The Director of Communications and Cooperate Affairs for the National Tenants Union of Ghana, Mr Reindolph Afrifa-Oware, has said: "Ghana's affordable housing crisis is the result of deliberate policy choices and chronic underfunding that have persisted for decades by successive governments".

According to him, homeownership is the preferred housing choice for Ghanaian families because it builds wealth but due to the difficulty associated with acquiring land as well as the many unresolved land issues in the law courts, most families are forced to remain in the rental market.

He said issues of rent in the country are difficult, as unilateral hikes in rent drive those with less income and less wealth into more insecure and unstable rental houses.

Speaking to Class News on the back of the introduction of the National Rental Assistance Scheme (NRAS) by the government, Mr Afrifa-Oware indicated that research by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) shows that the country’s housing deficit in the last 50 years continually witnessed an upward trend which now stands at 1.8 million.

He said deliberate action and commitment are needed to change the trend.

He, however, commended the government for introducing the NRAS to mitigate the difficulty in housing accessibility but stressed that it is not the real solution to Ghana's housing crisis.

The NRAS is designed to make rental accommodation more accessible, affordable, and convenient by taking away the unfair burden faced by lower-income households and the youth across the country of multi-year rent advance payments demanded by landlords.

The Scheme will target individuals in the formal and informal sectors with identifiable and regular income.

The rent advance loans will be paid directly into landlords' bank accounts, who would also have to register with the Scheme.