After years of discussion, the House of Representatives in Morocco has ratified the new law on “lease” and rental which will be effective upon publication in the official bulletin.
The new tenancy law aims to encourage property owners to rent them out, by giving them legal guarantees to protect them from abuse by tenants. It also provides for new rules regarding rental contracts and repairs of rented property, and to ensure the rapid resolution of disputes with deadlines respected.
Summary:
The lease contract, an obligation
Repair obligations of the lessor
In case of non-payment of rent
Rent review conditions
Termination of the lease contract£
Recover the property for your own use
The texts of the new law
The lease contract, an obligation
The lease contract applies to any real estate “intended for residential or professional use, furnished or not, which exceeds a rental period of thirty days”.
It also determines the price and rental conditions by mutual consent between the parties, and provides for the rental obligation from the date of signing of the lease contract by guaranteeing that all articles of the contract are respected by the owner and the tenant, and to make an inventory of the complete rented property as well as its outbuildings and equipment.
The new lease law requires that the rented property be livable and contain the necessary basic equipment in terms of rooms, ventilation conditions, kitchen and toilets, electricity and water.
If the rented property does not comply with these conditions, it can be rented if the tenant agrees in writing to bring it up to standard and the owner to deduct the restoration costs from the rent.
An inventory must be made when handing over the keys to the tenant as well as at the time of departure. This declaration is attached to the contract. In the event of failure to draw up the inventory, the signing of the lease contract by the tenant insinuates that he has found the property compliant with standards.
Repair obligations of the lessor
The law requires the owner to keep the property in good condition during its rental according to the texts of the rental contract and to carry out the work requested by the tenant during the month. Otherwise the tenant can obtain an order from the President of the Court of First Instance to determine the value of the necessary repairs. Once authorized by the court, the tenant will be able to carry out the repairs himself and deduct them from the amount of the following rents.
The tenant also has the obligation to carry out basic maintenance such as: repairing doors, locks, electrical equipment, windows, windows, tiling, painting, shutters and curtains.
It also requires the tenant to maintain and change the water taps and sanitary fittings of the property before their departure.
In case of non-payment of rent
In the event that the tenant does not pay his rent, the owner may ask the President of the Court for authorization to send a written warning to his tenant to fulfill his obligation.
The tenant will have 15 days to make partial or full payment from the date of notification of the alarm. Once this period has passed, the owner can ask the court to ratify the warning and the payment obligation.
The court order approving the warning is issued within 48 hours from the date of registration of the request, according to the written report.
Even in the event of non-ratification of the request, any ordinary or extraordinary unauthorized recourse is not accepted…The owner may demand payment according to the general rules of the contract.
According to the new law, in the case of acceptance of the request raised with the Court of First Instance. If it is proven that the owner received his rent and pursued his tenant in bad faith, the latter can request compensation for damages ranging from two months’ rent to 6 months, outside of criminal proceedings.
Rent review conditions
The owner and tenant can agree on revising the rent price upwards or downwards. But the rent cannot be increased during the first three years of the rental contract, from the signing of the contract or the date of a judicial review.
In the absence of any agreement, the law specifies the possibility of an increase in the price of the rent for a residential property by 8 percent (+8%), and for a professional property by 10 percent (+10% ).
Knowing that the court could determine the rate of increase in the amount of rental rights, without taking into consideration the two previous percentages and by virtue of its power, if the amount of the value of the rent does not exceed 400 dirhams per month, the authorized increase rate must not exceed 50%.
If the owner wishes to review the amount of rent, by sending a warning to the tenant, it takes effect upon receipt and the tenant can make an appeal within three months.
Termination of the lease contract
In the event of termination or dissolution of a rental contract, the tenant must return the keys to the property. If the property is kept after this date, he must pay financial compensation fixed by the court which is equivalent to at least double the amount of the lease. He also has the obligation to keep the property in good condition and to restore it in the event of damage. The tenant is in an illegal situation of occupying someone else’s property.
The new law also emphasizes the fact that the tenant is concerned by any damage caused to the property, but he is not concerned by any wear and tear linked to normal and habitual use, or resulting from a case of force majeure or an incident.
The tenant cannot introduce any changes or adjustments to the property or its equipment without obtaining the written consent of the owner. In the case of work without the owner’s consent, the latter may require his tenant to return the property to its initial condition, or keep it with the modifications without the tenant having the right to request any compensation. The new law states that all development requests become obsolete within three months of handing over the property to the lessor.
The owner can request a guarantee to cover the amount of the lease and rental costs, as well as damages, but the amount of this guarantee cannot exceed two months’ rent. The guarantee must be returned to the tenant within a period not exceeding one month from the date of release of the rented property.
Recover the property for your own use
The text of the new law informs that the lease contract expires upon receipt of a notice of eviction based on serious grounds, such as returning the property to its owner for his own use, or his descendants, or the beneficiaries of the will, or for a wife or husband. The lease contract also expires in the event of demolition, reconstruction and compulsory reform, or due to non-payment of rent.
Upon receipt of the notice, the tenant has two months to vacate the premises. If this deadline is exceeded, the owner can ask the court to rule on a forced eviction.
This law also includes procedures to allow the owner to recover his property in the event of abandonment, or closure by the tenant. A property is considered closed after more than six months of non-occupancy or use, whether it is partially or totally emptied of furniture, and did not stay there. The store is not considered abandoned if the tenant has continued to fulfill its obligations towards the owner.
In the event of eviction, the owner must compensate the tenant with an amount including one year’s rent and moving costs.
With regard to contracts concluded before the entry into force of this law, they remain valid and recognized, and the parties can agree on a new contract complying with this new law.
The texts of the new law
After the publication of the new law in the official journal, a certain number of texts which governed the lease will be canceled, including the law of the Dahir linked to the obligation to pay rent published in 1999 and will not be canceled the requirements relating to leases for commercial, industrial and artisanal use.
The new law will cancel the dahir published in 1941 on the rental obligation ordinance, and the dahir on the ordinance on illegal speculation published in 1954, and the authorization on the proclamation of empty places, issued in 1941, and that of the recovery of places intended for habitation issued in 1941.
It should be noted that the new lease law on the rental of property intended for residential as well as professional use ensures the owner of the property the ease of recovery from the tenant according to very specific criteria, and allows him to increase the value of the lease amount in accordance with the law.
source: http://www.mamlakapress.com/%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1/
