Renting out long term in Marrakech: what Law 67-12 actually requires of a landlord

Many foreign investors in Marrakech only discover how Moroccan leases work the day something goes wrong: a tenant who stops paying, a deposit no one wants to return, a contested rent increase. The rules are written down, and they weigh heavily against the landlord who cut corners on paperwork at the start. Law 67-12, enacted on 19 November 2013, published in Official Bulletin No. 6208 and in force since 28 February 2014, governs every residential and non-commercial professional lease in Morocco, whatever the landlord’s nationality. Here is what it requires in practice, and the figures worth knowing before putting a property on the long-term rental market.

The legal foundation: four obligations nothing can replace

Law 67-12 repealed the 1980 dahir with the stated aim of rebalancing the relationship between the two parties. In practice, four points decide the outcome of almost every dispute.

A written contract. The letting must be set out in writing with a certain date, drawn up in at least two copies, and must include mandatory particulars: full identity of both parties (national ID or residence card), a precise description of the property, the rent, the term, the deposit and how charges are split. A verbal lease is not void in itself, but it makes the agreed rent and term nearly impossible to prove in court.

A joint inventory of condition. It must be drawn up when the keys are handed over, signed by both parties and attached to the lease. The sanction is harsh and widely overlooked: without an entry inventory, the property is presumed to have been handed over in good condition, which strips the landlord of any claim for damage found at the end of the tenancy.

The security deposit. It is capped at two months’ rent excluding charges. Anything above that is irregular. Once the property is returned, the landlord has a maximum of one month to refund it, less amounts genuinely owed and evidenced by quotes or invoices — not by a bare assertion.

The rent receipt. Article 11 requires the landlord to issue a receipt whenever the tenant asks for one, free of charge. Refusing or charging for it is a breach of the law. For a non-resident owner, those receipts are also the accounting trail that will substantiate rental income.

“Without an entry inventory of condition, the property is presumed to have been handed over to the tenant in good condition.”

What to charge, and when you may raise it

The initial rent is freely agreed. The ranges observed in Marrakech over 2025-2026 for a standard one- to three-bedroom apartment give a useful order of magnitude:

District	Indicative monthly rent (USD)
Hivernage	900 – 1,400
Palmeraie	800 – 1,300
Guéliz	700 – 1,200
Agdal	550 – 900
Route de Casablanca	500 – 850
Medina (outskirts)	450 – 750

These are asking prices from listings, not transaction data: there is no official register of signed rents in Morocco, and the gap with the negotiated rent is real, especially outside the tourist season. Use them to position a property, not as a yield promise. On choosing an area, our comparison of the best neighbourhoods in Marrakech sets out the buyer and tenant profiles.

On revisions, two rules stack up and are often confused:

• Law 67-12 provides for no automatic increase. Without an express revision clause in the lease, the rent is frozen for the term and its renewals. An increase imposed unilaterally, with no clause and no tenant agreement, is void; the landlord must then go to court, which rules on the rental value.
• Law 07-03 caps the revision: a maximum of 8% for residential premises and 10% for professional, commercial, industrial or craft use, and no more than once every three years. Any revision sooner than that, or above those rates, is prohibited.

In concrete terms, a rent of MAD 6,000 cannot jump to MAD 8,000 because the market has moved: the statutory three-yearly cap takes it to MAD 6,480.

Unpaid rent: the real procedure, and how long it takes

This is where remote landlords lose the most money, usually because they react too late or outside the legal framework. No eviction can take place without a court decision. Cutting off water or electricity, changing a lock or pressuring a tenant to leave exposes the landlord to criminal proceedings, even when the tenant is genuinely at fault.

The legal sequence runs as follows:

1. Formal notice served by a bailiff, giving the tenant a minimum of 15 days to pay. A simple registered letter is not enough to open the next stage.
2. Application to the president of the court for a payment order, available on an urgent basis.
3. Service of the order on the tenant, who has 48 hours to pay or to file an objection.
4. Enforcement where there is no payment and no objection: eviction is then carried out by a court-appointed bailiff.

Service and hearing times remain variable, and that is the part nobody can guarantee in advance. The practical consequence for a non-resident owner is clear: reacting fast to the first missed payment matters more than the quality of the lease. It is also one of the strongest arguments for a local management mandate — whose real cost is set out in our analysis of co-ownership fees and property management in Marrakech.

Taking the property back: Article 45 and its conditions

A landlord may recover the property to live in it, or to house a spouse, direct ascendants or direct descendants. This is not a discretionary right: Article 45 requires a serious and legitimate ground, notice served in due form — an adoular deed, a notarial deed or a bailiff’s writ, never a text message or a phone call — and proof of the ground relied on.

Two safeguards protect the tenant. Notice that is irregular in form or timing can be annulled, and the lease then renews for a further period. And if the owner takes the property back without actually occupying it within six months, the tenant can go to court and claim damages.

What the law does not settle clearly

Two points are read differently by practitioners and deserve checking with a notary or lawyer before signing.

The minimum term. Some firms take a minimum three-year term in the tenant’s favour for residential lettings, with tacit renewal; other sources treat the term as freely agreed, with a dominant practice of one year renewable. The stake is real for an investor who wants to be able to sell with vacant possession: have the term, renewal and notice conditions spelled out in the contract.

The tenant’s notice period. Depending on the source, it is two or three months, served by bailiff or by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. In practice the lease clause will be relied on first — hence the value of drafting it explicitly.

On tax, residential rents fall under property income: the progressive income tax scale after a flat 40% allowance (Article 64-II of the Moroccan tax code), or flat rates of 10% below MAD 120,000 of gross annual income and 15% above (Article 73-II). The exemption threshold for small property income was revised recently and the figures quoted vary between sources: confirm with the DGI for the current year. The item-by-item detail is in our guide to property taxation in Marrakech, and the 5% withholding introduced in 2026 does not apply to individuals letting a home.

The checklist before you sign

• A written, dated lease in two copies, with all mandatory particulars
• A signed and photographed entry inventory attached to the contract — the document that decides the fate of the deposit
• A deposit limited to two months excluding charges, with return conditions in writing
• An express revision clause if you want to be able to raise the rent, within the 8% every three years cap
• Term, renewal and notice drafted without ambiguity
• Receipts issued systematically and archived
• Someone on the ground able to have a bailiff serve formal notice from the first month of arrears

Long-term letting remains the most predictable way to run a property in Marrakech, with fewer regulatory constraints than licensed short-term rental. But its security rests almost entirely on documents drawn up before the tenant moves in — not on the remedies available afterwards.

This article sets out the general legal framework and does not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. The rents quoted are estimates drawn from public listings. Have your contract validated by a notary or lawyer in Morocco before signing.