After Buying Land in Ghana: Lease and Development Permit

Many people in Ghana buy a plot years before they build on it. Some are saving to build in stages. Others live abroad and want the land secured now.

Most new homes in Ghana are self-built, so the plot comes first. A 2022 estimate from the GCB Strategy and Research Department, quoted in a London School of Economics policy brief, puts about 40,500 of the 45,000 homes supplied each year (90 per cent) with self-builders and other informal sources. Formal developers supply about 4,500.

Buying first and building later is common. The gap between buying land in Ghana and building on it is where buyers tend to leave things undone, so this guide covers what to do in that gap.

Have your lawyer read the purchase agreement before you sign

The purchase agreement is signed before you receive your lease, and it usually sets what goes into the lease. What it says about the plot, the term, the payments and your duties becomes the basis of the document you will hold later.

Ask your own lawyer to read it with you before you sign. Your lawyer can explain each clause and raise anything that is unclear. If the agreement refers to plans or other documents, ask for copies so you read them first.

Register your lease once you receive it

The Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036), section 227(1), provides that an instrument has no effect until it is registered. A lease is an instrument of this kind. It is made out in your name, so registering it is in your interest as the person named on it. Your lawyer can present it to the Land Registrar for you.

Do this soon after you receive the lease, so your name is on the record while you wait to build. Keep your agreement and your lease together in one place, and note any dates or duties in the agreement so none is missed.

Learn what the permit stage needs

Owning a plot does not give you permission to build on it. The Land Use and Spatial Planning Act, 2016 (Act 925), sections 113 and 117, require a permit from the local assembly before any physical development. Building without one is an offence that carries a fine, a prison term, or both.

The permit comes from the Metropolitan, Municipal or District Assembly that covers your plot, called “the Assembly” below. Only the Assembly can issue it (Land Use and Spatial Planning Regulations, 2019, L.I. 2384, regulation 43). For a house you apply for a development permit, which covers both planning and building permission.

The application needs four sets of a site plan, a block plan, architectural drawings and structural drawings. It also needs evidence of your right to use the land, such as your lease, and a Land Use Certificate from the Assembly, which confirms what your land may be used for (regulation 46(3)). The Assembly may ask for reports too, such as an environmental or fire safety report.

For certain types of building, the Assembly can require the plans to be prepared or signed by a registered architect or engineer, or a licensed architectural draughtsman. A single-storey traditional building of not more than 120 square metres is exempt from that requirement (Act 925, section 114). The Act does not define “traditional building”, so ask the Assembly whether your design qualifies before relying on this.

Ask the Physical Planning Department of the Assembly what the process involves for your plot, and do it early. When the house is finished, you will also need a certificate of habitation from the Assembly before it is used (Act 925, section 161).

Find out what design rules your plot comes with

Sellers and estates often set rules for what may be built, such as how much of the plot a house may cover or how tall it may be. The Assembly applies its own standards on the same points when it considers your application (regulation 45(4)). Ask for the seller’s rules in writing before you hire an architect, so the first drawings already follow both and do not need to be redone.

These steps are spread over months or years, but each is easier when you ask early, while the details are still fresh.

Questions about a Forest Hill plot

If you are buying or considering a plot at Forest Hill, you can ask about any of these steps through the enquiry form on this website.