Renting in Morocco: a written contract, two months' deposit and three years of the same rent

You can rent a home in Morocco without a residence card and without an intermediary, but not without paper. Law 67-12 requires a written contract with a fixed date for every rental of more than thirty days, caps the deposit at two months' rent, and prohibits a rent increase in the first three years. After that, if you cannot agree, the rent may go up by at most 8 percent. The trap is not in the rent but in the handover of the keys: whoever does not have a description of the home drawn up is deemed to have received it in good condition.

Which rentals does the law cover?

Law 67-12 applies to the rental of residential and professional premises, furnished or not, for a period of more than thirty days, including what comes with them: garden, terrace, roof or storage. A two-week holiday let falls outside it; the flat where you live in your first year does not.

The contract must be in writing, with a fixed date, and names at least the identity of both parties, the rooms and what comes with them, the amount of the rent and how often you pay, the costs that are for your account, and how you pay. If the owner sells the home, your contract continues on the same terms with the new owner.

You also need that paper for your residence. The immigration law requires you to report every change of residence, and the rental contract is what you submit as proof of your address with your residence application.

What does the law say, in amounts and periods?

Subject	What law 67-12 says
Deposit	at most two months' rent; returned within one month at most after you hand the home back, minus what you still owe
Rent increase	not within three years of the contract or of the last revision
Size of the increase	at most 8 % for residential premises, 10 % for professional premises
Repair the landlord leaves undone	one month after notice; after that you can ask the court for permission to do it and set the cost against the rent
Formal notice for arrears	at least fifteen days to pay
Termination by the landlord	only with a serious and legitimate reason, and a notice period of at least two months
Own use by the landlord	only if he has owned the home for at least eighteen months; he pays your moving costs plus a year's rent
Subletting	only with the landlord's written consent

Why is the handover of the keys the most important moment?

Because the law puts the risk there with you. At the handover and when you give the home back, a description of its condition should be drawn up, dated and attached to the contract. The law asks for a detailed description and says literally that you should avoid phrases like "good condition" or "fair condition".

No description, then received in good condition. If no description is drawn up at signing, the law assumes you received the home in usable condition. Every damp patch, every broken window frame and every faltering boiler is then your problem when you leave, and comes off your deposit. So walk through the home together, room by room, with photos, and have both signatures put under the description.

The landlord must also deliver a home that meets the basic requirements of the law: ventilation, kitchen, sanitation, electricity and water. He carries out the maintenance needed to keep the home usable, and gives you a signed receipt for every payment. So ask for that receipt, even if you pay by transfer.

What if you are away for months?

Here lies the second trap, and it affects exactly those who spend part of the year in the Netherlands. A home that stays closed for at least six months and that the tenant no longer looks after can be treated by the landlord as abandoned, and taken back through the court. The law makes one exception that matters: the home does not count as abandoned as long as you keep meeting your obligations. So keep paying, keep the payments traceable, and have someone you trust drop by now and then.

What do you check before you sign?

Know who you are signing with. At the land registry, the ANCFCC, you can request a certificat de propriété: it gives the legal and physical situation of a registered property on the day of the request, and so who is recorded as the owner. If someone other than the owner signs, ask for their power of attorney.

Negotiate the deposit and the rent before you sign, because after that the rent is fixed for three years. And if you are thinking of buying later, first read buying a house in Morocco: the check at the land registry weighs even more there.

In your budget, count on two months' deposit on top of the first rent; the overview of costs is at /marokko.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Morocco or go straight to step 5.1 in the open plan.