President John Dramani Mahama has announced a new “Easy Rent” programme designed to ease the burden of huge rent advances on Ghanaian workers.
Under the initiative, the National Housing Fund will pay the rent advance on behalf of eligible workers, who will subsequently repay the amount through monthly payments.
President Mahama announced the initiative on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, at the opening of the National Conference on Housing Finance at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra.
“I am happy to note the new programme the National Housing Fund is going to introduce. That is called Easy Rent,” he said.
“Under Easy Rent, they will pay the rent advance for the worker, and then the worker will pay monthly so that they do not have to put up those huge rent advances,” he explained.
President Mahama said the programme is particularly important for young people and households struggling to raise substantial rent advances.
Drawing from his own experience as a young man starting married life with his wife, Lordina Mahama, the President said securing accommodation in Accra had been an exhausting and financially demanding experience.
He recalled that the couple eventually settled at Madina New Road after covering significant distances with estate agents in search of suitable and affordable accommodation.
According to President Mahama, the financial demands included rent advances, agent fees and other charges that placed considerable pressure on their finances even before they had begun their married life.
He said many young Ghanaian families continue to experience similar difficulties.
“Substantial rent advances can deplete savings that were intended for a child’s education or to run a small business for the family,” he said.
President Mahama stressed that affordable rental housing must form a central part of Ghana’s housing policy, alongside mortgages, rent-to-own schemes, incremental housing finance and social housing.
He said the success of housing policies should ultimately be measured by whether ordinary Ghanaians can afford to live in the homes being delivered.
The President also called for housing policies that specifically address the needs of informal workers, women, persons with disabilities and low-income households.
He said traders, artisans, farmers, transport operators and other self-employed people should not be excluded from housing finance simply because they are not on formal payrolls.
Financial institutions, he said, should explore alternative methods of assessing their repayment capacity, including savings histories and verifiable business cash flows.
The Easy Rent initiative forms part of the government’s broader effort to expand affordable housing options and reduce the financial barriers facing Ghanaian households.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/ Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭
