Since July 16, 2026, law No. 41.25 requires an authentic deed — received by a notary or an adoul — for any property sale, sale agreement, related power of attorney, condominium contract, and preliminary off-plan (VEFA) contract in Morocco. A document drafted and signed inside a real estate agency's offices, without a public officer, is void and does not protect any deposit paid on it.
General information: this article does not replace advice from a notary, an adoul, or a lawyer. Before signing or paying a deposit in Marrakech, have the exact nature of the document verified by an independent professional.
A sale agreement signed with a real estate agent in Marrakech, without going through a notary or an adoul, no longer holds any legal weight as of July 16, 2026. Law No. 41.25, enacted by dahir No. 1.26.30 of July 3, 2026 and published in Official Bulletin No. 7526, narrows the list of professionals authorized to receive a real estate deed — and removes an option that had only been open for eighteen months. For anyone buying a riad, an apartment, or a plot of land in Marrakech, this changes the first question to ask before signing.
What law 41.25 actually says
The text amends article 4 of the Code of Real Rights (law No. 39.08). It requires, under penalty of nullity, the authentic form for any transfer of ownership of a property, any creation or extinction of another real right, as well as for the property sale agreement and related powers of attorney. “Authentic deed” does not mean “notarial deed”: in Morocco, both the notary and the adoul are authorized to draw up such acts, depending on the nature of the property. The notary handles the usual deed for a registered property with a land title; the adoul draws up traditional deeds, common for untitled land — still a frequent situation in parts of Marrakech’s medina.
What disappears with law 41.25 is a third option opened in August 2024: a deed with a certified date drawn up by a lawyer accredited before the Court of Cassation. That option, lawful for eighteen months, no longer exists as of July 16, 2026.
Mind the date: the sale agreement has been void since 2024
Many readers link this change to 2026 only. In fact, it is law No. 41-24, published in Official Bulletin No. 7328 of August 22, 2024, that carries the heaviest consequence for a buyer: it added the property sale agreement and its related mandates to article 4 of the Code of Real Rights. A sale agreement signed between private parties or in an agency, without a notary or adoul, was therefore already void as of 2024 — law 41.25 of 2026 simply closed the second option (the accredited lawyer) that had remained open since that date.
The transactions affected in Marrakech
The scope goes well beyond the final sale deed itself:
| Transaction | Status since |
|---|---|
| Sale of a property (transfer of ownership) | Article 4, Code of Real Rights |
| Property sale agreement | August 2024 (law 41-24) |
| Power of attorney linked to a sale or sale agreement | August 2024 (law 41-24) |
| Condominium deeds (law 18.00) | Law 41.25, July 2026 |
| Preliminary off-plan (VEFA) contract | Law 41.25, July 2026 |
Two lines deserve particular attention for a purchase in Marrakech. The sale agreement, because it’s the first document a buyer signs, often before paying any deposit at all. And the preliminary VEFA contract, handed out by developers on new-build programs in Guéliz, Hivernage, or the Palmeraie, under various commercial names. Our guide to Morocco’s legal off-plan payment schedule details the five-step schedule set by article 618-6 of the Code of Obligations and Contracts — often confused with a “20/30/30/20” schedule that no longer matches the text in force since 2016 — as well as the completion or refund guarantee the seller must put in place from that contract onward.
Why this reform targets real estate scams head-on
The practice this reform targets is well known to real estate professionals in Marrakech: a deposit paid on the strength of a document stamped by an agency, presented as binding, when it was never received by a public officer. In the event of a hidden defect, a double sale, or a failed financing application, the buyer was left with no real recourse. With law 41.25, the question to ask before any payment becomes simple: who is receiving this deed, and in what capacity? A document signed only between the parties, even with an agency’s stamp, no longer has legal value.
This requirement adds to the checks already needed before buying from a developer — company identity, land title, building permit, construction progress — detailed in our checklist of documents to request from a real estate developer. For an unfamiliar developer, checking membership in the National Federation of Real Estate Developers (FNPI), a professional body recognized by the CGEM, remains a useful check — in addition to, not instead of, verifying the form of the deed.
What remains unclear
Law 41.25’s text does not include an explicit transitional period; it applies from the date of publication. It was also initially published only in the Arabic edition of the Official Bulletin, which explains why several French-language resources still describe the old 2024 rule. For a deed signed before July 16, 2026 but whose effects have not yet run their course — an ongoing sale agreement, for instance — the exact classification should be checked case by case with the notary or adoul who will receive the final deed, rather than assumed by analogy.
Checklist before signing in Marrakech
- Ask who is receiving the signed document: a notary, an adoul, or no authorized officer at all — in the latter case, pay nothing
- For a registered property, confirm the deed falls to a notary; for an untitled property or one held under moulkiya custom, to the competent adoul
- When buying from a developer, require that the preliminary VEFA contract be drawn up under the same conditions, not just an in-house “reservation contract”
- For a purchase by power of attorney (Moroccans living abroad), verify that the power of attorney itself is an authentic deed, separate from the sale deed
- Never treat an agency’s stamp or signature as an authentic deed, even on an official-looking document
The bottom line
Law 41.25 does not make buying property in Morocco more complicated: it closes a side door that had weakened buyer protection. For anyone investing in Marrakech, the real risk lies less in the law itself than in a timeline mix-up: a private sale agreement has been void since August 2024, not since 2026. Either way, the practical rule stays the same — never pay a deposit before a notary or an adoul has received the document that binds the seller. To place this requirement within the full buying process, our guide to the notary’s role and fees in Morocco and our guide to land titles and moulkiya in Marrakech round out this reading.
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Disclaimer : This article is editorial analysis and does not constitute financial, legal or tax advice. Any investment decision should be preceded by consultation with qualified professionals.
