Causes and Types of Building Defects in Ghana’s Real Estate Industry: Perception of Private Owners and Homeowners in Accra Lewis Abedi Asante Department of Estate Management, Kumasi Polytechnic, Kumasi, Ghana Dennis Papa Odenyi Quansah Mobus Property Developments, Accra, Ghana This presentation is kindly sponsored by IRE|BS Foundation for African Real Estate Research

Presentation Outline Introduction Research Objective Theoretical Framework Study Area and Methodology Results and Discussion Conclusion and Recommendation

Introduction Currently, the real estate industry is the third largest target of new investments (Asiedu and Arku, 2009) From 38 in 1988, private developers now number over 400 (GREDA Newsletter, 2014) Several studies have been conducted on the growth and activities of private developers in Ghana (Grant, 2007; Asiedu and Arku, 2009; Ametefe et al, 2011; Obeng-Odoom, 2010; Arku, 2006; Arku, 2009, Teye et al, 2015) These studies focus on the history of real estate development in Ghana, the growth of the industry and the current trends The GAP: Few studies on the causes and types of defects that occur in buildings developed by private developers

Introduction (Contd.) This paper is premised on three key issues: One of GREDA’s objective: have a responsibility to the consumer by avoiding shoddily erected buildings and to provide quality service conforming to agreed professional standards. Consequently, the Association supports the establishment of a warranty scheme to protect the consumer from defects and shoddy work General perception that private developers build sub-standard properties The occurrence of defects in buildings have resulted in disputes between private developers and homeowners

Research Objective To find out the common types and causes of defects in buildings developed by private developers in Ghana.

Some Useful Definitions Building Defect is a failing or shortcoming in the function, performance, statutory or user requirements of a building, which manifest itself within the structure, fabric, services or other facilities of the affected building Private developer is a company that develops and sells buildings Homeowner is an individual who has purchased a property developed by a private developer

Theoretical Framework Theories: Wear and tear theory: everyday activities of life leads to disease states (MacWilliams, 2002) Non-programmed theory: ageing is the result of an organisms inability to combat natural deteriorative processes (Goldsmith, 2014) Passage of time and continuous usage, proper or improper, leads to building defects Buildings have lifespan and will develop defects irrespective of the level of maintenance (Gyamfi-Yeboah and Ayitey, 2009)

Study Area and Methodology Why Accra Almost all houses developed by GREDA members can be found in economically areas (Yankson, 2012) About 85% of all new properties are built in cities (Arku, 2006) Methodology Case study Primary and secondary data Questionnaire Convenience and stratified sampling 29 private developers and 58 homeowners Data Analysis: tabulation and relative importance index

Extended Map of Accra showing Housing Development Sites of Private Developer

General information about respondents

Types of Building Defects

Types of Building Defects

Comparison of Responses

Causes of Building Defects

Causes of Building Defects

Comparison of Results

Comments from Respondents Banker, 38 yrs “5 months after I moved into my house, I came back to work to realize my kitchen was wet. When I checked I found that a pipe under the sink was leaking badly” Entrepreneur, 45 yrs “the roof of my building started leaking 4 months after I moved into it; I reported to the estate unit of the private developer and an artisan was sent to repair the defect but it was still leaking; I then decided to engage an artisan myself and took the bill to the private developer to pay; the private developer refused to pay on the grounds that it is its responsibility to repair all defects that manifest in the building during the DLP” Private developer, 9 yrs in the industry “the recent June 3 heavy downpour fell a tree which collapsed part of the fence wall of one of our homeowners and he reported to us to repair the damage to the fence wall; we refused to fund the repairs because it is clearly indicated in our sales contract that we are not responsible for defects caused by an ‘Act of God”

Conclusion and Recommendation Common types of defects include: Defective or faulty plumbing Wall cracks Defective or faulty electrical wiring Faulty drainage systems Common causes of defects include: Improper installation of materials Defective materials Inadequate artisan skills Recommendation Strict supervision of artisans and sub-contractors “Some” private developers should purchase quality materials for construction