If you've looked into buying land in Ghana as a non-citizen, you've likely run into the number 50 repeatedly. It shows up in listings, in lease documents, in conversations with lawyers. It isn't a marketing figure or a developer's preference. It comes directly from Ghana's Constitution.

Where the 50-year limit comes from

Article 266 of the 1992 Constitution sets out the restriction plainly. A non-citizen of Ghana cannot hold a freehold interest in land, and any agreement that tries to grant one is void. What a non-citizen can hold is a leasehold, and Article 266(4) caps that at a maximum of 50 years at any one time.

The Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) restates the same restriction in Section 10, adding that the 50-year cap also applies to companies where more than 40% of ownership sits with non-citizens, closing an obvious workaround before it could become one.

The Supreme Court has applied this provision directly. In Verdose v. Kuranchie [2017] GHASC 2, the Court dealt with a property dispute involving a non-citizen spouse, engaging with Article 266's restriction on the interest a non-citizen can hold in Ghanaian land.

What actually happens at 50 years

A lease doesn't simply vanish at the end of its term. What happens next depends on a detail most buyers never think to check until it matters: whether the lease itself says anything about renewal.

Under Section 12 of the Land Act, the rules differ sharply depending on who's leasing. An indigene of the area who has developed the land, built a home, planted a farm, or put up a commercial property, gets automatic renewal for the same duration as the original lease. That automatic right isn't unconditional, it depends specifically on the land actually having been developed. An indigene holding undeveloped bare land doesn't get the same guarantee. A Ghanaian citizen who isn't an indigene of that specific area gets an implied right to renewal instead, built into the lease by default, unless the lease itself says otherwise.

Non-citizens get neither of those defaults. A lease granted to a non-Ghanaian is not subject to renewal unless the lease expressly provides for it. If you exercise an option to renew, the terms of that renewal are whatever you and the lessor agree to at the time, not something guaranteed in advance.

In plain terms: for a non-citizen buyer, the lease document itself is the only thing standing between "this renews" and "this doesn't." It's worth reading that specific clause before signing anything, not after.

Consider a practical scenario. A diaspora Ghanaian buys a 50-year leasehold plot in year one, builds a home by year five, and lives comfortably for decades. As the lease approaches its final years, whether the family can simply continue living there, pass the property to their children, or need to actively renegotiate terms with the lessor, depends entirely on wording most buyers never read closely at the time of purchase. A lease that says nothing about renewal leaves that outcome genuinely uncertain. A lease with a clear, favorable renewal clause resolves it in advance.

A few questions worth answering upfront

Can a leasehold be sold or transferred before it expires? Yes. Under Section 6 of the Land Act, a leasehold interest can be conveyed further through a sublease or an assignment, meaning the original leaseholder can transfer their remaining interest to someone else within the term. This is a normal, lawful part of how leasehold property changes hands in Ghana.

What happens to a leasehold interest if it isn't renewed? Absent a renewal, the interest reverts to the person who granted it, since a lease by definition doesn't exhaust the grantor's own underlying interest in the land. This is exactly why the renewal terms in your specific lease matter more than any general assumption about what "usually happens."

What to ask before you commit

Ask specifically whether your lease includes an automatic or implied renewal clause, or whether renewal would need to be separately negotiated when the term approaches its end. If nothing in the lease addresses renewal, ask why, and consider whether that's a term worth negotiating for before signing, not after the fact.

See how Forest Hill's leasehold plots are structured.

This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Land law and registration requirements can vary by location and circumstance. Before making any decisions regarding land purchase, registration, or related legal matters, please consult a qualified, independent legal practitioner of your choosing.