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GREDA Newsletter
Continued: Law on Land

In a bid to address some of these issues arising from land ownership, The Business and Financial
Times’ (B&FT) Kennedy Aryeetey Tetteh spoke to an astute lawyer, Emmanuel Mate-Kole, of Bentsi-
Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah law firm, to understand the position of the law on land ownership and registra-
tion in Ghana, and also to recommend the best legal approach in acquiring land in the country.
B&FT: Who owns land in Ghana? What does the constitution say about land ownership/acquisition?

Ans: Lawyer Mate-Kole— The entities that own land in Ghana are;
The Stool, The Family, The Individual (Companies) and The State.
The Constitution vests all “Public Lands” in the state. “Public lands” are lands which were vested in the
state before the coming into force of the Constitution on behalf of and in trust for, the people of Ghana for
the public service of Ghana, and any other land acquired in the public interest, for the purposes of the Gov-
ernment of Ghana.

The Constitution also vests all “Stool Lands” in the appropriate stool in accordance with customary law.
Stool land includes any land or interest in, or right over, any land controlled by a stool or skin, the head of
a particular community or the captain of a company, for the benefit of the subjects of that stool. The Ad-
ministration of Lands Act, 1962 (Act 123) has a more expanded definition and it adds “clan” to the defini-
tion of stool land.
The Administration of Lands Act and our customary law also recognises ownership of land by clans or
families. The Constitution guarantees ownership of land by individuals either alone or in association with
others.

B&FT: What is the difference between Leasehold and Freehold land ownership
and how long can an individual own land? What happens after this period is ex-
hausted?
Ans: “our customary law
Freehold Interest—This is the highest interest in land in Ghana and runs for an also recognises
indefinite period. It goes with the right of beneficial occupation of the land which ownership of land by
may devolve upon successors forever. This form of ownership is normally granted clans or families”
by a stool or a family. However, Freehold interests are gradually becoming rare es-
pecially in the towns and cities as there rather seems to be a gradual shift towards
the creation of leasehold interests.
Leasehold Interest—This is an interest granted by the owner of land to another for
a specified period. The period granted may be short as one year or as long as 99 years. Government lands
are granted on leasehold basis. Recently, the practice has been that Government grants land for a maxi-
mum period of 50 years. Government rarely goes beyond 50 years. The highest interest a foreigner can
have in land in Ghana is a 50-year lease. On the expiry of the 50 years, an application has to be made to the
Lands Commission for an extension of the lease.
There is no provision for automatic renewal. The renewal is at the discretion of the Lands Commission. In
practice, however, a refusal to renew or extend a lease by the Government of Ghana is rare. Provided that

the leaseholder is in good standing and has observed the terms of the lease, there is no reason why the
lease, whether of Government land, stool or family land will not be renewed.
Continued on page 6 …..

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