Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will officially launch the long-awaited National Rental Assistance Scheme (NRAS) in Accra today, Tuesday, January 31, 2022.
The initiative aims to reduce the burden of rental accommodation hikes while also increasing access to safe and affordable rental housing, particularly for low-income Ghanaians.
The scheme will be implemented in collaboration with the private sector, with the provision of low-interest loans to eligible Ghanaians in order for them to pay rent in advance without experiencing the usual financial difficulties.
In Ghana, rental housing has traditionally been characterized by landlords’ inflexible demands for advance rent from prospective tenants. This imposes a significant burden on mobilizing a year’s rent, in violation of the provisions of the existing Rent Act of 1963. (Act 220).
In its 2020 manifesto, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) promised to pay rent advances to Ghanaian youth in its second term to alleviate the problem of high rent and long rent advances.
According to the most recent Ghana Statistical Service data, the country’s housing deficit increased steadily over the last 50 years, from 1 million to 2.8 million from 1950 to 2010, and is now at 1.8 million.
