An Investigation into Building Permit Acquisition in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-970-4_4How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Building permit; Acquisition; Institutional capacity; Compliance; Greater Accra

Abstract

Sustained urban growth in Greater Accra demands permitting systems that guarantee safety, orderly land use, and environmental stewardship. The study investigates the building permit acquisition process and challenges within the Greater Accra Region. A quantitative survey was conducted with 106 respondents, including municipal officers, developers, architects, landowners, and urban planners in the Greater Accra Region. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used to capture diverse stakeholder perspectives. Data were collected through structured questionnaires measured on a five-point Likert scale and analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and one-sample t-tests in SPSS to assess permit acquisition practices and challenges. The study reveals that a permit is legally required before construction commences; however, practical usability is weak. Respondents report lengthy and unpredictable approval timelines, complex documentation, diffuse responsibilities across multiple desks, limited logistics for inspections, and inconsistent enforcement. Cost opacity and sporadic reports of unofficial facilitation undermine trust and encourage bypass behaviours. Public education is often deemed insufficient, leaving many small developers and homeowners uncertain about the necessary steps, required documents, fees, and timelines. Stakeholders also favour performance dashboards for transparency and risk-tiered reviews that fast-track low-risk applications while concentrating professional effort on complex proposals. Policy instruments should mandate published fees and statutory timelines, with routine public reporting against targets to strengthen accountability. Strategically, there should be reforms that support national goals for resilient cities by curbing informal growth, improving and coordinating permits with infrastructure programming. This study provides municipal-scale empirical evidence linking procedural and capacity constraints in permitting to concrete urban outcomes, including unauthorised construction, zoning drift, and infrastructure mismatch, while validating a reform package strongly endorsed by frontline actors. It contributes a transferable measurement instrument and an implementation-oriented roadmap for municipal e-permitting, institutional strengthening, and citizen engagement.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Martison Yeboah Martey
AU  - Mark Pim-Wusu
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/31
TI  - An Investigation into Building Permit Acquisition in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering, Science, and Urban Sustainability (ICESUS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 37
EP  - 48
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-970-4_4
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-970-4_4
ID  - Martey2025
ER  -