The cost of accommodation in Kumasi, capital of Ashanti Region, has surged dramatically over the past two years due to rising prices of building materials, goods and services.

Anecdotal research by the B&FT indicates that these prices have increased between 50 percent and 130 percent. A single-room self-contained apartment, which was rented for GH¢150 per month in 2022, now costs between GH¢350 and GH¢400.

A single-room with a shared toilet and bathroom, previously priced between GH¢60 and GH¢80, now ranges from GH¢100 to GH¢200. Additionally, a two-bedroom house in Kumasi, which used to rent for around GH₵500, now costs between GH¢600 and GH¢1,000.

This situation has become worrisome as landlords and property owners tend to demand rent for one or two years in advance, making it difficult for tenants. As a result, tenants now pay between GH¢6,000 and GH¢24,000 for two years of accommodation depending on the type of room or house they choose.

In an interview with Agnes Quaye, a landlady in Sokoban – a suburb of Kumasi – who has been renting rooms for nearly 20 years, she justified that the prices of building materials have skyrocketed since 2022 and necessitated an adjustment in house rents.

“I do not charge exorbitant rates for my rooms. I take GH¢200 for my single-room with a shared bathroom and toilet, and GH¢600 for my two-bedroom house. Some landlords who do not have other sources of income often price their rates very high. I increased my rates in 2022 when goods and services on the market shot up significantly,” she explained.

Asked if she would reduce her rent should prices of goods and services decrease, Madam Quaye was quick to say: “I am not sure the price of cement will drop to GH₵50,” she stressed.

Meanwhile, some tenants are lamenting these rates and are calling for urgent intervention to alleviate their plight.

Kofi Osei, a 46-year-old courier with a family of six, has been renting a two-bedroom house at Brofoyedu within the Atwima Kwanwoma Municipality near Kumasi for over nine years. According to him, he used to pay GH¢4,800 for two years but his landlord increased it to GH¢10,000 last December when his rent expired.

He told B&FT that the increased rent has taken a toll on his finances, making it difficult for him to meet payment of the new amount.

“It’s just too much,” he lamented, adding that “I have a wife and four children, one of whom is in university. Other goods and services are equally expensive, and adding this rent is just too much. I plead with government to intervene and build more affordable houses for people like us to rent, or else these property owners will run us dry.”