President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday called on tenants across Ghana to report landlords who demand rent advances exceeding six months, warning that such conduct constitutes a criminal offence under existing law.
The President made the remarks during a wide-ranging dialogue with Organised Labour at the Jubilee House on Tuesday, March 17, where housing affordability featured alongside broader discussions on wages and economic conditions.
Under the Rent Act, 1963, Act 220, as amended by People’s National Defence Council (PNDC) Law 5, landlords are prohibited from collecting more than six months of rent in advance where a tenancy exceeds six months. For shorter tenancies, the maximum permitted advance is two months.
Despite the law being in force for decades, it is common practice for landlords to demand two to three years of rent in advance, in clear violation of the Rent Act. Many landlords still request one to two years upfront, making renting unaffordable for many Ghanaians.
President Mahama’s intervention builds on a broader government push to enforce tenancy laws. In late February, Ghana’s Acting Rent Commissioner, Frederick Opoku, put landlords on notice that the Rent Commission intends to prosecute violators, ahead of the nationwide launch of a mandatory Rent Card system on March 1, 2026. The Commission deployed a nationwide Rent Taskforce, whose members operate in collaboration with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies across the country.
The Rent Commission also disclosed that approximately 60 percent of tenants in Ghana do not have formal tenancy agreements, a situation the Commission intends to reverse by making both landlords and tenants legally accountable.
Ghana faces a housing deficit of over two million units, with demand far exceeding supply, a gap that analysts say has historically empowered landlords to flout rent laws with little consequence.
Parliament has been urged to fast-track a revised Rent Bill, which was laid before Parliament in March 2023, to modernise enforcement mechanisms and bring relief to tenants nationwide.
