President Mahama introduces ‘Easy Rent’ programme to ease rent advance burden
President John Dramani Mahama has announced the introduction of the National Housing Fund’s “Easy Rent” programme to help workers overcome the burden of paying huge rent advances to secure accommodation.
The initiative is expected to provide an alternative financing arrangement for workers who struggle to raise large sums of money to pay rent in advance, particularly young people and low- and middle-income households.
President Mahama made the announcement at the National Conference on Housing Financing, where he called for innovative approaches to addressing Ghana’s housing challenges.
Under the Easy Rent programme, the National Housing Fund will pay the rent advance on behalf of eligible workers, who will then repay the amount through manageable monthly payments.
According to President Mahama, the initiative is designed to ease the financial pressure associated with Ghana’s rent advance system, which often requires tenants to mobilise substantial amounts of money before securing accommodation.
He said the programme was particularly important because many young Ghanaians spend a significant portion of their savings on rent advances, leaving them with little money to invest in education, businesses or other household needs.
President Mahama recalled his own experience as a young couple with his wife, Lordina, when they were searching for affordable accommodation in Accra.
He said the cost of paying multiple years of rent in advance, together with fees charged by estate agents, placed considerable pressure on their finances at the time.
The President said many young Ghanaian families continue to face similar difficulties, making affordable rental housing an important component of the country’s housing policy.
“Under Easy Rent, they will pay the rent advance for the worker, and then the worker will pay monthly so that they don’t have to put up those huge rent advances,” he explained.
President Mahama said the government’s approach to housing must provide a range of options because not every household would be able to secure a conventional mortgage.
He identified rent-to-own arrangements, secure rental accommodation, incremental housing finance and social housing assistance as some of the options that should complement traditional mortgage financing.
He also stressed the need for housing policies to reach groups that are often excluded from formal housing finance, including women, persons with disabilities, informal sector workers and low-income households.
The President said financial institutions must develop innovative ways to assess the repayment capacity of informal workers by considering factors such as savings records and verifiable business cash flows.
He further urged stakeholders at the housing conference to examine financing models that could lower the cost of housing while expanding access to more Ghanaians.
President Mahama said the success of the housing agenda should ultimately be measured by whether ordinary Ghanaians can secure decent accommodation without the constant financial pressure associated with rent advances.
The Easy Rent programme, he said, forms part of the government’s broader commitment to expanding affordable housing options and ensuring that more Ghanaian families can live in decent homes with greater financial security.
