Buying land in Kumasi, Ghana: leases, checks and what the law says

In Kumasi, Ghana, buying stool land (customary land managed by a chief) does not make you the outright owner: you get a lease. Ghana's Constitution bans the creation of a freehold over stool land. It also caps a lease to a non-citizen at fifty years at any one time. The Land Act 2020 (Act 1036) requires a written transfer signed by both parties, and that transfer has no effect until it is registered. Before you pay anything, ask the Lands Commission for an official search and check who actually has the right to grant the land.

What you are buying: a lease, not a freehold

On stool land, the most you can get is a lease. Article 267(1) of the Constitution of Ghana says stool lands “shall vest in the appropriate stool on behalf of, and in trust for the subjects of the stool”. Article 267(5) bars the creation, in favour of anyone, of “a freehold interest howsoever described”. The lease term, ground rent and permitted use are set in the lease itself. Get them in writing.

If you are not a Ghanaian citizen, Article 266(1) bars you from holding a freehold over any land in Ghana. Article 266(4) bars any lease to you “for a term of more than fifty years at any one time”. Under Article 266(2), any agreement or deed that seeks to give you a freehold is “void”. Section 10 of the Land Act 2020 restates both limits.

The chief who grants the land cannot simply do as they please with it. Section 13(2) of the Land Act makes a chief, clan head or family head “a fiduciary”: they manage the land on behalf of the community. Article 267(3) of the Constitution adds a condition: no stool land may be disposed of or developed unless the Regional Lands Commission has certified that the transaction is consistent with the area's development plan.

Before you pay: the checks

Your first check happens at the Lands Commission, not at the seller's. Section 130(1) of the Land Act 2020 lets anyone ask the Land Registrar for an official search on a parcel in a land registration district. Under section 130(2), the Commission issues the report within fourteen days of payment of the prescribed fees. The report is presumed “conclusive of matters stated in the Form”. The fee varies, so ask the Commission's office for the current amount.

• The grantor: is it a stool, a family or an individual? Who has authority to sign, and what document is their right based on?
• The site plan: have a licensed surveyor draw it. It is used for demarcation and for the official search.
• The Regional Lands Commission certificate, required for any disposition of stool land (Article 267(3) of the Constitution).
• Spousal consent, if the seller is a married individual. For land bought during the marriage, section 47 of the Land Act requires the other spouse's written consent, which “shall not be unreasonably withheld”.
• The building permit: it does not prove ownership (see the next paragraph).

People who work with land in Kumasi say the same thing. In September 2022, on Luv FM in Kumasi, lawyer Kwaku Obeng Mireku pointed out that a building permit from a local assembly “does not affirm legal ownership”. On the same programme, Edem Ellis Agbeko, a surveyor at the Asantehene's Land Secretariat, said an allocation paper for stool land does not on its own give you a right to the land. His advice was to obtain a lease from the appropriate stool authority, then register the documents at the Lands Commission. He also warned that without a lease, a new chief may ask you to pay again to renew your allocation note.

Sign, pay, register

A verbal deal does not protect you. Under section 34 of the Land Act 2020, a contract to transfer an interest in land cannot be enforced unless it is evidenced in writing and signed. Section 35 requires the transfer to be “in writing and signed by” the transferor and the transferee, or by their authorised agents. Otherwise it “does not confer an interest” on the buyer.

Then register the transfer. Under section 227(1), an instrument signed after the Act came into force “is of no effect until the instrument is registered”. If the parcel lies in an area declared a title registration district, section 133 requires the instrument to be presented within three months of signing. After that, you pay an additional fee set by regulations. Ask the regional office of the Lands Commission whether your parcel lies in such a district. Once registered, the owner's rights are “indefeasible” (cannot be overturned), subject to the exceptions in sections 118 and 119.

What the law punishes

The Land Act 2020 targets the most common frauds directly. Section 277(2) punishes three cases: a person who “purports to make a grant of land to which that person has no title”, a person who grants land without authority, and a person who “makes conflicting grants in respect of the same piece of land to more than one person”. The penalty is a fine of 7,500 to 15,000 penalty units, 7 to 15 years in prison, or both.

Land guards, the hired men who occupy or defend a plot, fall under section 12(1)(c). It covers anyone who “personally or through another person unlawfully uses force or violence” to keep a person with an interest in land from reaching it. The penalty is 5 to 15 years in prison. In June 2024, the Ashanti Regional Security Council warned Kumasi residents that anyone who hires land guards “will be apprehended, prosecuted, and put before court”. If you end up in a dispute, go through a lawyer and the courts.

On Imonga

Listings published for the city are on our Kumasi property page. To compare with other Ghanaian cities, see the Accra, Tema and Tamale pages. We give no prices for Kumasi here because we have no dated, counted price data to publish for the city. Before you sit down to agree a price, read our pieces (in French) on how to negotiate a price and common property scams.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner buy land in Kumasi?

Not as a freehold. Article 266 of Ghana's Constitution bars the creation of a freehold in favour of a non-citizen and caps their lease at fifty years at any one time. Any deed that seeks to give them a freehold is void. The Constitution does not spell out how renewal works, so have a Ghanaian lawyer review the lease terms before you sign.

Is an allocation paper enough?

No. A surveyor at the Asantehene's Land Secretariat said so publicly in 2022: on stool land, an allocation paper does not on its own give you a right to the land. You need a lease in writing, signed by both sides (sections 34 and 35 of the Land Act 2020), and you then register it at the Lands Commission. Under section 227(1), the instrument has no effect until it is registered. To check the documents you already hold, consult a lawyer in Ghana.

How long does the official search take?

Section 130(2) of the Land Act 2020 sets fourteen days from payment of the prescribed fees. The report is presumed conclusive of the matters it states. We do not quote the fee here, so ask the Lands Commission for it. Ask for a receipt too, and run the search before you hand any advance payment to the seller.

What happens to a seller who sells the same plot twice?

Section 277(2) of the Land Act 2020 punishes conflicting grants of the same land to more than one person, and grants made without title or authority. The penalty is a fine of 7,500 to 15,000 penalty units, 7 to 15 years in prison, or both. A conviction will not get your money back, though: registering your instrument promptly is your best protection.

I live abroad. Can I buy remotely?

Yes. Section 35 of the Land Act 2020 lets an authorised agent sign the transfer for you. Choose someone you trust, have a lawyer in Ghana draft the power of attorney, and pay through traceable channels. Ask for a copy of the official search report and for proof that the instrument has been registered.

Land rules are different in the other countries of the region: see our guide (in French) to land checks before buying a plot.

Sources

• Constitution of Ghana, 1992, on Constitute Project: Articles 266(1), (2), (4) (non-citizens: freehold ban, voidness, fifty-year lease cap) and 267(1), (3), (5) (stool lands). Accessed 28 October 2026.
• Land Act 2020 (Act 1036), text reproduced by SuperLaw GH: sections 10, 12(1)(c), 13(2), 34, 35, 47, 119, 130, 133, 227(1) and 277(2). Accessed 28 October 2026.
• MyJoyOnline, 13 September 2022: a surveyor at the Asantehene's Land Secretariat and a lawyer, in Kumasi, on allocation papers, leases and building permits. Accessed 28 October 2026.
• MyJoyOnline, 22 June 2024: the Ashanti Regional Security Council's warning against hiring land guards. Accessed 28 October 2026.