Rent payments accounted for 13.9 per cent of Ghana’s 5.2 per cent inflation rate in September 2026, second only to fresh tomatoes, Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) data released on 7 October show.
Fresh tomatoes contributed 20.3 per cent of the headline rate and ginger 9.9 per cent. Prices of the two items rose 153.4 per cent and 100.4 per cent from a year earlier. The share figures measure each item’s contribution to overall inflation and reflect its weight in the consumer basket, not how much its price rose.
Rent’s place near the top of the table points to where the next price pressure lies. Food inflation is volatile and can swing back quickly once supply improves. Housing costs are stickier. Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu said services inflation, at 8.3 per cent, was rising twice as fast as goods inflation, at 4.2 per cent. He said services “are the last hurdle for us to deal with.” Housing, water, electricity and gas recorded the highest inflation of any category, at 10.3 per cent.
Headline rate still low
Inflation rose for a second straight month, from 5.0 per cent in August, after falling to 3.2 per cent in March. It remains well below the 9.4 per cent recorded in September 2025 and below the lower bound of the Bank of Ghana’s medium-term target of 8 per cent, plus or minus 2 points. Food inflation rose to 4.0 per cent from 3.0 per cent, while non-food inflation eased to 6.2 per cent from 6.8 per cent. Locally produced items accounted for about 86 per cent of inflation, which the GSS described as largely homegrown.
The upfront cost the index misses
The price index does not capture the lump sums many tenants must pay before moving in. Landlords in Accra, Kumasi and other cities commonly demand one or two years’ rent in advance. That is illegal under the Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220), which caps advance rent at six months for tenancies longer than six months and two months for shorter ones.
The state has stepped up enforcement this year. In March, President John Mahama urged tenants to report landlords who demand more. The Rent Control Department said it would prosecute offenders from 1 April. In June, Acting Rent Control Commissioner Frederick Opoku told tenants to gather evidence and report violations. He also announced compulsory registration of landlords on a digital database.
The department’s capacity is limited. Opoku said in April that it had only 185 staff nationwide and described it as poorly resourced. It plans to introduce a standard tenancy agreement by November 2026.
Some landlords argue that long advances pay for repairs and building work. They have warned that tighter limits could push rents up.
