The Minister for Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye has said very soon cash payments for real estate transactions will be prohibited.[ads2]
According to the Minister, this is as a result of the establishment of the new Real Estate Agency Council which is aimed at strengthening government’s anti-corruption initiatives, as well as curbing other financial malpractices in the sector.
Speaking as a guest at the Real Estate Experience Housing Fair organised by the Graphic Communication Group and the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association at the Silver Star Tower in Accra on Thursday, December 1, 2022, the Minister indicated that the Council is to regulate real estate agency practice, commercial transactions in real estate including sale, purchase, rental and leasing of real estate.[ads3]
“Ladies and Gentlemen, besides the proposals for Ghana Housing Authority (GHA), you are no doubt aware that the Government passed the Real Estate Agency Act 2000 (Act 1047) and has since set up the Real Estate Agency Council. The Council is to regulate real estate agency practice, commercial transactions in real estate including sale, purchase, rental and leasing of real estate”, he said.
He divulged that the Council is coming up with a regulatory scheme for all the players in the sector to include brokers, agents, developers, marketers and managers of real estate to ensure that the standards are harmonised.
Mr Asenso-Boakye who doubles as the member of Parliament for Bantama constituency in the Ashanti Region said that there is also the concern that, since real estate transactions, which by their nature, involve huge sums of money, the sector can easily lend itself as an avenue to wash criminal proceeds in order to gain illegitimate profits hence the need to prohibit cash payments for real estate transactions.[ads4]
