The Relationship between Insecurity in Land Tenure System and Housing Investment in Developing Countries: Case Study Accra, Ghana

摘要

Land tenure is considered as the mode by which land is held or owned, or the set of relationships among people concerning land or its products. Land tenure security, which is people's ability to control and manage land, use it, dispose of its produce and engage in transactions, including transfers has become a critical determinant of land investments especially housing investment in developing countries. Land plays vital role with respect to the social, political, and economic life of most developing countries. Insecurity in land tenure systems has led to numerous challenges that undermine the general accessibility to land resulting in unplanned developments, land scarcity, upspring of many slums, high housing deficit, and land use conflicts. The challenges threaten the general development of land especially housing development in most developing countries.;Despite extensive literature on land tenure systems and land rights, there is a significant gap about how the insecurity in land tenure affect investment in land especially housing development. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate and gain insight and understanding into the perception of insecurity in land tenure system as it relates to housing investment/development in Ghana. Interviews with seventeen participants selected from the main stakeholders associated with land usage in Accra, that is family heads, private landowners, real estate developers, senior officers from the land agencies and judges/legal practitioners were used for the study. The findings revealed that the main stakeholders associated with land namely traditional landowners, statutory land agencies and the judiciary are the major contributors to the numerous challenges inhibiting tenure security. Therefore, governmental assistance to streamline and improve the operations and practices of these actors in order to alleviate their contribution to the factors inhibiting tenure security will lead to well-established property rights, which will intend promote investment in land especially housing development.