There is no Rightmove for Accra. There is no single site where the good places are listed, and the properties that appear online are disproportionately the expensive ones aimed at expatriates and diaspora returnees.

Most housing in Accra is found by walking, asking, and knowing somebody.

Understand the vocabulary first

Listings use words that mean something specific here.

Single room — one room. Shared bathroom and kitchen, usually in a compound house with several other households. From about ₵400 a month in outer areas.

Chamber and hall — a bedroom and a living room, typically with shared or private facilities depending on the building. Around ₵900 in a middle suburb.

Self-contained — has its own bathroom and kitchen. This is the word that matters most in a listing. “Chamber and hall self-contained” is a real and common category.

Boys quarters — a small separate unit in the compound of a larger house, originally staff accommodation. Often good value, usually self-contained, and you share a gate with the main house.

Serviced apartment — furnished, with utilities and often security included. Priced in dollars. Expect around $1,200 a month for a two-bedroom in Cantonments, Airport Residential or East Legon.

Where to look

Walking and asking

Genuinely the most effective method for anything below the expatriate bracket.

Pick two or three neighbourhoods you would accept. Walk them. Look for “TO LET” painted on walls and gates, with a phone number. Ask at provision shops, at the chemical seller, at the church or mosque. Landlords tell the neighbourhood before they tell the internet.

Agents

Accra runs on agents, and they vary enormously. A good agent knows unlisted properties and saves you weeks. A bad one shows you three houses that are already let and asks for a viewing fee.

How agent fees work: commission is usually one month’s rent, paid by the tenant, on success. Some agents also ask for a small viewing or transport fee up front.

Never pay a large sum to an agent

Commission is paid on success, after you have met the landlord and seen the documents. Advance rent goes to the landlord, not the agent. An agent who wants the advance routed through them is a risk you do not need to take.

Online

Useful for the mid and upper market, and for getting a sense of prices before you negotiate:

  • Tonaton and Jiji — general classifieds, wide range, variable quality
  • meQasa — property-focused, more mid-to-upper market
  • Facebook groups — very active, especially for rooms and shared houses. Search for groups covering your target neighbourhood.
  • Estate agency websites — the expensive end, mostly furnished and mostly priced in dollars

Listings go stale fast. Assume anything more than a couple of weeks old is gone.

Word of mouth

Tell everyone you are looking. Colleagues, the person who sells you breakfast, the trotro mate on your regular route. This is not a quaint suggestion — it is how a large share of Accra housing changes hands.

What to check at a viewing

Go during the day, and if you can, go back at a different time.

  • Water. Is there mains supply? How often does it run? Is there a polytank, and how big? Ask the neighbours, not the agent.
  • Electricity. Is there a prepaid meter, and is it yours or shared with the landlord? A shared meter is a recurring argument waiting to happen.
  • The road in the rainy season. Look at the gutters, look for water marks on nearby walls, and ask directly whether the road floods.
  • The commute at rush hour. Not the distance. The time. Check it on a weekday morning before you commit.
  • Security. Gate, lighting, whether there is a watchman, and who else has a key.
  • Noise. Churches with all-night services, a nearby drinking spot, a welder, a generator. Come back in the evening.
  • Phone signal. Check your network actually works inside the building.
  • What is included. Is the landlord finishing the tiling, fitting a gate, connecting water? Get it in writing with a date, or assume it will not happen.

Before you pay anything

This is the part that costs people money.

  • Confirm who owns the property. Ask to see the title or the indenture. Meet the landlord in person, not just the agent or a caretaker.
  • Check the ID matches the documents. Names should agree.
  • Ask the neighbours who the landlord is. It is a two-minute conversation that has saved a great many people a great deal of money.
  • Get a written tenancy agreement before money changes hands. — What to check
  • Get a receipt that names the period the advance covers. — Template

The full guide to housing and land scams

Then there is the advance

You will be asked for 12 months, sometimes 24, despite the 6-month legal maximum. Budget for it before you start looking, because a place you cannot pay the advance on is not a place you can rent.

The rent advance, explained

Choosing a neighbourhood

Where you live in Accra determines how much of your life you spend in traffic. It is worth more thought than the house itself.

Where to live in Accra