On October 7, 2026, in Accra, President John Dramani Mahama proposed a financing scheme to help owners of unfinished houses in Ghana complete their properties. The scheme, to be developed by the National Housing Fund (NHF) and financial institutions, would provide financing to owners of unfinished houses, allowing them to complete their homes and repay the loans afterward. This initiative aims to unlock the money invested in thousands of unfinished houses and reduce the burden on people paying rent while owning properties under construction.
President Mahama made the proposal at the maiden National Conference on Housing Finance, highlighting the large number of unfinished houses across the country. He mentioned that many houses were already at the roofing stage and could be completed with additional financial support. The President also suggested linking completed houses to rent-to-own arrangements, enabling owners to move into their properties and use the money they would have paid as rent to repay the financing.
The 2021 Population and Housing Census reported 1,065,387 structures that were completely roofed but not completed, while 825,367 structures were incomplete and without roofing. Of the not-fully-completed structures with some form of roofing, 65.8 per cent were being used for residential purposes, rising to 71.3 per cent in urban areas. These census figures cover structures generally and do not establish how many are privately owned residential houses whose owners are paying rent elsewhere.
The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mr Mahama Ayariga, described the money invested in unfinished houses as "dead capital." He noted that many people had invested substantial amounts in construction but continued to live in rented accommodation because their houses remained incomplete. Mr Ayariga emphasized the need to make better use of the money already invested in unfinished houses while improving the planning of housing delivery.
The Deputy Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, Ms Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui, stated that Ghana's housing problem was not only a shortage of houses but also a shortage of financing. She called for longer-term mortgages for formal-sector workers, housing microfinance products for informal-sector workers, and staged construction finance for households building incrementally. Ms Tetteh-Agbotui also suggested rent-to-own and shared-equity models for young and first-time homeowners.
The National Housing Fund resumed lending under the National Mortgage Scheme last month at an interest rate of 8.4 per cent, down from 13.5 per cent, while developer financing under the scheme stands at 10.4 per cent. The Chairman of the National Housing Fund Board, Okoamankra Kwame Akwonu X, said the Fund had also piloted the Rent-to-Own Scheme and was seeking to increase investment in its housing finance programmes to accommodate more applicants.
President Mahama emphasized that existing mortgage schemes must be expanded, but conventional mortgages alone could not solve the country's housing problem. He proposed alternative methods of assessing the ability to repay loans, including savings history and verifiable business cash flows, to bring traders, artisans, farmers, transport operators, and other self-employed workers into the housing finance system. The President's proposal aims to address the housing finance needs of ordinary Ghanaians, particularly those outside formal employment.
Key points
- President Mahama proposes a financing scheme to help owners of unfinished houses complete their properties.
- The scheme aims to unlock the money invested in thousands of unfinished houses and reduce the burden on people paying rent while owning properties under construction.
- The National Housing Fund resumed lending under the National Mortgage Scheme at an interest rate of 8.4 per cent.
