In Morocco, certain real estate transactions may be blocked at the Land Registry

The measure is set out in Law 34.21 amending Law 25.90 on subdivisions, housing developments and partitioning. The text was definitively adopted by Parliament before entering into force following its publication in Official Bulletin No. 7533 of 10 August 2026.

One of the changes directly concerns deeds submitted to notaries, adouls, registration services and land registrars. Article 35 prohibits the drafting, receipt or registration of deeds of transfer, lease or partition covered by the law when certain documents have not been provided.

The owner must present either a copy of the minutes of the provisional acceptance of the subdivision works or a certificate issued by the president of the communal council stating that the operation does not fall within the scope of Law 25.90.

This second certificate does not depend solely on the president of the commune. It must be preceded by the approval of a committee composed of representatives of the urban agency, the commune and the prefecture or province. These provisions appear directly in the text of Law 34.21 published by the General Secretariat of the Government.

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The reform also broadens the terminology used. The notion of “sale” is replaced by the broader notion of “transfer”, so as to take into account the various transactions that may result in a transfer of ownership. When the bill was adopted, the government explained that the reform was intended to address the practical difficulties encountered for years in applying Law 25.90.

For owners or purchasers, the consequence is very concrete: signing a deed is not necessarily enough to allow its registration. The administrative status of the land and the progress of the subdivision’s infrastructure works become decisive.

The Land Registry already plays a central role in securing real estate transactions in Morocco. The new legislation further strengthens this safeguard at the time of registration.

Provisional acceptance becomes the key document

The minutes of provisional acceptance are issued when the commune establishes that the infrastructure works planned for the subdivision have been carried out in accordance with the approved project. The law now makes this stage a central condition for transfer, lease and partition transactions.

Article 33 therefore provides that these transactions may in principle take place only after the commune has provisionally accepted the infrastructure works. Article 36 also requires the minutes to be attached to the deeds concerned.

The mechanism is intended in particular to prevent land from being marketed as belonging to a properly established subdivision when the essential infrastructure or procedures have not been completed. The administrative delays that can block real estate projects in Morocco had specifically been raised during the parliamentary examination of this reform.

The law nevertheless provides for special arrangements. Certain subdivisions carried out progressively for public rehousing, efforts to combat substandard housing or public-interest operations may in particular follow an adapted procedure. Bladi had already detailed this possibility of issuing certain permits before the infrastructure works are fully completed.

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For anyone wishing to buy, sell, partition or lease property resulting from a subdivision or partitioning operation, the point to verify therefore becomes essential: having the minutes of provisional acceptance or being able to obtain the communal certificate demonstrating that the transaction falls outside the scope of Law 25.90. Failing this, the deed may not get through the registration stage and the Land Registry.