a shortage of landlords.
It certainly does not have a shortage of tenants.

So what exactly are we waiting for?
The Rent Act was created in 1963.
Since then, Ghana has gone through military governments, constitutional governments, economic crises, technological revolutions, rapid urbanisation, population growth and enormous changes in the property market.

Yet the country is still struggling with many of the same rental questions.

That should concern everybody.
The landlord deserves a legal system that protects his investment.

The tenant deserves a legal system that protects his dignity.

The Rent Control Department deserves the resources to enforce the law.

The Ministry deserves the political support to reform the sector.

Parliament deserves scrutiny for the speed and seriousness with which it handles the issue.

And citizens deserve something more than another promise.

They deserve a modern rental system.
The real test of the proposed new Rent Act will therefore not be how impressive it looks when presented in Parliament.

The real test will be whether, five years after its passage, a young Ghanaian earning a modest salary can find a decent home without having to sacrifice years of savings merely to pay rent in advance.

Whether a landlord can recover his property without spending years fighting through a complicated process.

Whether disputes can be resolved in weeks rather than months or years.

Whether rental prices become more transparent.

Whether housing investment becomes more attractive.

Whether enforcement becomes real.
And whether ordinary citizens finally feel that the law governing the roof over their heads was written for the Ghana in which they actually live.

Ghana does not merely need a new Rent Act.
Ghana needs a new rental social contract.
And after 63 years, perhaps the most important question Parliament, government, the Ministry and the Rent Control Department must answer is this:

If not now, when
The citizens are waiting. The landlords are waiting. The tenants are waiting. And Ghana's housing crisis is not waiting.

By:
Patrick Belebang Yagsori
+233240292413
patrickbelebang@gmail.com

   Comments0