Glossary

The terms of planning, land and building law in Morocco, defined in one sentence, with the texts that found them.

112Terms

Generated image: an architect's desk, open technical dictionary, compass, tracing paper with a plan

A

Acceptance of works: Act by which the client accepts the work, with or without reservations, starting the warranty periods.
Administrative appeal: Request to the authority that took a decision to reconsider it, prior to a court appeal.
Adobe: Sun-dried moulded raw-earth brick.
Adoul: Public officer entitled to draw up deeds under Islamic law, including traditional ownership and inheritance deeds.
Agadir (collective granary): Fortified collective granary of the Anti-Atlas where each family owns a storage cell.
Amended permit: Additional authorisation required when the project is changed after the initial permit is issued.
ANCFCC: National Agency for Land Registry, Cadastre and Cartography, the public body that keeps the land registers and cadastre in Morocco.
Apostille: Hague Convention formality certifying the authenticity of a public document for use in another member state.
Approval stamp (visa): Favourable opinion of a consulted service (urban agency, civil protection, utility) required during the review of an authorisation.
Architect: Professional registered with the National Order of Architects, alone entitled to design and sign projects subject to authorisation above the legal thresholds.
Atlas cedar: Timber of traditional ceilings, doors and joinery, from the Middle Atlas forests.

B

Bab (gate): Monumental gate of a wall, a medina or a palace.
Bejmat: Rectangular terracotta brick, glazed or not, laid on floors in herringbone patterns.
Bhou: Deep, narrow reception room opening across its full width onto the courtyard.
Bioclimatic architecture: Design that uses climate, orientation and materials to limit heating and cooling needs.
Boundary marking: Operation by which a surveyor fixes and physically marks the limits of a plot.
Building envelope (gabarit): Maximum envelope within which a building must fit, defined by height and prospect rules.
Building line (alignement): Limit set by the administration between the public road and adjoining properties.
Building permit: Act issued by the municipal council president allowing construction, extension or added-floor works to start legally.

C

Calculation note: Engineering document justifying the sizing of structural elements.
Casablanca Art Deco: 1920s–1930s style in Casablanca combining modern geometry and Moroccan motifs on downtown buildings.
Certificate of conformity: Equivalent of the occupancy permit for buildings not intended for housing.
Certificate of ownership: Extract issued by ANCFCC stating the owner of a land title and the charges registered at a given date.
Client (maître d’ouvrage): Person on whose behalf the works are carried out, who decides and finances them.
Collective lands: Lands belonging to ethnic communities (soulaliyate), subject to a specific land regime under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior.
Construction tax: Municipal tax due when the building permit is issued, calculated on floor area.
Convertible dirham account: Bank account funded in foreign currency guaranteeing a non-resident the right to transfer funds back abroad.
Court appeal: Action brought before the administrative court against a decision of the administration.

D

Dar: Traditional house with a paved central courtyard and no garden, typical of medinas.
Derb: Residential lane or cul-de-sac in the medina serving a group of houses.
Development plan (plan d’aménagement): Binding planning document that sets land use, roads, facilities and building rules for a municipality or a sector.

E

Easement (servitude): Burden imposed on a property for the benefit of another property or the public interest, such as a right of way or a setback.
Engineering consultancy (BET): Technical design office in charge of structural and services engineering and calculation notes.
Exchange Office: Public body regulating foreign exchange operations and transfers with abroad.
Extension of validity: Extension of a permit's validity granted upon reasoned request before it expires.

F

Finishing and fit-out works: All works that make the building habitable after the structure: partitions, finishes, joinery, services.
Floor area coefficient (CUS): Land use coefficient: the second ratio set by the zone regulation, complementary to the COS; depending on the regulation it refers to total floor area or to ground footprint, the regulation's definition prevailing.
Fondouk: Urban caravanserai with a central courtyard used as warehouse, workshop and lodging for merchants.

G

Gebs: Carved plaster in ornamental friezes and panels, characteristic of Moroccan interiors.
General Building Regulation (RGC): General building regulation setting the technical rules applicable to constructions.
Geotechnical survey: Soil analysis by a laboratory to determine bearing capacity and size the foundations.

H

Hammam: Public bath with successive rooms of increasing temperature, part of the neighbourhood's facilities.
Historic monument: Building whose conservation is of artistic, historical or scientific interest and which is protected by inscription or listing under law 22-80 (article 1).
Housing estate / subdivision (lotissement): Division of a property into building plots, governed by Law 25-90, subject to authorisation and servicing works.

I

Inheritance: Transfer of a deceased person's estate to heirs, governed in Morocco by the Family Code for Muslims.
Inscription (heritage): Light protection measure taken by ministerial order under law 22-80: the owner of an inscribed building must notify the administration six months before any restoration or alteration (article 6) and declare any sale.

J

Joint ownership (indivision): Situation where several people hold rights over the same property together without it being physically divided.

K

Kasbah: Fortified residence or citadel, often of rammed earth, seat of a local power or garrison.
Khettara: Underground drainage gallery, gently sloping and punctuated by access shafts, that brings groundwater to a palm grove or a town without pumping; the traditional technique of the oases and of the Marrakech region.
Ksar: Fortified earthen village of southern Morocco, with covered lanes and adjoining houses.

L

Land registration: Procedure by which a property is entered in the ANCFCC land registers and receives a title after survey and clearance of oppositions.
Land title (titre foncier): Document issued by ANCFCC that definitively establishes ownership of a registered property and the rights attached to it.
Law 016-89: Law on the practice of the architectural profession and the creation of the National Order of Architects.
Law 12-90: Planning law organising planning documents and the building permit regime.
Law 22-80: Law of 25 December 1980, amended by law 19-05 in 2006, on the conservation of historic monuments and sites, inscriptions, objects of art and antiquities; it organises inscription, listing, the State's pre-emption right and penalties. A law 33-22 meant to replace it was between the two houses of parliament in 2025.
Law 25-90: Law on subdivisions, housing groups and plot divisions.
Law 66-12: Law on the control and punishment of planning and building offences.
Lime: Traditional binder made by burning limestone, used in mortar and breathable renders.
Listing (heritage): Strong protection measure taken by decree after an inquiry under law 22-80: a listed building may not be demolished without delisting, nor restored, altered or built upon without the administration's authorisation (articles 20 to 22); the listing is recorded on the land title.

M

Madrasa: Religious teaching institution arranged around a courtyard, with a prayer hall and student cells.
Mashrabiya: Openwork panel of turned wood filtering light and preserving privacy.
Medina: Historic walled city with a dense fabric of lanes and courtyard houses.
Melkia: Traditional deed drawn up by adouls for an unregistered property, proving possession without the guarantees of a land title.
Menzeh: Pavilion or belvedere opening onto a garden or terrace.
Mihrab: Niche in the qibla wall of a mosque indicating the direction of Mecca.
Minaret: Mosque tower from which the call to prayer is made, square in plan in the Moroccan tradition.
Moroccan living abroad (MRE): Moroccan residing abroad, a status that opens certain rights regarding exchange control and taxation.
Municipality (commune): Local authority whose president issues building permits and occupancy permits.
Muqarnas: Stalactite ornament in plaster or wood forming the transition between a square plan and a dome.

N

Neo-Moorish: Protectorate-era style applying a Moroccan decorative vocabulary to buildings of European design.
No-build zone: Zone where all construction is prohibited, for instance along a road, a wadi or a power line.
Notary: Public officer who draws up and authenticates deeds, notably sales of registered property.

O

Occupancy permit: Authorisation issued after completion certifying that the building complies with the permit and may be occupied.
Official Gazette: Official publication of the Kingdom where laws, decrees and orders appear, in Arabic with a French translation edition.
ONA: National Order of Architects, the professional body that keeps the register of architects and oversees ethics.
One-stop shop: Municipal arrangement that centralises the filing and review of planning applications, now online through the Rokhas platform.
Opposition: Claim lodged by a third party during the registration procedure to assert a right over the property.

P

Patio: Open-air inner courtyard around which the rooms of a house are arranged.
Planning derogation: Exceptional authorisation to depart from the development plan rules, granted by a regional committee under defined criteria.
Planning information note: Document issued by the urban agency stating the planning rules applicable to a plot.
Power of attorney: Deed by which a person gives another the power to act on their behalf, to be legalised and, depending on the country, apostilled.
Pre-emption right (heritage): The State's right under law 22-80 to buy an inscribed or listed building offered for sale ahead of any buyer, exercised within two months of the sale declaration; an undeclared sale is void (articles 37 to 41).
Prior declaration: Simplified formality applicable to certain minor works that do not require a full building permit.
Project lead (maître d’œuvre): Professional, usually the architect, who designs the project and directs the works on the client's behalf.
Prospect rule: Rule linking the height of a building to its distance from boundaries or neighbouring buildings.

Q

Qualified and classified contractor: Construction company holding a qualification and classification certificate issued by the Ministry of Equipment.
Quotation: Priced document by which a contractor offers works at a defined price and conditions.

R

Rammed earth (pisé): Raw earth compacted in layers inside formwork to form thick load-bearing walls.
Registration application (réquisition): Application filed with the land registry to start the registration of a property, opening a period for oppositions.
Regularisation: Procedure to bring a building erected without a permit or in breach into compliance, where the law allows it.
Riad: Traditional urban house organised around a planted inner courtyard, closed to the street and open to the sky.
Roof terrace: Accessible flat roof of the traditional house, a domestic space and the only opening onto the city.

S

Sebka: Decorative lattice of interlaced lozenges carved on Almohad façades and minarets.
Seismic building code (RPS): Seismic building regulation imposing design and execution rules against earthquake risk.
Setback: Minimum distance required between a building and the road or the plot boundaries.
Site coverage ratio (COS): Site coverage coefficient: ratio set by the zone regulation between a built area and the plot area; depending on the regulation it refers to the ground footprint or to the total floor area, so the applicable regulation's definition must be read.
Skifa: Bent entrance corridor protecting the privacy of the courtyard from the street.
Structural works: All works ensuring the stability and strength of the building: foundations, structure, load-bearing walls, floors, roof.
Subdivision (morcellement): Division of a property into several lots, requiring authorisation when a lot is intended for housing or activity.
Surveyor: Professional who produces topographic plans, boundary markings and cadastral documents.

T

Tadelakt: Lime plaster polished with a stone and treated with black soap, waterproof, used in hammams and bathrooms.
Technical inspection body: Independent body that checks structural soundness and safety, required for certain projects and by insurers.
Ten-year liability insurance: Insurance covering, for ten years after acceptance, damage compromising the soundness of the work.
Thermal building code (RTCM): Moroccan thermal building regulation setting energy performance requirements for the building envelope.
Tighremt: Fortified tower-house of the Atlas and the South, square in plan with corner towers.

U

UNESCO World Heritage: Sites listed by UNESCO for their universal value, subject to reinforced protection rules.
Urban agency: Public body in charge, within its area, of planning studies and of reviewing authorisation applications.
Urban master plan (SDAU): Master plan setting the long-term development orientations of a metropolitan area.

W

Wilaya: Administrative region headed by a wali, which coordinates in particular the regional planning committees.
Works contract: Contract binding the client and the contractor for defined works.

Z

Zellige: Mosaic of glazed terracotta tiles, hand-cut into geometric pieces and assembled face down.
Zoning: Division of municipal territory into zones with defined uses, each with its own building rules.