Cash Payments Resurge in Tangier’s Real Estate Market

Bad habits die hard. The website Rue20 claims to have observed the resurgence of cash payments in commercial transactions related to the sale and acquisition of real estate in the city of Tangier, after the period of tax amnesty initiated by the services of the Ministry of Finance. Indeed, major developers are asking clients for cash amounts higher than they can hold at home. Some require them to pay more than 200,000 dirhams in cash for medium-range residential projects (Moyen Standing), it is specified. Others demand 450,000 dirhams in cash for well-known high-end projects. The developers of these projects are few in number. As for subsidized social housing projects, the amounts range between 60,000 and 80,000 dirhams.

After payment, clients are faced with the refusal of these developers to provide them with any receipt or document justifying the sums collected in cash. Developers fear legal proceedings. Clients are only entitled to a simple sales promise that they draft. Buyers thus find themselves in a precarious situation, making them vulnerable. Moreover, this practice contributes to tax evasion, which is detrimental to public finances.