A Guide to Buying Lands and Buildings in Ghana

LAND

• In law and economics land refers to the hard surface of the earth together with anything that is permanently attached to it naturally or artificially such as buildings, plants and so forth. Thus in the eyes of the law, a building is a part of the land, the two are inseparable.

PROPERTY

• The term property is perhaps the most misapplied. In law property refers to ownership. Ownership is also known as title or property rights. It is a set of legal entitlements and power conferred on the owner by the legal system.

THE CONTENTS OF OWNERSHIP

• In general, there are about nine rights and two duties that make up an ownership. Acquiring property means acquiring ownership. Ownership is not a single thing. It is made up of about nine rights (entitlements or empowerment) and two duties.

TENURE

• Tenure is the terms and conditions under which a real property is owned including the duration over which it is owned.

INTEREST 

• In general there are about nine rights and two duties that make up an ownership. Acquiring property means acquiring ownership. Ownership is not a single thing. It is made up of about nine rights (entitlements or empowerment) and two duties.

ESTATE

• An estate is the time duration over which an owner is entitled to exercise his or her ownership rights over a piece of real property. In Ghana there are essentially two main forms of estates that can be acquired in real property.