Property
Three coexisting land regimes: registered, unregistered melk, and collective
Land is held under the Torrens-style registered system, under customary melk title evidenced by adoulaire deeds, or as collective tribal, habous or guich land, each with different transfer rules.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Agence Nationale de la Conservation Foncière (ANCFCC) maintains the register. Agricultural land acquisition by foreigners is restricted.
Governing law
- Law 14-07 on real property registrationamending the 1913 Dahir
- Law 39-08 Code of Real Rights2011
- Dahir 1919 on collective land, reformed by Law 62-172019
- Law 18-00 on condominium ownership
In practice
The registered system confers title that is definitive and effectively unchallengeable once immatriculation is complete, which makes registration status the first question in any Moroccan property transaction rather than a formality. Unregistered melk land is transferred by notarial or adoulaire deed and carries genuine title risk, because the chain rests on documents rather than on a register. Collective land, historically inalienable and held by ethnic communities under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior, was opened to privatisation by Law 62-17 in 2019, which is a significant and recent change to a category covering millions of hectares. Foreign nationals may not acquire agricultural land, and long leases are the standard workaround.