Real Estate Spoliation: Are Moroccan Expatriates Finally Protected?

The prolonged absence from national territory has long made Moroccans residing abroad (MRE) the preferred targets of criminal networks specializing in property theft. According to Challenge magazine, these scams have victimized thousands within the diaspora. This scourge had prompted a royal letter in 2016, alerting the judiciary to "a dangerous phenomenon occurring spectacularly and requiring a swift response to prevent its negative repercussions on the State."

On Bladi.net : Real Estate in Morocco: Attention, the rules for powers of attorney are changing completely on June 1, 2026!

To protect the assets of these distant property owners, the legal framework is tightening with the enforcement of law 31.18 relating to powers of attorney linked to real property rights. Abdellatif Ouahbi has ordered the General Conservator of the National Land Conservation Agency, cadastre and cartography to deploy the necessary regulatory provisions. The ministry has also prepared all courts of first instance to handle these new requests.

The loophole exploited by scammers frequently lay in fraudulent delegations of power allowing the sale, acquisition, or encumbrance of property without the owners’ knowledge. Henceforth, any real estate power of attorney must imperatively take the form of an authentic deed, on pain of annulment. The drafting of these management documents or transfers of real property rights is exclusively reserved for notaries, adouls, and lawyers accredited to the Court of Cassation.

This administrative security is supported by significant technological infrastructure, conceived as early as 2019 and formalized by ministerial decree in October 2025. A unified national electronic registry will centralize all such mandates. This digital mechanism aims to establish complete transparency in transactions, improve the efficiency of judicial management services, and restore the confidence of expatriate citizens in institutions.

On Bladi.net : Real Estate in Morocco: Power of Attorney Registration Becomes Mandatory Before Any Transaction

The legislation finally tackles the opacity of real estate civil partnerships (SCI), structures that have until now escaped strict rules and fostered lack of traceability. Their creation procedures are now regulated and they acquire legal personality by derogation to article 994 of the Dahir of Obligations and Contracts. Furthermore, an SCI deriving regular profits from commercial acts will be legally required to adopt commercial company status.