Association push for condominium Law

Ghana Housing Finance Association (GHFA) is advocating for the promulgation of a condominium law to assist the country on thorny issues with unit flats. According to the GHFA the law will inculcate maintenance culture among unit home owners of flats. Mr Asare Akuffo, Managing Director of HFC Bank and president of GHFA, who at a dialogue session with members of Parliamentary Select Committee to deliberate on the proposed bill, admitted that it was better late than never to promulgate the law to make efficient use of land. He said the Association had a funding from the Business Advocacy Fund (BUSAC Fund) to put together and facilitate the draft document to be laid in Parliament for passing into a law, to make ownership of common areas in flats easy. He noted that apart from ensuring that the owners contribute towards maintaining the flats when the law is passed, it will also ensure efficient use of land. Mr Asare therefore commended the supporters of the project, especially the consultants and members of the Association. Mr Divine Letsa, Partner, Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa and Ankomah (BELA), the Consultant for the project, said it is important for the country to have such a law to solve its housing problem. He said mass delivery system by State Housing Corporation failed because there was no law to commit unit owners to maintain the flats and also to jointly own the common areas and facilities in the flat. He stated that currently the country�s housing deficit stands at 100,000 per year and high rise multi-unit apartments are the antidotes for the deficit. Mr Letsa said some of the advantages associated with condominium include maximising of land use; convenient locations at the centres of employment, shopping mall, and they may be comparatively cheaper where a well-structured regime exists. He said in the absence of the law, there would be lack of maintenance and repair of common areas, lack of a well-structured management framework, and inadequate rules and regulations affecting the use and management of schemes. He therefore stressed the need for condominium regulations to address the issues and also enhance the development of the schemes. He said the condominium law will run side by side with the customary law or the common law, adding that, the preparation of the bill is a formidable exercise and must be responsive, forward looking and must complement the reforms currently being undertaken in land Administration and Land Use Spatial Planning. Mr David Tetteh Assumeng, Chairman of Parliamentary Select Committee on Works and Housing, said more interactions are needed to put the draft bill in shape before it gets to Parliament and encourage the Association to do their homework well to make the passage of the bill easy. He was grateful to the Association for inviting them to the meeting to deliberate on the draft bill and to ensure easy passage and pledged to work with them to fine tune the bill to make it a national document for the benefit of all. Ms Theresa Tuffour, a Director from Ministry of Water resources, Works and Housing, commended BUSAC Fund for supporting the association to promulgate the law and urged them to share ideas and deliberate over the bill to ensure its ownership by Ghanaians.