Ghana’s government has launched the National Rental Assistance Scheme (NRAS), which aims to provide rent loans to formal and informal sector workers who have a verifiable and regular income.
The scheme, which will be implemented with GH¢30 million, will help eligible Ghanaians pay low monthly rent without the need for rent advance payment in five regions, including Greater Accra, Ashanti, Western, Eastern, Bono East, and Northern.
To qualify for the NRAS, applicants must be Ghanaian citizens who possess a valid national ID (Ghana Card), are 18 years old or older, have verifiable employment and earned income, and can provide a verifiable bank statement or mobile money statement. Additionally, the rent payable must not exceed 30% of the household income.
The Scheme Manager, Rent Masters’ Richard Acheampong, stated during the launch in Accra that the eligible person must identify a property of their preference and notify the NRAS of the same through a formal online application. After paying a GH¢100 application processing fee, the applicant must present two forms of identification cards and have their application verified within five to ten business days. The rent will then be paid directly by the Scheme Managers into the landlord’s or landlady’s bank account.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, explained that the high cost of capital, limited land supply, and the rising cost of building materials have made it challenging to build new houses in Ghana. Therefore, the government has prioritized providing support to lower-income earning households and the youth to access affordable accommodation. The need to address short to medium-term market challenges in rental failures, where landlords demand years of rent advance payments, cannot be overemphasized.
“It has become imperative to address the short to medium-term market challenges in rental failures where landlords demand years of rent advance payments,” he said.
“I am confident that the scheme will bring a lot of relief to many Ghanaians,” he added.
The Rent Control Department gathered data indicating that the beneficiary regions had a higher percentage of rent advance challenges. The selected regions are expected to benefit from the NRAS’s first phase, which will be implemented with GH¢30 million.
The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, pointed out that when determining the minimum wage, feeding, clothing, and accommodation often come to mind. However, another area that is often ignored, although equally important, is the welfare of pensioners.
“You commit your time to your office and you go on pension and think like – where are we going to live and how will we pay? They are very vulnerable and it is at this stage that they suffer a lot of difficulties. They need serious consideration during the implementation of such schemes,” he said.
He noted that pensioners are vulnerable and suffer many difficulties, especially when they earn below GH¢600 a month and are asked to pay a rent advance of two years.
“So just imagine a person earning this money and asked to pay a rent advance of two years,” he added.
Dr. Anthony Yaw Baah, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, urged the implementing agency and ministry to extend the NRAS to other regions as soon as possible, especially to benefit single mothers. He called for the houses to be located where children can access education.
“Let us pay some more attention to single mothers with one, two, or more children. This will help the mother and children. I also appeal that the houses be located at places where the children can have access to education,” he said.
Frederick Opoku, the General Secretary of the National Tenants’ Union of Ghana, appealed to the government to establish a statutory body called “The National Rental Housing Taskforce Group” to protect the scheme and ensure the enforcement of rent advance payments not exceeding one year when the Rent Bill is passed into law. He also called for a fair, transparent, and credible application process without political biases to make it easier for ordinary Ghanaians to access the NRAS.
For more inquiries on the NRAS, the public can visit www.nras.gov.gh and info@nras.gov.gh.
