Spoliation of property of the Moroccans around the world in Morocco

A lifelong dream turned into a nightmare...

‘Children, I am happy to tell you that this summer I am going to buy a piece of land in Morocco. Then I'm going to build a house where we can spend our holidays and maybe retire, your mother and I. Then we can spend our holidays without having to go on holidayThen we can spend our holidays without having to go to the family home. We will have our own house. But we have to tighten our belts and not go there for 3 or 4 years to save money and have the means to build our own house'. 

The dream of most Moroccans around the world (MDM) !

But then, after the famous 3 or 4 years back to the bloodletting, and after having gone through the administrative procedures to build, they realise that the land is no longer theirs.

They think they are dreaming, but no, the land has changed hands...

What to do about this nightmare? They have spent the whole holiday dealing with the authorities and the courts. They don't understand, it's a tragedy. 

NO COMMENTS, but I'm going to comment anyway, without going into too much detail! 

In Morocco, there are two types of property purchase. The first is a deed from an adult, known as ‘MELKIA’ (without title deed). 

The second is a deed of purchase in the presence of a notary, which presupposes that there is a title deed, i.e. that it is registered.

MELKIA: the means of plunder are based on the legal vacuum and the laws since the entry into force of the Penal Code at the beginning of the 20th century (1913) under the French protectorate, and this despite its promulgation, relating to traditional land law and today still totally outdated, which leaves the door open to dubious and dishonest practices and above all well rigged. Personally, I am a victim of these practices:

• I own two plots of land (intended for my real estate projects). There have been two types of plundering. One is the right of first refusal (in Arabic Chefâa), even though I am neither co-owner (in co-ownership) nor heir with the predators.
• The other is the total enjoyment of ownership through exploitation of the land by a farmer, driven by a few evil minds (in Arabic stighlal and hiyaza), while my land has been purchased since 2005 and is fully controlled and maintained by my teams. This is not the case for all Moroccans around the world, as their remoteness is to their disadvantage and suits the plunderers.
• Other common methods consist of calling 12 witnesses who confirm that the land or the house belonged to Mr. X, now deceased, and that his son Y inherited it many years ago, and unfortunately there is no one to contradict them.

I have many Moroccans around the world spoliation files in the same type of scenario.

NOTARY: the second is the deed of purchase from a notary, who has the ownership of the land. This type of spoliation requires a little more ingenuity and complicity. The spoliation operation usually involves 4 types of deeds:

• Forged power of attorney 
• Forged deed of sale 
• Forged inheritance deed 
• Forged will 

The spoliator usurps the identity of the owner in the land registry and then makes the rest....

In my opinion and experience, how can you protect yourself from all this when buying property in Morocco?

Firstly, never buy a property using the MELKIA system. You will be leaving the door open to the plunderers. 

We (NIA) operate with some confidence, believing that this system of deeds drawn up by an adult has the same value and protection as deeds drawn up by a notary. Because in the host countries there is only one operative procedure, which is the notarial deed. The joy of ownership limits our mistrust. And, unfortunately, adults do not communicate the risks of this type of deed.

It is a good idea to enlist the help of a notary, who can really check the origin of the property, the validity of the documents presented and the potential risks.

Registered ownership is less risky, but there are still risks. Unfortunately, in some institutions, corruption gives wings and imagination to some unscrupulous and dishonest officials. 

In my opinion, what would be the present and future solutions to eradicate these fraudulent practices?

• Laws adapted to the 21st century for property law. Parliament can do it, so can we. 
• Provide for a drastic acceleration of registration procedures for land still in MELKIA. 
• Fully digitise the registration process. No more direct actions by civil servants. 
• Substantially shortening the timeframes of judicial procedures. 
• Demand that, if looted property is to be reimbursed, it should be done on the basis of a weighted average price! And not the purchase price of 20 years ago. 
• Abolish this decree or recommend that they go and check on the land registry website if their property is still theirs after 4 years! This is a country of law! 

For your information 

His Majesty, may God protect him, aware of these problems, has asked for a special commission to be set up in the Ministry of Justice to deal with these problems on a case by case basis and to accompany the MDMs on their journey. But most of the time, the lawyers don't talk about it... 

Malika Lehyan, MP for the Istiqlal Party