Exploring the Financial Implications of Advance Rent Payment and Induced Furnishing of Rental Housing in Ghanaian Cities: The Case of Dansoman, Accra-Ghana

Advance rent mobilisation strategies of graduate renters in Ghana: a submarket of the private rental housing market

“…The neoliberal economic policies adopted in the 1980s also ushered in private-sector driven housing supply which predominantly targeted the affluent households and promoted homeownership over other forms of tenures (Arku, 2009 ). Consequently, the private informal sector now provides more than 80% of the entire housing stock in Ghana (Ehwi et al, 2020 ; UN Habitat, 2011 ) and caters to the needs of most low-income households (Andreasen et al, 2020 ; Yankson, 2011 ).…”

“…The rental housing sector in Ghana has been thought of as bifurcating into public rental housing on one hand, and the private formal and informal rental housing on the other hand (Arku et al, 2012 ). The former comprises state-funded estates targeted at civil servants and accounting for about 3% of the housing stock (Ehwi et al, 2020 ). The private formal rental housing comprises villas, apartments and (semi) detached dwellings developed by private real estate developers and let to affluent and rising middle-class households (Ghana Statistical Service, 2014b ; Tipple & Willis, 1992 ).…”

“…The importance of rental housing as a viable tenure option to societies around the globe remains undoubted. It provides accommodation at a relatively cheaper cost than homeownership; houses all income groups in urban populations; and is generally accepted as a fundamental determinant of overall quality of life (Andreasen et al, 2020 ; Baiden et al, 2011 ; Ehwi et al, 2020 ; Obeng-Odoom, 2011 ). Nevertheless, rental housing in cities in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is bedevilled with several challenges.…”

“…The majority of urban residents live in deteriorated and overcrowded rental dwellings without adequate access to basic amenities such as sanitation, water and waste disposal systems (Addo, 2016 ; Luginaah et al, 2010 ; Obeng-Odoom & Amedzro, 2011 ). Most rental accommodations are also rented with few or no furnishings, compelling first-time and regular renters to bear a huge cost of furnishing during their tenancy period (Ehwi et al, 2020 ). Publicly available information on rental housing is limited, and this forces renters to resort to personal search, and information from friends, family members and estate agents to find accommodation (Adu-Gyamfi et al, 2020 ; Gavu et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Despite the prevalence of AR payment in the rental housing markets of several African cities, there has been little empirical inquiry into how renters mobilise funds to pay this hefty financial commitment. Instead, the existing literature has tended to focus on issues such as the psychological impacts of the AR on renters (Luginaah et al, 2010 ), the impact of the AR payment on renters’ lived experiences (Arku et al, 2012 ), the financial burdens imposed on renters by paying the AR and furnishing their rental dwellings simultaneously (Ehwi et al, 2020 ) and how landlords use their relative power to extract AR (Owusu-Ansah et al, 2018 ). The few studies that have reflected on how renters pay the AR (Arku et al, 2012 ; Owusu-Ansah et al, 2018 ) suggest that renters, irrespective of their educational level, face difficulties in paying advance rent, hence compelling them to rely mainly on their family members, friends, employers and banks to raise funds for the payment of AR.…”