Segment: Marriage Won't Get You Land Rights - Only Citizenship Gives Property Ownership

Summary

Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey
Segment: Marriage Won't Get You Land Rights – Only Citizenship Gives Property Ownership
Date: July 28, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of Konnected Minds dives into the crucial legal distinctions around land and property rights in Ghana, with special attention to non-citizens, particularly those from the diaspora. Host Derrick Abaitey and a real estate expert unravel prevalent myths, clarify the legal framework for land tenure, and address the challenges facing young Ghanaians trying to own property.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Myth-Busting: Marriage and Land Rights for Non-Ghanaians

[00:46]

• Myth: Being married to a Ghanaian automatically grants long-term property rights.

• Reality: Marriage alone does not confer maximum years of interest in property. Non-citizens must acquire Ghanaian citizenship to access maximum tenure.

  “Marriage alone or being married to a Ghanaian does not qualify you to maximum number of years interest in a property. You have to go through the process of becoming a Ghanaian citizen first before you can have the maximum number of years.”
  — Real Estate Expert [00:49]

• If a Ghanaian and a non-Ghanaian jointly purchase property (e.g., 50% ownership each), the property is capped at 50 years—no automatic renewal.

• The relevant law: Since 1969, non-citizens can only be granted 50-year leases. Extensions (e.g., an additional 45 years) require explicit negotiation.

• Practical tip: Include a clause specifying renewal terms and valuation at lease expiry to maximize tenure (potentially up to 95 years).

2. Alternative Approaches for Non-Ghanaians

[02:01]

• Incorporating a Company:

  • Foreigners can set up a Ghanaian company with a maximum of 40% foreign ownership and 60% Ghanaian shares to access longer tenure (up to 99 years).
  • If foreign shareholding exceeds 40%, the company is considered foreign and limited to 50 years.

  “The shareholding must be 60:40. The moment the foreign ownership crosses to 41, it becomes a foreign entity.”
  — Real Estate Expert [02:38]

• Summary: Acquiring land as a non-citizen requires careful structuring for longer security.

3. Types of Interests in Land

[03:27]

• Lease and Sublease

  • A sublease transfers the remaining lease term; cannot grant more than what’s left (“head lease” dictates limits).

  “This lazor cannot give you what they don't have. So you ... must take the head lease, go through it and see what is the residual interest left in the property.”
  — Real Estate Expert [04:07]

• Assignment

  • Transfers full remaining interest to another; after expiry, possession reverts to original owner (“allodia owner”).

• License

  • Short-term use (typically under 3 years), often for farming, with occupants paying token fees and having no absolute land possession.

4. Types of Land in Ghana and Legal Custody

[07:05]

• Vested Land: Owned by families or groups but managed by the state (not owned by the state); purchases require going through the Lands Commission.
• State Land: Fully acquired by the government via eminent domain for public use (e.g., hospitals, parliament), with original owners only compensated once.
• Family Land: Controlled by clans/families; only the family head can legitimately transfer these lands.
• Stool Land: Traditional land assigned to chiefs (stool heads), not to be confused with family land; misidentified sellers are a major source of litigation.

  “Achieve (chief) does not alienate family land. It is the family head is the one that signs. So if you go and buy a family land from a chief — litigation.”
  — Real Estate Expert [08:36]

5. Why Young Ghanaians Rarely Own Homes

[09:13]

• A cited statistic: 78% of Ghanaians aged 26–32 unlikely to ever own homes.

  “78% of Ghanaians aged between the age 26 to 32 are unlikely to own their own homes in their lifetime. Why?”
  — Host [09:14]

• The expert points to high costs of land and building, compounded by a national housing deficit (over 2 million).

  “There must be a deliberate policy to expand real estate infrastructure around the country.”
  — Real Estate Expert [10:18]

• The need for systemic solutions is highlighted, paralleling challenges in both developing and developed markets.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On joint ownership and citizenship:

  “If you, a Ghanaian, have gone to acquire property and your contribution is 50% each, you have forfeited your Ghanaian interest. You get 50 years.”
  — Real Estate Expert [01:02]

• On clear title and due diligence:

  “The lazor cannot grant you any covenant that they don't have within their own.”
  — Real Estate Expert [05:09]

• On litigation risks:

  “If you go and buy a family land from a chief litigation. If you go and buy A2 land from family head litigation. If you go and buy a state land or a vested land from a family, you fall into litigation.”
  — Real Estate Expert [08:53]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:46 — Marriage and citizenship: legal myth-busting
• 01:40 — Joint ownership and lease durations
• 02:10 — Company ownership structures for non-Ghanaians
• 03:27 — Types of interests: lease, sublease, assignment, license
• 07:05 — Types of land: vested, state, family, stool
• 09:13 — Youth homeownership statistics and policy discussion

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Conclusion

This episode sheds essential light on the complexity of land acquisition and ownership in Ghana, especially for non-citizens and the diaspora. It not only dispels prevalent myths but also emphasizes the importance of due diligence, legal guidance, and proactive policy-making for improving accessibility to property, particularly for young people. Listeners come away with a clearer, practical understanding of their land rights and the pitfalls to avoid in Ghana’s unique and sometimes tricky real estate landscape.

Transcript

[Host]

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[Host]

Check in the description and get one. And then also remember that you can also get the details of our communities in the description. So join it and be part of this amazing connected minds community. Now let's talk about the non Ghanaians

[Real Estate Expert]

now, our brothers and sisters, especially from the diaspora and who are not Ghanaian citizen. Let me bust another myth. Marriage alone or being married to a Ghanaian does not qualify you to maximum number of years interest in a property. You have to go through the process of becoming a Ghanaian citizen first before you can have the maximum number of years. Now somebody will say if a Ghanaian and a non Ghanaian are jointly acquiring a property together. Yep. What interest should they have? So now one is a Ghanaian, one is not a Ghanaian. If you, a Ghanaian have gone to acquire property and your contribution is 50% each, you have forfeited your Ghanaian interest. You get 50 years. So non Ghanaians and in like I said, 1969, the legislation in 1969 says that non citizens can only be given 50 years. Now they are 50 years, there's no automatic renewal. So what they have to do is to ensure they negotiate with the vendor and make sure that they have what the, the terms of the renewal term stated in there. So for example, you have up to 45 years renewal. So 45 years renewal at what rate? Again like I said earlier, you could put in a clause that says that at the expiration of the 50 years I'll pay 10% of the actual valuation of the property after 50 years. So technically those in the diaspora, if you put in that clause, your 50 years becomes 95 years and then that can be structured again. So automatically you are acquiring 50 years, but that 50 years is regulated, you know what you're going to pay and it has become 9, 95, 50 plus 45. So that's 95. Now another way that they can also do it is to incorporate a company in Ghana. Now it's tricky what you can 40% ownership, 40 shareholding foreign, 60 Ghanaian shareholding. That entitles you to maximum number of interest. If it becomes 40 plus 1, it is deemed the company is deemed as a foreign entity. Now the company is a distinct from the individual. But the shareholding must be 60:40. The moment the foreign ownership crosses to 41, it becomes a foreign entity. So maybe your wife, your wife is or your spouse is a Ghanaian and you are non Ghanaian. Non citizen Ghanaian. What you can do is register your company. The shareholding should be 60:40. You can acquire a property. I have 99 years. So that is the position of the law. Now let's look at the the interest that follows the the list we have sublease. Sublease is a lazor. I've come to Derek, who owns a freehold. I have leased the land for 99 years. I want to sell to Kofi Mensa. I have to sublet it. Now in doing that I the sub lazy potential. Sub lazy. Sub lazy is the one who is coming to purchase the interest from the lazor. This lazor cannot give you what they don't have. So you we call something headless. Head lease. You must take the head lease, go through it and see what is the residual interest left in the property. Derek has acquired 99 years. Maybe Derek has done 50 years. Now it is left with 49. Derek can only convey 49 years list to me. He may have 99, but he has already exhausted 50 years.

[Host]

So he doesn't have 99 left.

[Real Estate Expert]

Exactly. So that due diligence must also be done to ascertain that a lazo does not have 99. And the Lazar cannot grant you any covenant that they don't have with within their own. So let's say they said the land can only be this might demise for agriculture. And then they sell it to you for real estate. That is breach of contract. The the resource grantor will have a right to enter. So now once the sub lazor gives you all the document, you've done all your diligence. Yeah. Okay. You are good to go. The last interest which I'll speak about last but one is assignment. Assignment means the person is conveying everything that they have to you. Which means that if I am a lazer and I've done an assignment interest for you, Derek, the revisionary interest. There's something called revisionary interest. It means that when the list the original lease expires, you go back to the allodia owners. Okay, so let's say Derek has leased a land to Danny. Danny wants to sublet it to somebody. But Danny has decided to do an assignment. When the 99 years or whatever years is left is expired, I don't come back to you, I go to your grand tour. So it's called assignment. So I'm assigning all my interest to you. We also have one type of interest which is licensee license. License is normally, I think it's less than three years. Those who you know, take the land for farming, they are called licensees.

[Host]

Right.

[Real Estate Expert]

And they don't have absolute possession over the land. They are just like, you know, just farming on it. And they pay, how do you call it? They pay token to the owners of the land. So that closes the interest in land. And to just conclude, before we go to your topic, we have to also look at the various type of land. There's vested land.

[Host]

Yep.

[Real Estate Expert]

The vested land are lands that are owned by people or families or schools. Allodia owners. And this is vested in the state. That does not mean the state owns the land. They don't own the land. What the state the power has is to manage the land.

[Host]

Can you still buy a vested land?

[Real Estate Expert]

Yes, you can buy, but it has to go through the lands commission. The lands commission is the only institution mandated by law in a creature of law to administer state lands invested land. So the vested land is managed by government, which means lands commission. So most of count lands, some in rich are all vested in the state and the president is holding it in

[Host]

trust for the well, does that mean that the government can come for rich anytime?

[Real Estate Expert]

No, no, it's vested in them. They don't own it, they are just managing it. Now the next one is both through compulsory acquisition which we call eminent domain for public use. So the lamp will reach hospital Parliament House. Those lands are acquired by the state. We call them state land. That one. The state has absolute authority over those lands. They only compensate the owners and it becomes the property of the state. We have family land, which is the clans are in are in charge of it. And the family head is the custodian right to alienate land. Then we have finally we have this tool. And it's important, Derek. It's important to know this all these lands because if you don't know and you want a farm, you want to buy family land. And the stool head comes and says pay me, I'm the chief. That's one of the primary reasons for litigation achieve does not alienate family land. It is a family head is the one that signs. So if you go and buy a family land from a chief litigation. If you go and buy A2 land from family head litigation. If you go and buy a state land or a vested land from a family, you fall into litigation. So it's important to clarify this type of land.

[Host]

These are the some of the things that why it is important to seek

[Real Estate Expert]

to a professional get the right people

[Host]

to get a job done. Because it is so complicated to try to do it yourself with all the information you have at hand. So I've got something to read to you. So this is a stat that I saw on X some time back. It says that 78% of Ghanaians aged between the age 26 to 32 are unlikely to own their own homes in their lifetime. Why?

[Real Estate Expert]

I would say that even in advanced world the entire population does not.

[Host]

Yes, but 78% is.

[Real Estate Expert]

70% is alarming. I think that is changing. This data was from when I think

[Host]

it was about two years ago.

[Real Estate Expert]

Yeah, it's changing. I, I think that the current housing deficit still stands at 2 million plus.

[Host]

But that, but, but that's deficit. This is ownership. Right, the young person owning their home. Yeah, because in the west there are systems to allow them to own. But there are some issues. Right. What people are saying is that it is because of the cost of the lands and then also the buildings and then that's the reason why a lot of them cannot own.

[Real Estate Expert]

Derek, I'll start by saying that there must be a deliberate policy to expand. I'm so passionate about this topic. Because there must be a deliberate policy to expand real estate infrastructure around the country.

[Host]

Okay.

[Real Estate Expert]

And I'll explain that I cashed out

[Host]

my entire 401k thinking someone stole my identity.

[Scam Victim 1]

A fake email cost me my dream home. After I sent my personal information to a scammer, my AI agent wired thousands to an account I'd never seen.

[Gen Digital Representative]

When billions of people feel unsafe, that's no longer a security problem, it's an economic one. At Jen, we're building the trust layer for a more fearless planet. With products and technologies from our global brands, Norton, Lifelock, Avast and Money Lion. See it in [e-mail].