GREDA calls for quick implementation of housing policy

The Executive Director of GREDA, Sammy Amegayibor wants the government to expediently address Ghana’s housing policy.

Mr Amegayibor said the real estate industry needed the policy to govern the terrain and ensure that players in the sector conform to standards.

Stakeholders have been calling for Ghana to have a housing policy drafted and implemented for decades now. On a positive note, the government has been able to get the National Housing Policy to the cabinet level.

Mr Amegayibor praised the government’s effort in moving the policy up to that level while harboring hopes of seeing the Policy passed into law sooner rather than later.

“This government since they came [into power] had shown some level of commitment and has moved the policy to a level it hasn’t got to before. We just hope that they will get it done and passed into law to guide the industry,” he said.

Apartments are steadily on the rise in Ghana, especially in the nation’s capital. With the ability to maximize land space while offering top-quality amenities, real estate developers have resorted to making more investments in such units.

With no laws in place to guide ownership and little being done to regulate their construction, real estate developers have pressed the need to have appropriate laws in place.

Mr Amegayibor said GREDA and other stakeholders were invited to a consultative meeting with some select committee from parliament last year to discuss the components of a proposed Condominium Bill.

He said that the Bill will address ownership rights, especially concerning land ownership, as well as addressing the management of such buildings.

“Land ownership of apartments is a complex matter. Thus if nothing is done or laws are not enacted to regulate developers, we might find ourselves developing a whole lot of apartments in town and there will be complete chaos,” he stressed.

“This is because there will be lack of maintenance with the absence of a management institute and disputes could arise emanating from ownership issues. The Condominium Bill in a sense seeks to clarify these issues and pave the way for better understanding and improved management services.”

According to data compiled by property website Lamudi in February this year, 28 percent of searches in Accra were made for apartments.

Lamudi Ghana Managing Director Akua Nyame-Mensah said: “Apartments are increasingly becoming a preference for many property seekers. For real estate developers, this would be the ideal investment since they can build more units per every plot of land.”