In October 2026, Médias24 ran an article on Domaine Azrak in Marrakech: a villa project left unfinished after the developer went into judicial liquidation, and buyers still waiting twenty years later. The courts are still clarifying the scope of the mortgages and seizures involved. Buying off-plan, known in Morocco as VEFA (vente en l'état futur d'achèvement), nonetheless remains a common route to home ownership. The law regulates it, provided buyers make use of its safeguards.
What the Domaine Azrak case reveals
The Domaine Azrak case illustrates the main risk of buying off-plan: the buyer pays before the property exists. If the developer fails and the works stop, the buyer is left with an unfinished property and payments that are hard to recover. The developer's judicial liquidation makes things worse, since the buyer then competes with other creditors. In this case, the exact scope of the mortgages and seizures affecting the project is still being argued before the courts, years after the events. This is precisely the kind of situation the legal safeguards of VEFA aim to prevent.
The legal framework: Law 44-00 as amended by Law 107-12
Off-plan sales are governed by Law 44-00, incorporated into the Dahir of Obligations and Contracts (Morocco's civil code of obligations) and amended by Law 107-12. The process has several stages. A reservation contract may be signed first, but it is optional; if there is one, the deposit paid at that stage is capped at 5% of the price.
The preliminary sale contract comes next. The price is then paid in instalments as the works progress, rather than all at once at the start. This staged payment limits the buyer's exposure: the buyer should not have paid most of the price while the works have not advanced to a matching degree.
The bank guarantee: the key protection
The law provides for a bank guarantee, either of completion of the works or of refund of the sums paid, annexed to the contract. If the developer defaults, this guarantee makes it possible either to finish the property or to recover the amounts paid. Before signing, ask to see this guarantee, check that it is actually annexed to the contract, identify the issuing bank and make sure it covers the property you are buying. A contract that refers to a guarantee to be provided later deserves particular attention.
Checking the land and the land title
The land on which the project is built must be examined carefully. When it is registered, the land title shows its owner and the rights and charges recorded, including mortgages and seizures. These checks are made at the land registry (conservation foncière). Our advice: check the status of the land title before signing, then again before any large payment. A mortgage or seizure recorded during the works is a warning sign that is better known early.
Checklist before signing
Before any payment, a few simple checkpoints greatly reduce the risks. They do not replace a careful reading of the contract, but they cover most of the difficulties seen in off-plan purchases. They apply to a flat as well as a villa, in a city as well as in a tourism project.
- If a reservation contract is proposed, check that the deposit does not exceed 5% of the price.
- Demand the bank guarantee of completion or refund, annexed to the contract.
- Check that the payment schedule follows the actual progress of the works.
- Consult the land title and the entries recorded on it.
- Find out about the developer and the progress of its other projects.
Sources
- Médias24, 20 October 2026: article on Domaine Azrak (Marrakech) and the situation of its buyers
- Reaconsult.ma, 12 June 2026: analysis of VEFA and the bank guarantee annexed to the contract
- ANCFCC: text of Law No. 107-12 amending and supplementing Law No. 44-00
Maître Mouad Lahfaia
Lawyer at the Rabat Bar
This article reflects the author's views as at the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice and is no substitute for an analysis of your particular situation.