Buying property in Morocco as a foreigner: what the law allows, and where it draws lines

Residential property: the simplest rule in Moroccan law

For an apartment, a house or a riad, Moroccan business press consistently reports that a non-resident foreigner can buy with no prior authorisation and no residence requirement. That is a secondary source, not a piece of legislation we read directly, and we would rather say so than present it as an exact article of law.

In practice, a buyer from France, the UK or the United States follows the same steps as a Moroccan buyer for a built residential property: negotiation, preliminary agreement, notarised deed, registration against the land title. No ministry, no regional or provincial authority steps in beforehand at this stage.

The nuance that matters: this regime covers residential property. The moment the file touches farmland or rural land, the legal category changes completely, and that is where most foreign buyers get caught off guard.

Farmland: the 1973 ban and the authorisation that lifts it

The sale of rural land to foreigners has been banned in Morocco since 1973. It is not a dated rule that faded over time, it remains the default. A foreigner cannot simply buy farmland the way they buy an apartment.

The Non-Agricultural Vocation authorisation, the VNA, lifts this ban when the land is intended for a non-agricultural use outside the urban perimeter. It is mandatory for any purchase by a non-national in that situation. Without it, the deal has no solid legal footing.

An important reservation to know before committing: the final VNA certificate is only issued once the project is complete, not at the time of purchase. Between the provisional authorisation and that final certificate, reselling or renting the property out is banned. It is a lock-up period many sellers fail to mention.

Law 62-19 introduced some easing for structured investment projects in this area. We have not read that law as a primary source, so we do not detail its exact conditions here: if your project looks more like a structured investment than a personal purchase, ask a Moroccan lawyer before signing anything.

Financing and structuring the purchase: loans, companies, the notary requirement

On financing, the source is solid: the Office des Changes confirms a Moroccan bank can grant a non-resident foreigner a dirham loan up to 80 % of the price. In return, the bank asks for a sworn statement confirming the buyer owns no other residence in Morocco.

Two vehicles exist for structuring the purchase. A foreign company can operate in Morocco through a branch registered with the Moroccan trade registry. Or a buyer can set up a Moroccan SCI, governed since 2019 by law 31-18 and its implementing decree published in 2024, on condition its purpose stays strictly real estate. We do not quote a minimum capital here: the figure circulating on several sites has no source we could verify.

Whichever structure is chosen, a notarised deed remains mandatory to transfer any real property right, under law 39-08 on the Code of Real Rights and the decree of 22 November 2011. Since law 41-24, published in 2024, even the preliminary agreement and the mandate that precede the final deed must be drawn up, on pain of nullity, either as a notarised deed or as a deed with a certified date drafted by a lawyer admitted to plead before the Court of Cassation. A preliminary agreement scribbled between private parties no longer holds reliable legal weight.

Buying opens no right of residence

This is a point many buyers confuse: owning property in Morocco grants no right of residence whatsoever. The title deed and the residence permit are two administrative files that do not talk to each other.

A foreigner can therefore own a riad in Marrakech and keep entering and leaving the country like any other visitor, within the stay allowed by their visa or visa exemption. Past 90 days of continuous presence, a residence permit becomes necessary, with its own file, its own paperwork and its own timeline, unrelated to the property purchase.

Finally, once the purchase is funded from abroad, the obligation that follows is not to reside, it is to declare. The declaration of the acquisition to the Office des Changes must be filed within 6 months. It does not authorise the purchase, but it preserves, later on, the right to transfer the proceeds of a resale out of Morocco.

What we could not verify

Estate agency fees : No legal text sets them and we found no reliable figure. This is a negotiation point, not a tariff. Get it written into the mandate.

The scenarios at a glance

This table does not replace legal advice. It tells you what is established and what stays uncertain.

On a structured project (VNA, company), the only reliable contact is a Moroccan lawyer who reads the full file.

Before signing when buying from abroad

1. 1

   Check the nature of the property

   Built residential or farmland: the applicable rule is entirely different, and the second requires authorisation before you even negotiate.

2. 2

   Keep residence and purchase separate

   Do not assume the purchase eases a residence permit application: they are two separate files, each handled on its own.

3. 3

   Prepare the bank statement

   If a local loan is planned, the sworn statement of owning no other residence in Morocco will be requested before any loan offer.

4. 4

   Use a notarised deed or a certified-date deed

   Since law 41-24, even the preliminary agreement must follow this form, on pain of nullity.

5. 5

   Declare the acquisition to the Office des Changes

   Within 6 months of funding from abroad, to preserve the right to transfer proceeds later.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and verification date

• Office des Changes, foire aux questions (80 %, official text read directly, verified on 2026-07-25)
• Office des Changes, formes d’investissement, art. 766 (6, official text read directly, verified on 2026-07-25)
• Art. 133 du CGI, repris par Deloitte Avocats et Medias24 (4 %, converging independent sources, verified on 2026-07-25)