Morocco’s Real Estate Law Sparks Dispute Between Developers and Buyers

At the root of the disagreement between some real estate developers and some buyers are certain stages of the sale of property under construction (VEFA), observes La Vie Eco. The reservation contract, which is the first stage of the VEFA, is being challenged. This is a contract, generally drawn up under private signature, and which includes the amount of the advance payment.

In principle, six months after this contract, a preliminary contract must be drawn up in the presence of a notary in order to authenticate the deed and to confront the two parties with their commitments. However, this principle is not respected in practice.

The second divergent point relates to the security deposit which marks the second stage of the VEFA. At this level, the contracting parties are faced with a problem of guarantee of non-completion or reimbursement of the amounts advanced.

The other major problem concerns law 107-12 relating to the VEFA which does not provide for any sanction against persons who do not apply the regulations in force. Hence the proposal of the National Federation of Real Estate Developers (FNPI). It proposes that a delivery deadline be pre-established with financial penalties in the event of delay directly attributable to the developer.