Freehold vs. Leasehold in Ghana

Freehold and leasehold are the two terms people hear about often when buying land in Ghana. Freehold has no fixed end date; leasehold runs for a fixed term. Under Ghanaian law nobody can create a new freehold over land held by a stool, skin, clan or family. A stool or skin is the traditional office of a chief, holding land for its people; a clan or family holds land for its members. We call this customary land. So the choice many buyers think they have does not exist.

What does freehold mean in Ghana?

Freehold is ownership with no fixed end date. The Land Act describes two kinds, and the difference is the set of rules the deal fell under.

Customary law freehold arose under customary rules. A buyer acquired it by buying land outright from the stool, skin, clan or family that holds the underlying land, or by gift or inheritance. It can be sold or inherited without that group’s consent or payment, though it stays subject to the group’s customary rights.

Common law freehold arose under the common law rules Ghana inherited from English law. The Land Act says it is held free from obligations to any other person, subject to the interest of the State and to the customary rights of the holder of the underlying title. It too can be inherited and sold.

What does leasehold mean in Ghana?

A leasehold gives you the right to hold and use land for a fixed term, on the conditions in the lease. The person who grants it keeps their own interest, and the land comes back to them when the term ends unless the lease says otherwise. A lease is a recognised interest in land under section 6 of the Land Act. It is not an informal arrangement.

Can anyone get a new freehold in Ghana?

Over land held by a stool, skin, clan or family, no. Section 9(2) of the Land Act says a person shall not create an interest in this land that gives anyone a freehold, however it is described. The rule applies to every buyer, citizen or not.

The rule has older roots. Article 267(5) of the 1992 Constitution already barred any freehold interest in stool land, and the Land Act dates the ban on common law freehold in stool and skin land to 22 August 1969, with customary freehold barred there for non-citizens from the same date. Section 9(2) now covers all customary land.

The ban stops new freeholds being created. The Act treats an existing freehold as inheritable and alienable, and its own model forms include a conveyance on sale of a freehold, so one created in the past can still change hands, though not to a non-citizen, because a deed granting a non-citizen a freehold is void. If a seller offers you freehold, ask when it was created and by whom.

The State cannot grant a freehold of public land either (section 235(2)). Land belonging to one private individual, rather than to a stool, skin, clan or family, is not covered by a matching ban in the Land Act. If you are offered freehold over it, have your lawyer confirm the seller’s right to grant it.

Can a foreigner or non-citizen own land in Ghana?

Not freehold, but a foreigner can lease land for up to 50 years at one time. Section 10 of the Land Act and Article 266 of the Constitution bar a non-citizen from holding freehold at all, and any agreement, deed or conveyance that tries to grant one is void.

What this means in practice

Whatever your citizenship, customary land cannot give you a new freehold. If you are not a citizen, a lease of up to 50 years is the main route open to you. Plots at Forest Hill are sold as leaseholds, with an annual lease payment and a service charge.

Take a family in the Eastern Region holding land passed down for generations. A Ghanaian living abroad wants a plot for a retirement home. The family cannot grant a new freehold, because section 9(2) applies whatever the buyer’s citizenship. It can grant a lease, or a customary tenancy, created by direct agreement between family and buyer. The transaction can be perfectly legitimate. It just is not freehold. Our guide to buying land in Ghana from abroad covers the rest.

Common questions about freehold and leasehold in Ghana

Can a Ghanaian citizen own freehold land?

Over customary land, only a freehold that already exists. A citizen can inherit one, or buy one from the holder, and can sell it on to another citizen. What no one can get is a new freehold over land held by a stool, skin, clan or family. Land owned privately by an individual is a separate question, covered above.

Does marrying a Ghanaian citizen change these restrictions for a non-citizen?

Not the freehold ban. Section 10(9) of the Land Act says the main restrictions on a non-citizen’s interest, the freehold ban among them, survive marriage to a citizen and partnership with one. It does not mention the 50-year lease limit, so the position there is unclear.

What about buying through a Ghanaian company?

The Land Act says a company is not a citizen if non-citizens hold more than 40 per cent of its equity or ownership. A company with at least 60 per cent Ghanaian ownership falls outside that definition, though the Act does not spell out the reverse. The ban on new freeholds over customary land applies to any buyer. Ask a lawyer how ownership is tested before relying on this route.

What to ask before buying land in Ghana

Ask whether the land is customary land, since that decides whether a new freehold is possible. Ask how it is registered, too; we explain the difference in Land Title vs. Deed Registration in Ghana. If you are not a Ghanaian citizen, ask to see the renewal clause in your lease. That clause, read with the 50-year limit, decides what happens when the term ends; we cover it in Ghana’s 50-Year Lease Cap. Before you sign anything, have a Ghanaian lawyer read the documents.

Want to know how a plot at Forest Hill is held? Ask for the lease details through the enquiry form.

Where this comes from

This article draws on the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036), sections 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 50, 71 and 235, and Articles 266 and 267 of the 1992 Constitution.

This article was updated in October 2026.