Buying off-plan in Morocco

Paying for a building that does not exist yet is the part of Moroccan property that worries foreign buyers most. It is also, as it happens, the part that is most tightly regulated.

Off-plan sales in Morocco run under law 44-00, amended by law 107-12. The law exists to protect the buyer, and it is specific in ways that most people never find out about until something goes wrong.

The short version: no money can be taken before the building permit exists. What you pay at each stage is capped by statute. You get a month to walk away from a reservation and a refund within seven days. If the developer delivers late, they owe you money.

Nothing can be taken before the building permit

This is the rule that matters most and the one most often broken.

A reservation contract signed before the building permit has been obtained is void. The preliminary sale contract likewise cannot be concluded until that permit exists.

And any payment of any kind made before a reservation or preliminary contract is signed is null and void.

So if someone asks for a deposit to hold a unit on a development that has no permit yet, that is not sharp salesmanship. It is outside the law, and it is the clearest warning signal you will get.

Ask for the date and number of the building permit. They have to appear in the contract.

The reservation contract: one month to change your mind

A reservation is an optional step before the preliminary contract. The law hedges it carefully.

• You may withdraw within one month of signing.
• If you withdraw, the developer must return everything you paid, within seven days.
• A reservation is valid for six months at most, not renewable. At the end of it either the preliminary contract is signed or you get your money back.
• Money paid goes into a dedicated bank account. It cannot be used or seized while your withdrawal period is running, and you receive a deposit receipt.

If anyone describes a reservation deposit as non-refundable, that description does not survive contact with the statute.

What the contract has to contain

The preliminary contract must include, among other things:

1. The identity of the parties and the address elected for notices.
2. The land title number, or the property references if the land is not registered, together with any real rights, charges and easements over it.
3. The date and number of the building permit.
4. The location, description and approximate surface area.
5. The final price per square metre and the payment terms.
6. The delivery deadline.
7. The guarantee references: either a guarantee of reimbursement if the developer fails to perform, a completion guarantee, or insurance.

The developer must also make available the architectural plans marked ne varietur, the reinforced-concrete plans, the specification document, and a copy of the bank guarantee or insurance policy.

A contract missing the guarantee, or the delivery deadline, or the permit number, is not merely an incomplete contract. It is one that fails what the law requires.

Your payments are capped at every stage

You pay as construction advances, and the law sets a maximum for each step:

Two things follow. First, you should never pay in full before you have the keys: 20% of the price falls due at the final contract. Second, these are ceilings. You can be asked for less. You cannot be asked for more.

Late delivery, and what you are owed

The developer may take up to six extra months, provided they tell you one month before the original deadline runs out. That is their right and it is bounded.

Past that, the law sets a penalty that cuts both ways:

• If you pay late, you owe 1% per month of the sum due, capped at 10% a year.
• If the developer delivers late, they owe you exactly the same: 1% per month, capped at 10% a year.

In both directions the penalty only starts running one month after a formal notice is received. It does not trigger by itself. Somebody has to claim it in writing.

More importantly: if the developer misses the agreed delivery date you can cancel without owing any penalty at all, and you are entitled to 20% of the sums you have paid.

The prénotation, once you have paid half

As soon as your advances exceed 50% of the price, you can ask the land registrar to enter a prénotation against the title.

What it does: it protects your priority. The final contract takes effect retroactively from the date of the prénotation, and the registrar can no longer issue the duplicate land title to the developer. Any clause purporting to take this away from you is void.

Most buyers have never heard of it. It is one of the strongest protections in the whole framework.

Finished is not the same as complete

A point that catches people out: even once building work has stopped, the property is not deemed complete until the occupancy permit or certificate of conformity has been issued.

The final contract can only be drawn up after three things: that permit, an architect's certificate confirming completion and conformity with the specification, and the creation of separate land titles.

The developer then has sixty days to notify you and begin splitting the land title, and a further thirty days to tell you the separate titles exist.

Ownership passes to you at the final contract and, for registered property, on its entry in the land register. Not at handover. Not when you move in.

Six questions to ask before you sign

1. The date and number of the building permit.
2. The land title number for the site.
3. Which guarantee exactly: completion of works, or reimbursement?
4. The delivery deadline as written into the contract, with the exact date.
5. The specification document and the ne varietur plans, to read before signing rather than after.
6. Which developments this developer has already delivered, and how late.

The first five are legal requirements. The sixth is the only one that depends on a human being answering, which is usually what makes it the informative one.

Buying off-plan from another country

Distance changes nothing in law. It changes two things in practice.

The one-month withdrawal period runs from signature, not from your flight home. Sign a reservation while you are there in August and the month elapses while you are back at work.

And you cannot see the site. Ask for dated photographs at every payment request, since each payment corresponds to a defined construction stage. Someone local who walks past the site beats any progress report.

Frequently asked questions

What does buying off-plan mean in Morocco?

The developer undertakes to build within a set period and transfer ownership to you, and you pay in instalments as the work advances. It is governed by law 44-00 as amended by law 107-12.

Can a developer take money before the building permit is issued?

No. A reservation contract concluded before the permit is void, and any payment made before a reservation or preliminary contract is signed is null and void.

Can I cancel an off-plan reservation?

Yes, within one month of signing. The developer must refund everything you paid within seven days.

How much can I be asked to pay before I get the keys?

80% of the price at most, staged according to the steps set out in the law. The remaining 20% falls due at the final contract, when you get the keys.

What happens if the developer is late?

They may take up to six further months if they notify you a month before the original deadline. Beyond that they owe 1% per month of the sums due, capped at 10% a year, starting one month after formal notice. You may also cancel without penalty and claim 20% of what you have paid.

What is a prénotation and when can I ask for one?

An entry against the land title that protects your priority until the final contract. You can request it once your advances pass 50% of the price.

When do I actually own the property?

At the final contract and, for registered property, on its registration in the land register. Not at handover and not when you move in.

Can I sell before completion?

Yes. The law allows a buyer to assign their rights to a third party, in the same form as the original contract, and the developer must be formally notified.

Source: law 44-00 on the sale of buildings in the future state of completion, as amended and supplemented by law 107-12, text published by the Agence nationale de la conservation foncière, du cadastre et de la cartographie. Checked 4 November 2026.

General information. This is not legal, tax or financial advice. Have your own situation checked by a professional in Morocco before committing to anything.

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