Northern Morocco’s Housing Paradox: 334,000 Vacant Homes Amidst Housing Crisis

This volume positions the Northern region in second place nationally regarding vacant apartments, behind Casablanca-Settat. This increase in the unoccupied real estate stock is notably explained by the acquisitions made by many Moroccans living abroad who only use these homes during their stays in Morocco.

The city of Tanger particularly illustrates this phenomenon. Empty apartments there reach nearly 18% of the total residential housing in the agglomeration. This multiplication of unoccupied housing complicates access to decent housing for low-income households.

To address this issue, the government launched a housing assistance program in March 2023 targeting first-time buyers. This initiative offers a direct financial aid of 100,000 dirhams for the acquisition of a home under 300,000 dirhams. For properties valued between 300,000 and 700,000 dirhams, the aid is set at 70,000 dirhams.

This new direct housing assistance scheme has been a certain success, the government has welcomed, particularly among the Moroccan diaspora.