Morocco Considers New Law to Strengthen Real Estate Contract Oversight

Malika Khalil, a deputy of the Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM), who is also a lawyer at the Agadir bar, is the author of this proposal initiated two years ago. Shelved in the first chamber, this bill was exhumed following the worrying revelations from the Agadir-Laâyoune-Guelmim bar. The text wants to amend Article 4 of the Real Rights Code. This law allows, among other things, lawyers to draw up deeds with certain date on "property transfers". However, many abuses, facilitated by gaps in the level of control, have been recorded.

According to the procedure, the local authorities proceed to authenticate the real estate contract drawn up by the lawyer. Then a clerk intervenes to endorse the lawyer’s signature on the contract. But the clerks do not show rigor as to the conditions of validity of the documents. As a result, clearly illegal operations are noted. The scourge has affected soulaliyate lands, heritage nevertheless under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior.

"A real threat to real estate security," notes Malika Khalil, interviewed by Médias24. The endorsement of the registry "has shown its insufficiency in the face of certain excesses," she says. For the elected official, this "purely formal procedure" is devoid of "legal effects". In addition, "the resources and time of the judicial administration are wasted in a procedure without impact," she observes.

Based on these findings, the elected official initiated a bill on real estate contracts. A text that aims to break with the old practice. The text proposes that real estate contracts drawn up by lawyers be henceforth submitted to their bars. No more endorsement by the registry. "The signature of the lawyer drafting the deed" would thus be "validated by the president of the bar association to which he belongs," proposes the deputy. According to her, the Bar is best placed to control the deeds drawn up by its lawyers.