Real estate careers in Morocco

The rules a broker must know

Public bodies

No broker regulator. The Ministry of National Territorial Planning, Urbanism, Housing and City Policy supervises real estate agents for anti-money laundering purposes; the National Agency for Land Conservation, Cadastre and Cartography (ANCFCC) runs the land registry (conservation foncière)

Licence

Morocco has no broker licence, no professional card and no entry exam: the job of real estate agent is not defined by any law. A draft law on the status of real estate agents (bill 36.17, 37 articles) was filed in February 2014 and sent to the Secretariat General of the Government in 2017; it would require a clean criminal record and either a two-year post-baccalaureate degree or five years of experience. The Housing Minister promised in October 2023 to relaunch it, but in March 2025 Bladi reported it was still not adopted, and in November 2025 Rabat agents told Le Brief the profession still had no legal framework. No adoption had been found as of October 2026. A voluntary national register counted about 1,312 agents in 2023 (Le360). Agents work under ordinary company and tax law, and the trade is dominated by informal intermediaries called samsars.

Who can be an agent

Because the activity is unregulated, anyone, Moroccan or foreign, can act as an agent; a formal agency simply registers as a business with a trade register (RC) number, an ICE company identifier and the taxe professionnelle (the former patente), for example through a SARL. Foreigners can found or co-own such a company. The simplified auto-entrepreneur status (turnover caps of MAD 500,000 for trade and MAD 200,000 for services, tax of 0.5% or 1% of turnover) is open to residents, including foreign residents, according to Upsilon Consulting; whether real estate intermediation is on the list of eligible activities was not confirmed. A foreign employee needs a work contract on the Ministry of Employment's official model, visaed through the TAECHIR platform under Labour Code Articles 516 to 520; the contract only takes effect from the date of the visa. Normally the employer must first obtain an ANAPEC certificate proving no suitable Moroccan candidate applied (about 60 days after a 15-day posting). Exempt categories include company managers, partners and shareholders, spouses of Moroccans, foreigners born in Morocco, people resident as employees for over 10 years, staff of Casablanca Finance City companies, and nationals covered by bilateral agreements such as Algeria, Tunisia and Senegal. A foreigner staying beyond 90 days needs a residence card from the police (DGSN): the registration card is valid 1 to 10 years and renewable, and a resident card is possible after four years of continuous legal residence (Law 02-03).

Brokerage rules

With no specific law, the agent's relationship with the client is a contract under the general Code of Obligations and Contracts. A written mandate is good practice, but Rabat agents told Le Brief in 2025 that signed mandates, prospecting contracts and visit slips are often missing. There is no legal commission cap: agencies usually charge 2% to 3% of the price, often 2.5% per side, and up to 5% on some deals, all negotiable. Since 16 July 2026 (Law 41.25), the sale deed, the promise of sale and the VEFA preliminary contract must be authentic deeds drawn up by a notary or by two adouls, and lawyers admitted to the Court of Cassation can no longer draft them; since 1 June 2026 (Law 31.18) any power of attorney used to sell or mortgage property must first be recorded in a register at the court of first instance, or the land registry can reject the deal. Real estate agents are reporting entities under anti-money laundering Law 43-05: Ministerial Order 133.23 (in force January 2023) requires a risk-based vigilance and internal control system, identification of clients and beneficial owners, suspicious transaction reports to the National Financial Intelligence Authority (ANRF), screening against sanctions lists and an annual report to the Housing Ministry, which has named 45 controllers. Since 1 July 2026 (Finance Law 2026, CGI Article 133-III), sales above MAD 300,000 carry an extra 2% registration duty on any part of the price not paid by traceable means (bank transfer, crossed cheque, card) and recorded in the deed. Registered agencies invoice their fees and pay tax on them, while informal samsars usually pay neither VAT nor business tax.

Foreign buyers

Foreigners can buy residential and commercial property in Morocco, notably titled urban property, on the same terms as nationals. Agricultural land is protected: a foreigner buying land outside an urban perimeter must present a certificate of non-agricultural use (attestation de vocation non agricole), granted only for a non-farming project on land of low agricultural value and sized to the project (government circular, 2022). Buyers should prefer titled property (titre foncier) registered with the ANCFCC, which is guaranteed and enforceable against third parties; untitled property held under a melkia, a deed drawn up by two adouls from witness statements, has no central register and carries a risk of double sales, and converting it to a title can take 12 to 36 months. To keep the right to repatriate the price and any capital gain later, a non-resident must fund the purchase in foreign currency through a Moroccan bank (or from a convertible dirham account) and keep the proof; on resale, the bank transfers the proceeds on the sale deed and proof of tax payment (Office des Changes). Banks ask non-resident individuals for a sworn statement that they own no other residence in Morocco, a rule that does not apply to Moroccans living abroad (MRE).

Tax and fees

Buyers usually pay about 6% to 7% on top of the price: 4% registration duty on built property (minimum MAD 1,000; 5% on bare land; 3% for qualifying social housing), 1.5% land registry duty plus MAD 100 per title (minimum MAD 500, ANCFCC tariff of 2016), notary fees commonly around 1% plus VAT, and small stamp and copy costs. Sellers pay the real estate profit tax (TPI) of 20% of the net gain, with a minimum of 3% of the sale price even with no gain. A main residence occupied for at least five years is exempt (cut from six years by the 2023 Finance Law), usable once every five years, but the 3% minimum still applies to the part of the price above MAD 4 million; total yearly sales under MAD 140,000 are also exempt. The return and payment are due within 30 days of the sale. Owners pay housing tax (taxe d'habitation, brackets of 10%, 20% and 30% of rental value, exempt up to MAD 5,000, 75% abatement on a main residence, 5-year exemption on new homes) and the municipal services tax; under Law 14-25 of July 2025 both are now collected by the tax authority (DGI) and paid online. Rental income is taxed at the progressive income tax scale after a 40% allowance, with 10% or 15% withheld when the tenant is a company.

Off-plan (VEFA)

Off-plan sales fall under the sale of buildings to be completed (VEFA) rules of Law 44-00 as amended by Law 107-12. The law expects a reservation contract once the building permit is issued (the buyer may withdraw within a month), a preliminary contract once the building permit is obtained (Art. 618-5), which since 16 July 2026 must be an authentic deed by a notary or adouls (Law 41.25), a restitution or completion guarantee from the developer, and a staged schedule reported as 5% at reservation, 5% at the preliminary contract, 10% at the start of works, 60% across the structural and finishing stages, and 20% at handover. In practice VEFA is rarely used: developers prefer looser reservation deals, sometimes backed only by a receipt, which leaves buyers with little protection on deadlines and specifications (Finances News, 2023). The government's direct housing aid, running from 2024 to 2028, pays MAD 100,000 for a new home priced up to MAD 300,000 and MAD 70,000 for one priced MAD 300,000 to 700,000 for buyers who own no other home. By June 2026 it had reached more than 105,000 beneficiaries out of 218,000 applications, 24% of them MRE, and the 2026 Finance Law opened it to co-owners.

Rentals

Residential leases are governed by Law 67-12. The lease must be written, the security deposit is capped at two months' rent, and the rent can be revised at most every three years with an increase capped at 8%; eviction requires a court order. Holiday and tourist lets fall under Law 80-14 on tourist accommodation, which requires an operating licence, and short-term rental income is taxable and must be declared to the DGI. In July 2025 the Tourism Minister announced an implementing order to bring undeclared flats and riads into the system, and in January 2026 the Housing Secretary of State said a decree to limit short-term lets in non-tourist areas was being prepared; neither text had been confirmed as adopted by October 2026.

Platforms

ANCFCC land registry (conservation foncière) and cadastreDirection Générale des Impôts (registration duties, TPI, housing tax)Notaries and adouls (authentic deeds, Law 41.25)Court of first instance register of property powers of attorney (Law 31.18)National Financial Intelligence Authority (ANRF)Ministry of Housing AML supervision of real estate agentsOffice des Changes (foreign currency funding and repatriation)TAECHIR platform and ANAPEC (foreign work contracts)Trade register (RC), ICE and taxe professionnelleBank Al-Maghrib and ANCFCC real estate price index (IPAI)