Land Acquisition and Litigation Challenges and Their Effect on Customer Behavior: Evidence from Landlords in Kumasi Metropolis

Owusu A and Agyemang G

Published on: 2023-02-02

Abstract

Buying land for building purposes is the paramount goal of every individual in developed and developing countries. However, land acquisition is not simple with many likely challenges since a greater number of lands in Ghana is still under the control of a diversity of customary tenures, embedded in family, community, and chiefly institutions. However, scholarly studies on land acquisition and litigation challenges, and customer purchasing behavior in Ghana are rare. This study, through qualitative research, based on exploratory design and grounded theory, assessed land acquisition and litigation challenges and customer purchasing behavior among landlords in the Kumasi Metropolis. Thiry (30) landlords with land litigation cases through snowball sampling were interviewed from Bantama, Subin, Mahyia, Oforikrom, Asokwa, and Asewase sub-metros in the Kumasi Metropolis. Thematic and narrative analysis was employed. Findings indicated that the majority of landlords with land litigation cases are unwilling to buy new land for building and or recommend new lands for purchase by friends and relatives. Almost all these landlords had experienced various challenges with land acquisition and litigation, including administrative challenges, long and bureaucratic litigation processes, technical challenges, the stress associated with land documentation, and fraudulent activities by chiefs and land administrators. However, landlords who had experienced stressful land documentation processes and technical challenges are still willing to buy new land for building purposes and recommend new land to friends and relatives to buy.