Housing In Ghana Research Articles

Financing housing in Ghana: challenges to the development of formal mortgage system

Although the factors which influence the development of housing finance systems in developing countries have been identified in the literature, the interconnectedness of these factors has not been adequately examined. This paper employs the systems theory to examine the interrelatedness of the factors that influence the demand and supply of mortgage products in Ghana. The paper shows that as a result of supply and demand constraints, the Ghanaian mortgage market is still largely underdeveloped. Supply constraints include capital inadequacy of the banks, inability of the financial institutions to establish credit worthiness of potential borrowers and unfavourable macro-economic conditions which make investment in long-term loans unattractive to the banks. Demand-side constraints include high house prices, high interest rates, unfavourable terms of loan repayments, low income levels and the cultural belief that it is not good to be in debt. We conclude that given the interconnectedness of these factors, a holistic programme that resonates with systems thinking will be required to develop a well-functioning housing finance system in Ghana.

Residents’ Satisfaction with the Social Security and National Insurance Trust Housing in Ghana

Housing is one of the three basic needs of mankind. Its performance should meet technical expectations as well as the overall satisfaction of end users. The aim of this study was to assess the service quality performance of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) housing based on the perspectives of the occupants. The study employed questionnaire survey involving 747 flats in six administrative regions in Ghana selected using the quota and systematic sampling methods. The levels of satisfaction of the residents with the facilities, management of the SSNIT housing, social amenities and neighbourhood issues were examined, and data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the Relative Satisfaction Index (RSI). The findings showed that the level of satisfaction of residents are mixed. Residents are generally satisfied with the building features, social amenities and the neighbourhood, but dissatisfied with the management of SSNIT housing, especially in the areas of maintenance and accessibility to management. The need for SSNIT housing management staff to respond promptly to residents’ request for routine maintenance, to adopt courteous behaviour and to understand the residents’ specific requirements are recommended. The findings provide useful information for SSNIT housing management in Ghana as well as other real estate developers in Africa.

Improving Sustainability of Housing in Ghana through Energy Efficient Climate Control Strategies

This paper aims at explaining testing procedures used to evaluate the potential of natural ventilation and daylighting applications to passive design of housing in Ghana. The objectives of research were to reduce energy costs and increase the sustainability of housing. From the results of these experiments actual and potential designs are illustrated and discussed. Mass housing results in multi-storey buildings which require substantial artificial lighting and ventilation. Also, with the increasing usage of glass for windows and doors in Ghana, even the shaded depths of buildings require additional daylight usually resulting in more energy consumption. By supplementing the internal lighting levels with daylight, reducing the internal heat load by shading windows to direct radiation and the utilization of natural ventilation over air conditioning where possible, significant energy savings are could be achieved. The research proposes mass housing design changes such as: delivering daylight above the suspended ceiling into the depths of the building by horizontal light pipes and natural ventilation, utilizing stack effect and wind siphonage, etc.

Housing Affordability in Ghana: A focus on Kumasi and Tamale

There are insufficient affordable housing units in Ghana. Most of the available units are poorly developed and are not habitable. The paper explores the affordable housing situation in Ghana by using Kumasi and Tamale as study area. It determines whether housing − housing credit, and rental and owner occupied units are affordable. It also determines the extent to which government interventions have been successful in providing affordable housing for Ghanaians. It examines the contribution of the formal finance institutions to the provision of affordable housing in Ghana. It does so by surveying the literature on affordable housing. It also evaluates the affordable housing delivery system in Ghana. It found that housing units with basic acceptable standards are unaffordable by many households in the study areas. Also, most households in Kumasi and Tamale cannot afford mortgage credit, and adequate rented and owner occupied housing units due to low income levels, high unemployment rate, and high interest rates. It notes that interventions by government have been unsuccessful in providing affordable housing in the country. Keywords -Affordable Housing, Government Interventions, Formal Finance, Households, Ghana

Inadequate housing in Ghana

Two themes are evident in housing research in Ghana. One involves the study of how to increase the number of dwellings to correct the overall housing deficit, and the other focuses on how to improve housing for slum dwellers. Between these two extremes, there is relatively little research on why the existing buildings are poorly maintained. This paper is based on a review of existing studies on inadequate housing. It synthesises the evidence on the possible reasons for this neglect, makes a case for

Housing Finance in Ghana: Can Community Mortgage Cooperatives Provide a Panacea?

There is insufficient housing in Ghana. Available houses are mostly poorly developed and lack the basic amenities required to make them habitable. The growth of households is in excess of housing growth resulting in housing deficit in the country. The formal finance institutions have supplied very little mortgages to households in Ghana. This paper explores the opportunity of employing Community Mortgage Cooperatives (CMC) to raise domestic funds from people who require housing for housing investment in Ghana. It does so by surveying the literature on housing finance. It also evaluates the housing finance system in Ghana to ascertain the availability of formal finance to households in the country. It found that the housing finance systems in Ghana are inadequate resulting in inadequate and poor housing consumption by many Ghanaians. It also found that the principles behind community mortgage cooperatives are non-alien to Ghanaians. What is needed is the restructuring and formalization of the system. It recommends the proper establishment and management of Community Mortgage Cooperatives as a way of mobilizing housing funds domestically to address the low and poor housing consumption by most Ghanaian households.KEYWORDS: Affordable Housing, Mortgage Underwriting, Housing Finance Systems, Collateralized Lending, Cooperatives

Secondary mortgage market (SMM): Is it right for financing housing in Ghana?

The formal housing finance system in Ghana is inadequate and highly underdeveloped. The formal finance institutions have provided very little mortgages particularly to the low and middle-income households. However, the fast growing capital market of Ghana offers an opportunity for sustainable housing finance in the country. This paper explores the possibility of addressing the housing finance problems in the country through the use of Secondary Mortgage Market (SMM). It does so by surveying the literature on SMM. It also examines the housing finance system in Ghana. It finds out that an SMM in principle will enable Ghana to overcome some of the constraints on the mortgage market and attract housing funds. But in practice it is not the best way of solving the housing finance problems in the country since the fundamentals are not right for a successful implementation of SMM. It notes that the scale of mortgage origination in the primary market is limited; the adjudication process is slow; collateralization is inadequate; and the land title regime is poor. It suggests that it is appropriate for Ghana to concentrate on solving these basic problems before any attempt at implementing a secondary mortgage market in the country.

The Demise of the Rent-controlled Public Housing Programmes of Ghana: The Story of the Tema Development Corporation

In 1952, a new town called Tema was created in Ghana. The master plan for Tema made provision for 19 planned communities, each having roughly 1500—2000 homes. About 6355 housing units are government-owned rental housing. The rental housing stock is the subject of this study. This paper reports an empirical study that shows that rent controls coupled with public management have caused investment values in the rental housing stock to disappear. For example, this study finds that the nominal rate of return on total investment for these rentals based on replacement value has a mean value of only 3 per cent. With inflation rates around 15 per cent during the study period, this implies a negative real rate of return. The findings provide empirical support and justification for recent attempts to privatise all rental public housing in Ghana. The study concludes with public policy recommendations.

Poverty reduction through the creation of a liveable housing environment

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to show that initiatives to adequately address poverty reduction through the provision of housing units in rural communities in Ghana have come from both local and offshore resources. However, very little has been done to assess the impacts of these initiatives so that best practices can inform public policy to enhance the quality and quantity of rural housing in Ghana. This paper explores the impact of one such initiative, namely the Habitat for Humanity International Ghana's (HHIG) intervention in the rural housing subsector.Design/methodology/approachTo understand and appreciate HHIG's intervention, field data collection and community interfaces were organised. Extensive use was made of the case study approach or narratology. Under this approach, six of the 29 local HHIG affiliates were studied using an exploratory approach for in depth probing.FindingsThis study shows that the provision of housing units through HHIG's initiative has had a positive impact on poverty reduction through an enhanced housing environment, formation of micro enterprises, enhanced access to social services, skills transfer and improved security.Practical implicationsAs an object of consumption, the introduction of housing into rural economies in Ghana can have tremendous significant and positive impacts; implying that it can be used as an entry point in efforts aimed at reducing rural poverty in Sub Saharan Africa.Originality/valueThe study is the first of its kind to reveal HHIG's immense contribution towards the creation of more liveable housing environments in rural Ghana and its link with poverty reduction.

User-Initiated Extensions in Government-Built Estates in Ghana and Zimbabwe: Unconventional but Effective Housing Supply

Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have large stocks of government-built housing, which, for various reasons, is in poor physical condition and/or does not conform to occupants' expectations. In many countries, occupants of such housing make unauthorized but quite considerable changes and extensions to their dwellings for their own use and for renting out. These changes and extensions are generally known as transformations, and may contain useful models for future policy concerning existing housing estates and policy on new developments. This paper examines user-initiated transformations to government-built housing in Ghana and Zimbabwe.1 Both cases were surveyed in a DFID-sponsored research program. The 733 dwellings (398 in Ghana and 335 in Zimbabwe) surveyed show how relatively low-income households are capable of supplying new rooms and services both to improve their own housing conditions and to supply rental rooms or accommodation for family members living rent-free. In addition, the new construction is often of a quality at least as good as the original structures and sometimes envelops the original in a new skin. Thus, transformation can be seen to be a means of renewing the housing stock at the same time as adding accommodation and services. The research demonstrates that conventional views of housing design should be rethought with long-term users' involvement allowed for and encouraged. It also demonstrates that extensions tend to turn modern bungalows into traditional compounds. Through workshops, it has had some success in changing official attitudes in Ghana and Zimbabwe. Suggested policies to encourage transformations include the provision of loan finance and the planned colonization of open space next to the dwellings where plots are not provided. For new housing, transformations demonstrate that designs should take account of the likely increase in housing on site over decades. This, in turn, indicates larger plots, rather than smaller ones, and wider ones, rather than narrower.

Private Sector Housing in Ghana: Some of the Legal Aspects of State Control since 1982

This article examines the use of the law by the state to achieve its aim of social justice. It focuses on how, through a series of laws, the state has endeavoured to regulate private sector residential rents at the lower end of the market (up to a ceiling of 1,000.00 cedis) and the occupation of residential accommodation. An analysis is thus given of the nature of the laws in question as well as the institutions and organs of the state that were either set up, or had the scope of their powers broadened, in pursuance of the state's objectives.On 31 December, 1981 a military junta, the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) assumed power in Ghana. It had as one of the cornerstones of its political agenda the establishment of “true democracy” for all Ghanaians who, according to the new rulers, had been denied this right by previous civilian and military regimes. As a consequence, the PNDC enacted Law 42 which encapsulated in part the Directive Principles of State Policy (hereinafter the Directive Principles).

Housing in Ghana: The case for a Central Executive Agency

This paper considers the experience of Ghana in the effort to provide satisfactory housing for its people and the recent National Housing Policy document. After reviewing housing programmes implemented since the early 1950s it is suggested that the absence of a broad-based and well-staffed national housing agency accounts in large measure for the lack of success. Such an agency should be able to continuously predict, assess and react to changes in its operating environment. It should have a wide measure of freedom and direct control over the important aspects of its operations. Access to the vital resources of relevant types of personnel, materials and finance, determination of the items to produce and fixing of rents and sale prices are important. The need to tailor specific programmes to meet the requirements of particular target groups is considered. It is suggested that such an agency should be given much power and prestige if it is to make any headway in the fulfilment of its task.