The Conceptualisation of the Injustices in the Ghanaian Advance Rental Housing System

Abstract Cities in the Global South face severe housing challenges. This paper examines the high advance rental payment charges in Ghana and how they reflect an aspect of urban social and economic injustice. The issues of housing shortages and excessive advance rental payments in Ghana have been widely discussed in literature. This research focuses on the struggles of tenants to raise money for the advance rental payments. Employing a qualitative research approach using both primary and secondary data sources, the study focuses on formal sector workers across the country as a case study. The findings are used to conceptualise the struggles to meet advance rental payments and their role in deepening social and economic injustices in Ghanaian cities. The study concludes that the unregulated charging of advance rental payments has given more power to landlords/ladies over their tenants and, hence, frustrates tenants in the country. Keywords: Rental housing; advance-payment system; housing; injustices; Ghana