The National Rental Assistance Scheme was launched today by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the first of several initiatives to offer Ghanaians decent housing.
Ghanaians over the age of 18 who possess a current national ID card and a source of income that can be verified are eligible for a loan under the program within five to ten working days.
The applicant pays the total rent to the potential landlord and then contributes each month to the National Rental Assistance Scheme.
Applicants are expected to be evicted from the house or room if they default on the monthly payment arrangement.
The NRAS is designed to make rental accommodation more accessible, affordable, and convenient by taking away the unfair burden faced by lower-income households and the youth across the country of multi-year rent advance payments demanded by landlords. The Scheme will target individuals in the formal and informal sectors with identifiable and regular income. The rent advance loans will be paid directly into landlords’ bank accounts, who would also have to register with the Scheme.
The initial rollout, with a seed funding of GHS 30m, will take place in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Western, Eastern, Bono East, and Northern Regions, where data from the Ghana Statistical Service shows renters have the greatest challenge with rental accommodation.
Tenants Show Gratitude
Frederick Opoku, the secretary-general of the National Tenants Union of Ghana, praised the government for implementing the National Rental Assistance Scheme, which was a manifesto commitment, at the launch and added that the intervention will greatly relieve the burdensome rent payment advance for its many members.
The National Rental Assistance Scheme, according to Mr. Opoku, is proof that the government has taken notice of the needs of its citizens, many of whom have residual income that does not allow them to pay rent in advance.
To guarantee that all qualified candidates would have an equal chance to profit, he did issue a warning that the application procedures for accessing the program should be open, reasonable, and credible.
The union’s General Secretary pledged that they would back any government initiatives to make housing “humanely pleasant” and “guarantee that renters are provided the necessary protection.”
Safeguards
The Scheme, according to Dr. Bawumia, is in collaboration with private investors who wouldn’t want their investments to go down the drain and will use any means possible to recover their funds, which will also avoid any kind of political interference, in contrast to earlier programs that were frequently tarnished by defaulters.
He also revealed that a draft to replace the present rent law, which was approved more than 50 years ago and is no longer relevant, has been submitted to Parliament by the Ministry of Works and Housing.
“I am happy to inform you that the government has made significant strives as far as the housing sector and renting management are concerned. Government acting through the Ministry of Works and Housing has submitted to Parliament for consideration and passage, a rent bill to replace the existing Rent Act of 1963 Act 220. The current Act was passed by Parliament 59 years ago and therefore its relevance has been outlived by the current population growth, urbanization, housing availability, and general trends.”
The vice president also emphasized that passing the rent law would improve Ghana’s rental sector and provide access to decent housing.
