Selling property in Morocco from abroad: a guide for MRE and non-residents

You can sign at the notary yourself during a stay in Morocco, for instance over the summer holidays. It is the simplest option, provided the whole schedule (preliminary contract, documents, final deed) fits your dates in the country. Otherwise you sell through a power of attorney (procuration, وكالة) given to someone you trust.

Article 4 of the Real Rights Code (Law 39-08), amended in 2017 by Law 69-16 and tightened in 2026 by Law 41-25, requires, on pain of nullity, that a power of attorney to sell property be an authentic deed, in practice made by a notary or adouls. A simple certified signature is no longer enough. From abroad there are two routes: the Moroccan consulate, if it offers this service, or a notary in your country of residence. In the second case the deed must carry an apostille (Morocco has applied the Hague Convention since 2016) and then be translated into Arabic by a sworn translator. Have your Moroccan notary approve the draft before you sign.

A well-drafted power of attorney to sell specifies:

• the property (address, titre foncier number or references of the adoul deed);
• a minimum price, in figures and in words;
• that the price will be paid into an account in your name, not the agent’s;
• a ban on delegating to a third party, and a limited duration.

Never give the power of attorney to the buyer or one of their relatives, and revoke it by authentic deed once the sale is complete.

The sale is recorded by a notary or by two adouls. For titled property the notary is the usual route: they check the title, hold the deposit and then the price in their deposit account at the Caisse de dépôt et de gestion (CDG), handle the tax formalities and register the sale at the land registry. Buyer and seller may each have their own notary; when you are abroad, having yours is a real advantage.

Adouls are often used for untitled property (melkia) and in inheritance matters; their deed is then approved by the judge in charge of notarial matters. If your property is held under a melkia, look into registering it: a titre foncier reassures buyers and makes the sale easier.

Start early: some documents take time to obtain from abroad.

• Your valid national ID card or passport and your purchase deed (or, for inherited property, the heirship deed and the inventory).
• A recent ownership certificate from the land registry (ANCFCC), confirming the owner and any registered charges (mortgage, seizure…). It can be ordered online.
• The tax clearance (quitus fiscal): since 1 July 2024 (Article 139-IV of the General Tax Code), the sale deed cannot be drawn up without a certificate proving that the housing tax (taxe d’habitation) and the municipal services tax (taxe de services communaux) are paid for the year of sale and previous years. Since April 2026 the notary files the request online and each authority has 48 hours to reply, once any arrears are settled.
• For a flat in a co-owned building, a certificate from the syndic showing your service charges are paid up: the buyer is jointly liable for arrears and will ask for it.
• If a loan is outstanding, the bank’s redemption statement, then the release of the mortgage.
• For tax and the transfer: proof of the purchase price, costs, works (invoices, permits) and foreign-currency funding (transfer advices, bank certificates).

Being an MRE does not change the rule: the seller owes income tax on real-estate gains, often called TPI. The rate is 20% of the net gain (sale price minus the revalued purchase price, documented costs and works), with a minimum of 3% of the sale price, due even with no gain or at a loss.

• Main-residence exemption for a home occupied for at least 5 years on the day of sale. For an MRE, the main residence is the home they keep to live in when in Morocco, or one occupied free of charge by their spouse, parents or children, as long as it is not let or used for business. It can be used only once in any 5-year period, and the sale must take place within one year of the home being vacated. Above a price of 4,000,000 MAD, the 3% minimum still applies to the portion above that amount.
• Exemption for sales totalling no more than 140,000 MAD in the calendar year.

Filing and payment are done online within 30 days of the sale; the notary usually handles this and withholds the tax from the price, so check with them. You can also ask the tax authority (DGI) for a prior ruling within 30 days of the preliminary contract: its answer, given within 60 days, serves as a tax assessment or exemption certificate valid for 6 months. When a property is jointly owned, each co-owner declares their own share. Finally, check whether the sale must also be declared in your country of residence. Our capital gains tax guide explains the calculation in detail.

This is the key question for an MRE, and the answer depends on how the property was originally paid for. Exchange control rules (the Office des changes’ 2026 General Instruction on Foreign Exchange Operations) distinguish several cases:

• Property bought with foreign currency: the sale price, including the gain, can be transferred freely and without a ceiling once taxes are paid. The transfer goes through your bank on presentation of the sale deed, proof that taxes and duties were paid and evidence of the foreign-currency funding at purchase.
• Property bought with a dirham loan repaid from abroad: the transferable share is in principle tied to the sums that actually came in as foreign currency (down payment and capital repayments). Ask your bank for a written calculation.
• Property bought with dirhams (savings in Morocco, ordinary account): the price is paid into a dirham account and cannot be freely transferred; you can spend or reinvest it in Morocco. The “convertible term account”, transferable in annual 25% instalments, is reserved for non-resident foreigners and is not open to MRE.
• Inherited property: if the deceased funded it with foreign currency, the transfer right passes to the heirs. Otherwise the situation is close to that of a property bought with dirhams; have your bank review the file before you sign.

To receive the funds, a convertible dirham account opened in Morocco in your name is handy: it receives transfers and can be used for payments both in Morocco and abroad. Ask the bank for the exact list of documents before the sale, and plan the transfer as the last step, after the tax has been paid.

• Value the property at market price and gather the documents.
• Advertise the property, for example free of charge on HabitatMaroc, and arrange viewings through a relative or an appointed agency.
• Sign the preliminary contract at the notary; the deposit is paid into their account, never to a middleman.
• Obtain the tax clearance and, where needed, the syndic’s certificate and the mortgage release.
• Sign the final deed, yourself or through your agent; the buyer pays the balance to the notary.
• The notary registers the deed, files the tax return, records the sale at the land registry and then pays you the price.
• Transfer the funds through your bank, if the property qualifies.

As a rough guide, once a buyer is found, it often takes one to three months until the price is paid out. It takes longer if the title needs sorting out, an inheritance is unsettled or the power of attorney has to be redone.

• Fake buyers: be wary of anyone who buys without viewing, sends “pending” proof of a transfer or asks you to pay fees to release a payment. Only funds received by the notary count.
• Property theft: forged powers of attorney have been used to sell the homes of absent owners. Do not send copies of your title or power of attorney to strangers, and check your ownership certificate regularly.
• Under-declared price (“noir”): declaring less than the real price to cut the tax is fraud. The tax authority can adjust the price, the part paid in cash can never be transferred legally, and a top-up paid abroad exposes you to prosecution for breaching exchange control rules. The Office des changes and the DGI run joint checks on this kind of sale. The buyer, for their part, will pay more tax when they resell.
• An agent with too much freedom: a vague power of attorney allows selling at any price or pocketing the proceeds. Set the limits in writing, even with a family member.

• Recent ownership certificate, with no unexpected charges.
• Authentic power of attorney, apostilled and translated, or your dates in Morocco agreed with the notary.
• Tax clearance (housing tax and municipal services tax) obtained.
• Syndic’s certificate and mortgage release, if needed.
• Capital gains tax calculation checked by the notary or by a prior ruling from the DGI.
• Proof of foreign-currency funding gathered for the transfer.
• A bank account in your name, ideally in convertible dirhams, ready to receive the price.
• Power of attorney revoked once the sale is complete.