Towards a well-informed rental housing policy in Ghana: differentiating between critics and non-critics of the rent advance system
International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis
ISSN: 1753-8270
Article publication date: 2 April 2021
Issue publication date: 25 February 2022
Abstract
Purpose
In Ghana, the practice of landlords demanding that renters pay rent advance (RA) of between six months and five years is well noted. Surprisingly, renters appear divided into the benefits and drawbacks of the rent advance payment. Ahead of the 2020 general elections, the two leading political parties in Ghana promised to establish a rent assistance scheme to help renters working in the formal and informal sectors and earning regular incomes to pay their RA. This paper aims to scrutinize the differences in the demographic, employment and housing characteristics between the critics and non-critics of the RA payment in Ghana and the factors that predict the likelihood of being a critic of the RA system.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is exploratory and draws empirical data from surveys administered to 327 graduate renters from 13 regions in Ghana. It uses non-parametric and parametric tests, namely, Chi-square goodness-of-fit and T-test to explore these differences between both critics and non-critics of the RA.
Findings
There are statistically significant differences between critics and non-critics in terms of the association between their educational attainment on the one hand and their marital status, employment status and employment sector on the other hand. The research also reveals that monthly expenditures, number of bedrooms and RA period significantly predict the likelihood of being a critic of the RA payment or otherwise.
Practical implications
The study provides evidence which policymakers can draw upon to inform housing policy.
Originality/value
The study is the first to study the housing characteristics of graduate renters and to quantitatively distinguish between critics and non-critics of RA payment in Ghana.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to everyone who participated in the study. Acknowledgment is due Dr Hannah Holmes for proofreading the revised manuscript. We are also grateful to the four anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on the original manuscript.
Citation
Ehwi, R.J., Asante, L.A. and Gavu, E.K. (2022), "Towards a well-informed rental housing policy in Ghana: differentiating between critics and non-critics of the rent advance system", International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 315-338. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHMA-12-2020-0146
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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