Affordable Housing in Urban Areas in Ghana: Issues And
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN URBAN AREAS IN GHANA: ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTERS OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING BY SAMSON ABAPALE AWUVAFOGE PROFESSOR MICHAEL A. BURAYIDI – ADVISOR BALL STATE UNIVERSITY MUNCIE, INDIANA MAY, 2013 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Professor Michael A. Burayidi for accepting me as his advisee even in the face of his tight schedule. I greatly appreciate his quick response to questions I had. His encouragement and support pushed me to create the finest work I could ever imagine. I hope he will always make time out of his busy schedule to breed the best crop of planning professionals in the future. I would like to thank Professor Erick Damian Kelly for instructing my thesis class and especially for assisting me to come up with my topic at the last minute. His trust that I could make it was the best encouragement that kept me going throughout the process. 2 Table of Contents List of Tables .............................................................................................................. 8 List of Figures ............................................................................................................. 9 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. 10 CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................... 12 Introduction and Problem Statement ................................................................................ 12 Purpose of Research .......................................................................................................... 19 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 20 Chapter Outline ................................................................................................................. 20 CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................. 22 The Housing Condition in Ghana ..................................................................................... 22 Housing Quality ............................................................................................................ 22 Causes of Urbanization ................................................................................................. 24 Population Explosion and Housing Delivery ................................................................ 24 Land Scarcity ................................................................................................................ 26 Rural Urban Migration and the Pressure on Housing in Urban Areas ......................... 27 Housing Characteristics in Ghana ................................................................................. 32 Compound Houses .................................................................................................... 33 Detached Housing ..................................................................................................... 36 Semi-detached Houses .............................................................................................. 37 Distribution of Housing Stock in Ghana ....................................................................... 38 3 Housing Construction in Ghana .................................................................................... 39 Construction Materials Standards ................................................................................. 39 Construction Materials for Dwelling Units................................................................... 41 Construction Material for Outside Walls .................................................................. 43 Construction Materials for Roof ............................................................................... 44 Construction Material for Floor ................................................................................ 44 Past Responses to the Housing Situation in Ghana .......................................................... 45 CHAPTER THREE .......................................................................................................... 51 The Housing Delivery System in Ghana .......................................................................... 51 The Land Tenure System and its Effects on Housing Supply in Ghana ....................... 51 a) Public Lands ................................................................................................... 52 i) State Lands .................................................................................................. 52 ii) Vested Lands ............................................................................................... 53 b) Customary Lands ............................................................................................ 53 i) Allodial Title ............................................................................................... 54 ii) Customary Freehold .................................................................................... 54 iii) Common Law Freehold Title ...................................................................... 55 iv) Leasehold .................................................................................................... 55 v) Customary Tenancies/Various Lessor Interests .......................................... 56 Land Tenure and Institutional Management in Accra and Kumasi .............................. 56 Housing Finance in Ghana ................................................................................................ 57 4 Private Housing Finance in Ghana ........................................................................... 58 Formal Housing Finance ........................................................................................... 60 Individual Developers ................................................................................................... 63 Real Estate Developers ................................................................................................. 63 Types of Mortgage Loans in Ghana.............................................................................. 65 Home Purchase Mortgage (HPM) ............................................................................ 65 Home Completion Mortgage .................................................................................... 65 Home Improvement Mortgage .................................................................................. 66 Home Equity Mortgage............................................................................................. 66 Buy, Build and Own a Home .................................................................................... 66 CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................. 69 Impediments to Affordable Housing Provision ................................................................ 69 The Land Tenure System and Constraints on Housing Supply in Ghana..................... 70 Scarcity of Land ........................................................................................................ 71 Lack of Proper Land Titles ....................................................................................... 72 High Cost of Land and Cumbersome Registration Process ...................................... 72 Lack of Transparency on the Part of Customary Land Managers ............................ 75 Problem of Housing Finance ........................................................................................ 76 High Cost of Construction Materials ............................................................................ 77 Inadequate Infrastructure and High Cost of Provision ................................................. 79 5 Mortgage Market .......................................................................................................... 81 i) Legal Framework as an Impediment to Housing Supply in Ghana ................... 82 ii) Inflation and Exchange Rate Instability ...................................................... 82 iii) Low Income Levels Limit Adequate Housing Supply in Ghana ................ 83 iv) Quotation of Prices in Foreign Exchange ................................................... 83 v) Cultural and Social Barriers ........................................................................ 84 Lack of Accessible Information and Data on Housing and other Landed Properties 84 Poverty and the Negative Impact on Housing Supply in Ghana .................................. 84 CHAPTER FIVE .............................................................................................................. 88 Conclusion and Recommendations ................................................................................... 88 i) Addressing the population problem ................................................................... 89 ii) Enhancement of rural agriculture ................................................................... 91 2. Ensuring Access to Land ................................................................................ 94 i) Guaranteeing Security and a Level of Certainty ................................................ 95 ii) Implementation of the