For someone who makes about GHS2,500 monthly, having to cough up GHS12,000 for rent every year is crazy. You already know the rent advance math won’t be mathing any time soon.
How do you come up with that much money when you make so little? How do you cough up that lump sum without getting into debt and being disabled from doing other things to help you have a better quality of life? It’s a pretty difficult task but unfortunately, that’s what a lot of people in Ghana have to deal with.
President John Mahama wants to change that. He’s encouraging the enforcement of a long-existing rent law that says landlords can’t take more than 6-months rent advance. Prosecution of lawbreaking landlords is reported to start in April 2026.
Awesome news on paper. But three scenarios immediately pop up and none with clear answers:
- Rent increases
- Rent refusals
- Tenants biting the bullet
Landlords Will Raise Prices
What happens if the landlords decide to increase the price of their homes because of this new enforcement? This is the most predictable and likely outcome.
From a landlord’s perspective, the rent money is needed now and not later. For instance, if the home was renting for GHS1,000 per month, the landlord can expect GHS12,000 at once. With this enforcement, s/he is limited to just GHS6,000. For many, the smart thing will be to double the cost of rent to ensure they make back their GHS12,000 from the jump instead of waiting an extra 6 months. Plus, they even get to make twice the annual amount because they now earn GHS24,000 in the year. Now that’s a killing!
Greedy? Yes. Destabilizing for renters? Yes. Logical for the landlords? Absolutely. An act of rebellion by the landlords? You bet.
Politician and businessman Kwasi Nti Asamoah raised a version of this concern publicly, arguing that shorter advance periods could expose tenants to more frequent price adjustments rather than less financial pressure. His point highlights a gaping hole in this approach. The law caps how much advance a landlord can collect, but it does not regulate how often or how steeply rents can be revised between tenancy periods. Landlords who feel squeezed on the advance will simply squeeze back based on vibes and inshaallah on the monthly rate. Expect prices to go up just for sheygey reasons.
Landlords Will Refuse to Rent
The other question is, what happens if landlords decide to stop renting their homes to tenants who report them or decide to abide by the law? The president did after all encourage tenants to report landlords who insist on 1 or 2 year rent advances. I bet this will inspire some pretty fascinating Ghallywood scenes.
Or what if landlords decide the government can go suck it and figure out it’s own housing deficit problems? After all, this is the landlord’s property and they can decide what to do with it. They might as well leave their properties empty than be forced to compromise.
Tenants Will Pay Anyway
This is the most likely scenario. Tenants will swallow the one year or two year advance like their favorite balls of kenkey regardless of the law.
If there’s anything you learn from dealing with the police and most institutions in Ghana is this: the system is gameable and frustration and un-rendered service is the main outcome if you decide to play by the book.
President Mahama lowkey acknowledged this himself, noting that both tenants and landlords often avoid the rent court entirely, settling arrangements privately because the tenant needs the accommodation too badly to risk making trouble.
The Case for Monthly Rent (From Someone Who Pays It)
I consider myself lucky because my rent is collected monthly. Shouts to my awesome landlord. Honestly, this frees my pockets up to be able to do other things. That’s what this law is supposed to do for many Ghanaians. But, I won’t pretend it’s perfect. I can’t help but shed a tear when finances are tight and I have to pay up. But ultimately, my rent arrangement empowers me.
On the flip side, there’s the argument for paying a lump sum. It frees you up for another year (or two) to focus on other things without rent being one of them. You only have to worry about it again later on when you’re hopefully earning higher income. If you’re not though, that becomes a deadly dose of debt, heart attacks, migraines and stress simply to treat rent and not an actual disease to deal with all over again.
The lump sum gives stability only if your income keeps pace. For most people earning GHS2,500 monthly, it doesn’t.
What Happens Now?
This enforcement is welcome news. But honestly, we’ll have to wait and see how this pans out.
The Ghana Rent Control Department for as long as I can remember is pretty much a toothless bull dog – all bark and no bite. I’ve also heard many accounts of tenants getting the short end of the stick while engaging the rent control in their tenancy disputes. Filing a complaint doesn’t guarantee a resolution. It guarantees delays while you still need a place to live. Is this gonna suddenly stop? I doubt it.
Here’s what you can actually do:
If your landlord demands more than six month’s advance, you have the legal right to report them to the rent court. The Rent Control Department has digitised 15 offices across 11 regions. You can file complaints online through their platform. All the best with your complaints.
If you’re signing a new tenancy from April onward, insist on a Rent Card. It’s now a legal requirement and any landlord who won’t issue one is already breaking the law.
If you’re not ready to report, that’s your call. But at least you know the law exists (since 1963) and now more than ever, someone is at least trying to make it work.
This moment will definitely spark interesting conversations and I anticipate some fascinating innovations that blend tech, financing (rent loan options), law and economics into something mutually beneficial to tenants, property owners and the state.
Right now, the short game is simple: know your rights and decide what you’re willing to do with them.
6 Months' Ghana Rent Advance Is the Law. Your Landlord Doesn't Care. Now What?
