President John Dramani Mahama has urged tenants nationwide to report landlords demanding rent advances beyond the legally permitted six-month period, as part of renewed efforts to enforce housing regulations and protect renters from exploitation.
Speaking at a meeting with organised labour at the Jubilee House in Accra on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, President Mahama said the cost of housing has become a major burden on household incomes, making decent accommodation increasingly unaffordable for many workers.
“Housing is a major problem, and for households, it is consuming their income. We need a national housing dialogue to determine how government, the private sector and organised labour can work together to develop a social housing policy that ensures affordable homes, either to rent at reasonable rates or to purchase through mortgages.”
President Mahama attributed the widespread practice of demanding excessive rent advances to Ghana’s housing deficit, explaining that the gap between supply and demand has created opportunities for abuse by some property owners.
He reminded both landlords and tenants that existing laws prohibit the collection of more than six months’ rent in advance and pointed to the Rent Court as a key legal mechanism for resolving such disputes.
“The reason private house owners are taking advantage is because of the housing deficit. We have the rent court, and the law is clear—do not take more than six months’ rent in advance. Unfortunately, both tenants and landlords are often unwilling to go to the rent court,” he noted.
The President encouraged tenants to take bold steps by reporting offending landlords, assuring them that the law would be enforced without fear or favour.
“You can report the landlord to the rent court, and we will hold that landlord accountable,” he stressed.
His comments come amid growing public frustration over landlords demanding up to two years’ rent upfront, a practice widely criticised as exploitative and a major barrier to affordable housing for low- and middle-income earners.
President Mahama further indicated that a broader national conversation on housing would be necessary to address long-standing structural challenges in the sector, including the formulation of a comprehensive social housing policy that fairly balances the interests of tenants, landlords and the state.
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