Tenants Union Demands Halt to Ghana Rent Aid Scheme
Tenants Union Urges Suspension of Ghana’s Rental Assistance Scheme Over Exclusion, High Costs, and Legal Breaches
The National Tenants Union of Ghana has officially petitioned Kenneth Adjei, the recently appointed Minister for Works and Housing, to suspend the National Rental Assistance Scheme (NARAS) immediately. In addition to failing to provide the respite that renters were hoping for, the program, which was introduced on January 31, 2023, has serious problems that make it both discriminatory and ineffectual, according to the Union. The Union welcomed the minister to his new position but harshly criticized the implementation and administration of the program in an open letter dated April 14, 2025. They demanded that it completely cease operations and then involve all relevant parties in order to reassess and rebuild the program in a way that would fairly benefit the larger renting population.
The Union emphasized that while the objective behind NARAS is commendable, the execution has been poor, with several key issues making it inaccessible to the very people it aims to support.
Among the core grievances cited in the letter are:
Marginalization of Informal Sector Tenants: According to the Union, workers in the informal sector, who make up a sizable section of the population in dire need of rental assistance, are essentially left out of the existing NARAS framework.
Legal Violations: Ghana’s Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220), which forbids landlords from requiring more than six months’ rent in advance, is directly at odds with the scheme’s provision for two-year rent advance loans.
Exorbitant Fees and Interest Rates: The 12% annual interest rate on the rent loans was deemed punitive for low-income households, and the GHC100 non-refundable application cost was deemed unreasonable.
Regional Inequity: According to reports, the program has not yet benefited 10 out of 16 regions, even after more than two years of operation.
Lack of Transparency: Despite an initial capital investment of GHC30 million, the Union also criticized the lack of public disclosure regarding the scheme’s beneficiaries, raising concerns about fairness and accountability.
The petition’s signatory, Frederick Opoku, the Secretary-General of the Union, emphasized that the group’s demand goes beyond policy differences to include guaranteeing equity, openness, and sincere assistance for tenants throughout Ghana. The Union is demanding that NARAS be reviewed and redesigned immediately in order to make it accessible, complying with the law, and really helpful to the country’s renters.
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