Moroccan Consumers Warned: Online Rental Scams Surge Amid Housing Crisis

Through its president, Hassan Ait Ali, the Association warns against these online real estate agencies that demand financial advances for non-existent apartments or those that have nothing to do with the published images. These fraudulent practices constitute a violation of consumer rights and the principles of equal treatment and transparency, the association said, stressing the need to adopt regulatory texts to regulate the furnished apartment rental sector, to create a national register of private landlords and to strengthen controls. Hassan Ait Ali advised consumers to avoid paying any amount of money without reliable guarantees, to use approved and well-known rental platforms, and to immediately report any attempted fraud to the competent authorities.

While recalling that under Law No. 80.14 relating to tourist establishments and other forms of tourist accommodation, an operating license is required to rent an apartment, a lawyer specified that the practice observed every summer in tourist cities is illegal. The owners have not obtained an operating license and most of the houses and apartments concerned do not meet the conditions defined by law, he added. As a result, "the citizen is faced with a mafia operating outside the legal framework, exploiting the low hotel accommodation capacity due to their limited number, as well as the rejection of hotel services due to their exorbitant prices, which creates speculation that does not take into account the social and economic conditions of families," the lawyer explained in a statement to Al3omk.

To put an end to this phenomenon, the competent authorities must ensure the strict application of the law and reorganize the tourist rental market in order to guarantee the rights of consumers. Because the exaggerated rise in prices is driving Moroccans away, he warned. An apartment that should be rented for 40,000 dirhams is offered at more than 1,000 dirhams per night. At the same time, a hotel room in Spain or Europe in general can cost 200 dirhams (?) per night, which leads many Moroccans to turn to European countries where tourist services are cheaper and of better quality to enjoy their holidays.