Compound houses remain an important housing type in most West African societies. These are mostly single-storey structures with series of single-banked rooms surrounding a square and unroofed courtyard. One side of the enclosed units hosts shared amenities like toilets, kitchens and bathrooms. Compound houses usually provide accommodation for about eight to 15 households. The units are developed incrementally using mostly inexpensive construction materials and local labor. The courtyards usually serve multiple purposes, such as a playground for children, an arena for social interactions, and spaces for cooking or doing laundry. These characteristics make compound houses particularly attractive to low-income occupants.
It is improbable that Ghana’s government can build new houses to meet its 2 million housing deficit. As a result, the transformation of existing stock is becoming an attractive option and compound houses seem to be a prime target. This phenomenon is likely to result in rent increment and reduce accommodation alternatives for low income households. Previous studies have examined how compound houses, especially those located near business and commercial centers, have been transformed into retail properties to capture the additional rent. Less attention has been paid to the transformation taking place in compound houses that continue to be used as homes, how much rent is realized as a result and the impact on the classic features of compound houses. The ongoing changes were also reflected in the social composition of who was renting the properties. We found that working professionals such as nurses, bankers, medical doctors and engineers had moved in. This meant that the night-time and weekend use of the courtyards changed. They were no longer used for inter-household social interaction but as parking lots.