What if you could get a rent loan/rentgage to help with accommodation or a way to pay monthly rent instead of 1/2 years rent advance?
We’ve talked about mortgages or home loans quite a bit on Noanyi. But that’s for buying a house. What if what you needed was really just a rent loan, or if you may, a rentgage? Do such rent loans exist in Ghana? Can you pay for rent in Ghana on a monthly basis and not relatively more expensive short-lets?
The answer is yes. These come from three distinct places.
- Banks & Financial Institutions
- Pre-financing from Real Estate Agencies
- Rentgage/Rent Loan Companies
- NRAS Government of Ghana
Table of Contents
What is a rent loan?
Just to be very clear on what a rentgage is, it’s a loan to pay off a rent advance of typically 1-2 years, which inspite of the repeated caution by government officials that rent advance should be for no more than 6-months, still persists.
Banks & Financial Institutions that offer Rent Loans in Ghana
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Below are established banks and financial institutions with loan offers tailored specifically for rent. Note though that not all banks in Ghana do this.
Republic Bank
Formerly the Home Finance Company (HFC) Bank, Republic Bank concerns itself mainly with all things housing finance. It’s no surprise that it has a loan package for paying rent. This is through the Republic Bank Employer Assisted Loan Scheme.
This loan is based on an arrangement between Republic Bank and your employer (which means you have to be a salaried employee) and covers rent advance as well as furniture, land purchase, medical bills and consumer durables .
This facility is only available to salaried workers (with minimum net salary of GHS100) of reputable institutions. This is also available to both customers and non-customers of Republic Bank.
Republic Bank gives rent loans between GHS500 – GHS15,000 for rent, to be paid back in 24 months. You can get a 2 bedroom (3 if you’re lucky) property with the max amount.
How to Apply for Republic Bank’s Rent Loan
- Open a Republic Bank account
- Complete and sign loan application form
- Confirmation of income and employment from your employers with last 3 month’s pay slips
- An undertaking from your employers to continue to pay your salary through your Republic Bank account
- A tenancy agreement from landlord endorsed by your employer.
Visit Republic Bank website for more information and complete application process or call the bank on any of these numbers:
- +233 30 2 429555
- +233 30 2 258106
- +233 30 2 242093
- +233 30 2 242094
Alternatively, WhatsApp the bank on +233 55 654 3212
Rentgage /Rent-Loan Startup Companies in Ghana
A number of startups have sprung up to assist people with their rent advance payments over the years. Most of them, such as Hainpa have however closed shop. That notwithstanding, the following companies continue to provide such services.
Rent Masters
Rent Masters was founded specifically to assist Ghanaians with their rent advance payments by pre-financing your rental, to be paid back in monthly instalments. Rent Masters pays your full rent amount to the landlord so you can pay back but with interest of 25%. That’s pretty high so only do this if you can actually pay back with no stress.
You have to be making at least GHS200 (for a GHS100 rent/month) to qualify for a rent loan from rent masters. Use this calculator to determine your rent loan eligibility.
How to Apply for Rent Masters Rent Advance Loan
- Create an account on Rent-Masters.com
- Complete and submit online/offline application
- Submit your proof of identification, employment (3 months payslips) and proof of income (3 months official bank statements or mobile money statements) or an audited financial statements (for business owners).
- Pay an application processing fee of GHS100
- Rent Masters will verify your submitted application and all supporting documents to determine its correctness and authenticity.
- Rent Masters will evaluate your application and get back to you in 5 to 10 business days on whether your rent has been accepted or denied.
If accepted, Rent Masters will advice you to begin apartment or room search and rent advance payment made directly to the Landlord
After rent advance payment is made, you will be obligated to make your low and affordable monthly rent payment to Rent Masters at the beginning of each month.
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Renmo: Rent and Pay Monthly
Renmo Homes is a platform that allows tenants to pay monthly rent for their homes. You rent and stay as long as you want, but only pay monthly!
The service is still being built out but from all indications, you can find properties on the platform and then apply to pay for them monthly. When fully launched, this will be a highly sought after service thanks to its low interest rate (5 – 19%). It’ll be interesting to see how exactly this will play out given the normalization of rent advance payments of 1 – 2 years among landlords.
Rent proposes it’ll work this way:
- You find your own rental unit and then let them know about it. Renmo will then partner with your future landlord to either pre-finance or negotiate with that landlord, allowing you to pay monthly.
- You browse listings on the Renmo website and select your preferred rental unit
Visit RenmoHomes.com to keep up to date with Renmo.
Apartments Ghana
This listing platform has a pay rent monthly application option where it pre-finances qualified tenantss rent. Here’s how the service is described.
If you are employed or work for an international company, you can apply to pay the rent for your chosen property monthly directly through Apartments.com.gh. This will allow you to manage your salary / budget better and eliminate any legal and fraud risks of renting in Ghana. Apply today for a quick decision.
Word of advice: With no identifiable social media presence, you’ll have to do some extra due diligence on this platform just in case.
How to Apply
- Fill the form online here.
- Wait for approval.
- Once approved, move into the property and pay back Apartments Gh in monthly instalments with terms agreed between you and the website.
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Real Estate Agencies with Pre-Finance Options
There are a number of real estate agencies that offer pre-financing packages to seekers, usually with a 10% interest rate. The catch with these is, the property you need financing for has to be part of the agency’s portfolio.
This means the agency controls every part of your renting process, from finding the property, negotiating with the landlord, paying the upfront costs, receiving the standard 10% commission on finding you the property, viewing fees where applicable and monthly payments with 10% interest.
NRAS by Government of Ghana
The government announced earlier this year that it will soon roll out the National Rental Assistance Scheme with seed funding of GHS100 million. This is to provide low-interest loans to people to help them pay rent advances. In retrospect, while great, this defeats all the noise government has made about enforcing 6-months rent payments.
Like everything coming from government over housing all over the years, this could take years and should be anticipated with a grain of salt.
Before You Apply for any Rent Loan in Ghana
Before you apply for a rent loan or as we’re calling it, rentgage, be sure to assess yourself, your actual needs and your abilitiy to pay back. Ask yourself these questions:
- Can I pay back the loan?
- How quickly can I pay back the loan?
- Do I have repayment plan? What is it?
- Can I comfortably pay the interest?
- Is the property I’m going for a need or want?
- How badly do I need this rent advance pre-payment?
Conclusion
Finding a place to rent can be a tedious process, made worse by rent advance payments if you don’t earn a decent income. In light of this, a few companies have created solutions to help home seekers rent a place and pay monthly especially in Accra so they can better plan their finances.
Note that, you can also simply apply for a personal loan from your bank of choice, just that you’ll need different requirements to qualify.
Interest rates range from 10% – 25% with minimum net salaries of GHS100.
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Rent Loans in Ghana FAQs
What is the minimum amount you can borrow for a rent loan in Ghana?
This depends on the property and location. But generally, you can borrow as low as GHS200 up to GHS15,000 with the rent loan specific providers, while this can go as high as GHS350,000 depending on the loan type and the lender.
What is the interest rate for rent loans in Ghana?
From what we’ve gathered so far, it ranges between 10% – 25%
What are some benefits of taking a loan for rent in Ghana?
1. Eases the burden of lump-sum rent advance payments
2. Helps you better plan your finances
3. Faster approval process
What are the cons of receiving a rent loan in Ghana?
1. It works better for salaried workers who’ve received salaries for at least 3 months
2. High interest rates
3. Limited to certain geographical areas
4. Like any loan, needs a guarantor to vouch for you
5. Can easily become a debilitating burden if there’s no proper repayment plan
I'm Kadi Tay and I write about different things, real estate is one of them. The plan is to make real estate info fun by kicking out Mr. corporate stiff. So don't be surprised if you see a Kwesi Arthur reference somewhere. I promise it'll make sense. When I'm not working magic here, you'll find me talking geek stuff in Africa, travelling with my buds, highlighting young people killing it, talking about life and adulting, or doingrandom things.
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2 replies on “How to Quickly Get Rentgages / Rent Loans in Ghana and Smile into Your New Place (2023)”
Man, this is very informative. Thanks for writing this article Kadi! Always blazing the trail.
Thank you Rudy. Glad you found it useful. ?
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