Land title, VNA, Office des Changes: securing a purchase in Morocco in 2026

Every week, a prospective buyer asks us whether it is "safe" to buy in Morocco. That is not the right question. The right one is: which documents must I demand, and in what order? The framework is sound; it has to be used.

The land title first

Morocco has kept a land register since 1913. A registered property receives a title number; any sale, mortgage or easement exists in law only once entered on that title. The certificate of ownership issued by the land registry gives, at a given date, the exact status of the property. A foreign buyer only buys a registered property. Unregistered properties, known as melkia, rest on traditional deeds and should be avoided.

Non-agricultural use (VNA)

Agricultural land has been closed to foreigners since the dahir of 1973. Land outside the urban perimeter can only be bought by a non-Moroccan with a certificate of non-agricultural use (VNA), which is personal and tied to a project. For a villa in a private estate within an urban zone, the question does not arise; the notary simply has to confirm the estate's position in relation to the urban perimeter, and we ask for this systematically.

The declaration to the Office des Changes

This is the step buyers forget, and the most important for the future. A purchase funded by a foreign-currency contribution transferred from abroad, and declared to the Office des Changes through the bank, benefits from the convertibility guarantee: the proceeds of resale and net income can be transferred abroad after payment of Moroccan taxes. The General Instruction on Foreign Exchange Operations 2026, in force since 1 January, has also simplified several procedures for non-residents and raised to 80% the dirham loan-to-value available to Moroccans living abroad.

Off-plan: the preliminary contract

An off-plan sale falls under Laws 44-00 and 107-12. The preliminary contract must be drawn up by a notary or an adoul and sets the price, the payment schedule and the delivery date. It also specifies the developer's guarantees. A development's payment schedule must be read in the light of this framework: it is a point we check contract by contract, including for Tifawin.

The list, in order

A recent certificate of ownership, confirmation of the planning status, a notarised preliminary contract with written guarantees, a documented foreign-currency transfer, a declaration to the Office des Changes. Five documents. None is optional.