Morocco Tightens Real Estate Laws After Massive Bab Darna Scandal

In Morocco, there is no doubt that the Bab Darna affair has exposed the shortcomings of the legal arsenal in real estate matters. Indeed, faced with the painful consequences generated by this affair, which saw the arrest of the CEO Mohammed El Ouardi, the main accused, as well as several of his collaborators, the Council of Government decided on Thursday to engage discussions around a draft decree relating to the guarantees of reimbursement of advances paid in the context of a sale in the future state of completion (VEFA), reports the daily Al Ahdath Al Maghribya.

The text in question details the terms of the guarantee of reimbursement in the event of non-performance of the contract by the promoter. According to the same source, this guarantee allows, according to article 618 of the law, the buyer to obtain, after cancellation of the deed of sale, the reimbursement of the sums paid.

By deciding to "deepen the discussions" around this draft decree, the government now intends to "secure transactions". Because in reality, if the Bab Darna managers went to the end of their fraud, it is because there was "no guarantee related to the completion of the work or the reimbursement of the sums, and this in violation of the law on the sale in the future state of completion (VEFA)", indicates the media.

The government’s draft decree has the value of a guarantee agreement under which the insurance company is obliged towards the buyer, jointly and severally with the promoter, to reimburse the payments made as part of the off-plan sale, details Al Ahdath Al Maghribya. Better, the buyer can assert it even if the seller is affected by a recovery or judicial liquidation procedure.

It should be remembered that 800 victims are awaiting the trial of those responsible for Bab Darna to know what will happen next. Many of them had paid nearly half the value of the properties and found themselves deprived of both the advance amounts and their property rights, observes the same source.