Morocco’s Real Estate Sector Seeks Reforms Amid Pandemic Slump

With this pandemic, the real estate sector has been hit hard, Taoufik Kamil, president of the FNPI, told Maroc Diplomatique. He calls for working on administrative and financial points that "do not cost the State anything" to revive the sector. For him, it is necessary to update certain laws. "With all the advances the sector is experiencing, it is not normal that we are working with laws that date back to the 1990s," said Mr. Kamil.

He suggested that certain texts, particularly Law No. 25-90 on subdivisions, housing groups and land divisions in force since June 17, 1992 and some of whose provisions are no longer adapted to the current situation of the real estate sector, specifically Article 11 relating to the validity period of the subdivision permit, be reviewed.

The federation has also proposed to review Law 66-12 dated August 25, 2016 on the control and repression of offenses in the field of construction and urban planning, which reinforces the coercive nature of financial penalties or even deprivation of liberty and which is out of step with the reality on the ground.

Another problem facing the sector: the slowness of administrative procedures. The delays in administrative procedures, whether for the issuance of authorizations, building permits, certificates of conformity... also weigh on investments in the sector in Morocco, says Kamil. He calls on the government to ease them.

The federation has also proposed to lift the financing obstacles for buyers who have encountered difficulties in obtaining loans from banks, especially for social housing that will reach its maturity at the end of 2020, while providing "direct state aid" for beneficiary buyers.