Real estate scandal in Morocco: Elected officials sanctioned for complicity

Well-informed local media sources reveal that reports recently used by the authorities to suspend and dismiss municipal presidents, deputies and councilors highlight the use of falsified architectural plans. These fake plans were discovered in building permit application files, in collaboration with technicians and employees of the urban planning departments, who helped reproduce plans signed by “ghost” architects.

Permits obtained through dubious practices

The same sources indicate that the falsified plans were used to speed up the processing of permit applications via the electronic platform for managing planning permissions in the Casablanca-Settat region. The reports identified, thanks to the stamps affixed to these plans, architects involved in renting their fees to technicians in exchange for sums of up to 5,000 dirhams. These irregularities not only led to the fall of some elected officials, but also revealed manipulations concerning the nature of the permits, such as covering up the illegal building under the guise of repair permits.

In addition, irregularities in the issuance of planning permissions have caused significant financial losses for local authorities. This is due to the negative impact of these practices on local tax revenues, a loss of income for municipalities. The same shortcomings have been at the origin of decisions to suspend and dismiss elected officials, decisions that could soon lead to legal proceedings, as these actions are classified as financial crimes.

The legality of the procedures in question

Provincial authorities recently reminded local government chairmen that refusing to issue building permits to investors on the grounds that they have not settled their debts to the municipality is illegal. Indeed, the procedure for issuing permits is separate from that of debt recovery. Strict guidelines have been issued for permits to be issued as soon as all legal steps are met, while debt recovery must be carried out separately by the competent authorities.

The Ministry of the Interior had previously sent instructions to the urban planning departments of local authorities to comply with the law, in particular Decree No. 2.13.424, which defines the conditions for issuing permits and other legal documents. The aim is to secure the procedures for issuing housing permits and certificates of conformity, by limiting visits to construction sites still in progress, as stipulated in Article 49.

Violations that have been going on for years

The sources also indicate that violations of urban planning regulations have been one of the main reasons for the suspension of many elected officials recently. Reports from inspections carried out in several communities show that these violations date back several years, particularly affecting procedures relating to building permits and certificates of conformity. Some elected officials have even been involved in dubious mediations to facilitate the obtaining of exceptional permits for investors, or to block certain real estate projects, thus exacerbating illicit practices in the real estate sector in Morocco.

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