President John Dramani Mahama has instructed the Minister of Finance to set aside GH¢1 billion in the 2027 Budget for a GH¢3 billion revolving National Housing Fund aimed at expanding access to affordable homes in Ghana.
The President made the announcement on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, while opening the maiden National Conference on Housing Finance in Accra.
“I have directed the Minister of Finance to allocate one billion Ghana cedis in next year’s budget as government’s contribution to the three billion revolving fund for the National Housing Fund,” President Mahama said.
He said the fund would support housing projects and provide financing to more Ghanaians seeking to own homes.
President Mahama said Ghana’s housing crisis was caused not only by a shortage of homes, but also by the difficulty many households faced in obtaining affordable finance.
He highlighted the challenges experienced by traders, artisans, farmers, transport operators and other self-employed workers. Although many of them have regular incomes, they often struggle to secure mortgages because they lack payslips or conventional banking records.
The President called on financial institutions to broaden their assessment of potential borrowers by considering evidence such as savings histories and verifiable business cash flows.
Figures presented at the conference put Ghana’s housing deficit at 1.8 million units. President Mahama said addressing that shortfall would require more people to become homeowners each year, while making sure the cost of borrowing remained within their means.
The National Housing Fund’s Mortgage Scheme currently provides cedi-denominated mortgages at an interest rate of 8.4 per cent, reduced from 13.5 per cent. Financing for developers under the scheme is set at 10.4 per cent.
More than 1,000 people have already been supported to own homes through initiatives involving the Fund and partner financial institutions, according to President Mahama.
He said the government intended to widen access to similar financing as part of its response to Ghana’s housing needs.
Easy Rent programme
President Mahama also announced an Easy Rent programme under the National Housing Fund to reduce the strain caused by large upfront rent payments.
Under the proposed scheme, the NHF would pay a worker’s rent advance, with the recipient repaying the amount in monthly instalments.
The President said the programme would be particularly important for young households facing the financial pressure associated with rent advances.
He recalled his own experience of leaving his father’s house to start married life with his wife, Lordina. The additional fee charged by a housing agent, he said, almost exhausted their finances.
Many young Ghanaians face a similar situation, President Mahama said, with rent advances using savings that could otherwise support children’s education or family businesses.
The Easy Rent programme is expected to operate alongside the existing National Rental Assistance Scheme, which provides rent advances to qualifying tenants who repay through monthly instalments.
