Ghana’s land governance system is being constrained by weak coordination between customary authorities and statutory institutions, leading to disputes, delays and stalled real estate projects across major cities, industry players and experts say.
Across Accra, Kumasi and other fast-growing urban centres, land transactions are frequently complicated by overlapping claims and documentation gaps, with developers often facing prolonged legal disputes over ownership rights.
According to Senior Partner at AB & David Africa, David Ofosu-Dorte, Ghana’s land ownership structure remains highly complex and inefficient, describing it as “confusing and chaotic,” and arguing that he is not aware of “any country in the world where land ownership issues are more confused.”
“In Ghana, where, as in most countries, whatever is on the land is part of the land, the ownership itself is very, very chaotic,” he explained as reported by Joynews.
His comments reflect broader concerns within the real estate and legal sectors about how Ghana’s dual land tenure system operates in practice.
Dual system under pressure
Ghana’s land governance operates through two main structures: customary land ownership, where stools, skins, families and chiefs act as custodians, and a statutory system led by institutions such as the Lands Commission, which is responsible for registration, surveying and formal title certification.
While the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) was designed to consolidate land laws and improve coordination between the two systems, implementation gaps remain.
In practice, customary authorities often allocate land under traditional arrangements, while statutory bodies process formal registration based on submitted documentation, sometimes without full visibility of prior allocations.
Overlapping claims and disputes
The lack of a fully integrated system has contributed to recurring cases where multiple parties claim rights over the same parcel of land.
Developers and buyers frequently report situations where land acquired from customary authorities cannot be registered because it has already been allocated elsewhere or is subject to competing claims within the statutory system.
These disputes have resulted in stalled projects, abandoned developments and extended litigation in Ghana’s courts.
Documentation and institutional gaps
Weak record-keeping within parts of the customary system continues to complicate land transactions, particularly where allocations are based on informal agreements or incomplete documentation.
Even within the statutory system, coordination challenges between surveying, planning, valuation and registration functions have been cited as contributing to delays in processing land titles.
Industry stakeholders say these inefficiencies increase transaction costs and make due diligence more complex for investors and developers.
Economic implications
Land governance challenges are having broader implications for Ghana’s real estate sector and urban development.
Developers often spend significant time and resources verifying ownership before proceeding with projects, while unresolved disputes can delay construction for years.
This uncertainty reduces investor confidence and limits the pace of housing and infrastructure delivery in fast-growing urban areas.
Structural challenge
Experts argue that the core issue lies in the coexistence of two legitimate but only partially integrated systems of authority over land.
Customary institutions remain central to land allocation in practice, while statutory institutions provide the legal framework for registration and enforcement.
However, limited coordination between the two systems continues to create gaps in verification, documentation and enforcement.
Reform efforts
The Land Act, 2020 and ongoing reforms within the Lands Commission have aimed to streamline land administration and improve coordination.
Proposals including digitisation of customary land records, strengthened Customary Land Secretariats and pre-allocation verification systems have also been discussed as potential solutions.
However, implementation challenges persist, particularly around integrating customary land governance into a unified national system.
Outlook
Until customary and statutory land administration systems are more effectively aligned, stakeholders say land will remain a key source of legal uncertainty in Ghana’s urban development landscape, with implications for investment, housing delivery and broader economic growth.
