Tenants Union plans protest over high rent
The National Tenants Union of Ghana (NATUG) has announced plans to mobilise half a million Ghanaians to demand urgent reforms in the country’s rental system, which it describes as unaffordable and exploitative.
The campaign is in solidarity with the National Coalition of Youth Against High Rent in Ghana, a youth-led movement pushing for systemic change in the housing sector.
NATUG says the demonstration will be the largest mobilisation of tenants in Ghana’s democratic history.
NATUG’s Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs, Reindolph Afrifa-Oware, accused successive governments of failing to protect tenants by neglecting to enact and enforce laws.
“Landlords have been allowed to exploit tenants through outrageous rent increases. We commend the youth coalition for their courage, and we are ready to take this fight to the next level,” he said.
Mr Afrifa-Oware explained that NATUG’s immediate goal is to rally 500,000 young people for a mass march to Parliament, demanding action from both the Executive and Legislature.
“This is not just a moment; it is a movement,” he said, criticising the slow progress on a new housing law first discussed in 2020.
Mr Afrifa- Oware described the delay as alarming, noting that many young workers spend up to 90 to 100 per cent of their monthly income on rent.
He stressed the need to review and enforce the Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220), a reform the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) pledged in its 2024 manifesto.
While that review proposed standardising housing and introducing quality controls, Mr Afrifa-Oware accused the ruling party of failing to act despite its two-thirds majority in Parliament.
“The housing situation in Ghana is dire. If urgent reforms are not introduced, the youth will remain trapped in cycles of poverty and exploitation,” he warned.
