Government, as part of some new initiatives and additional reforms to be implemented across several sectors of the economy this year, is planning to establish the National Rental Assistance Scheme (NRAS) to help Ghanaians pay for house rents in advance.
The scheme with a seed fund of Ghs 100 million, Caretaker Finance Minister Osei Kyei Mensa-Bonsu, presenting the 2021 Budget Statement to Parliament indicated, will crowd-in additional investment from the private sector.
Under the scheme, eligible Ghanaians will be provided low-interest loans to enable them pay for rents in advance.
Government has since last year, embarked on initiatives such as the National Mortgage Scheme (NMS) and the Affordable Housing Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) (Rent-to-own) Schemes aimed at resolving home ownership challenges faced by Ghanaians as well as significantly reduce the nation’s housing deficit in the long term.
The two schemes set up under the National Housing and Mortgage Fund (NHMF), reduces mortgage rates by over 60 per cent, compared to the average market rate of 28 per cent.
The Affordable Housing REITs also promotes the rent-to-own scheme with only monthly rent payments and after a period, the occupant has the option to own the house.
President Akufo-Addo in the later part of last year commissioned 204 affordable housing units constructed under the the National Mortgage Scheme (NMS) and the Affordable Housing Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) (Rent-to-own) Scheme at Tema Community 22.
The commissioning of the housing units by the president followed the successful 2-year piloting phase of the two housing schemes.
