Terms of Lease

The legal system governing the rapport between the lessor and the tenant is composed of a set of laws and regulations. The clauses stipulated define the obligations and rights of both parties. The lease may be established by a notary or established privately by the two parties in which the document will then need to be legalized.

The fundamental clauses needed in the lease

- Identification of both parties
- Duration of the lease: the number of years of rental
- Designation of the property to be rented: address of the property, object of lease
- Nature of the lease: the lease may stipulate that the property is exclusively for habitation or professional use.
- Termination of lease: the lease must state the minimum time needed to give notice of termination (usually one month). It is advised to send notice of termination by registered mail with proof of reception
- Security deposit: the lease stipulates that a security deposit equal to one month’s rent be paid when the tenant enters the property. The security deposit will be returned to the tenant at departure of property with deduction of cost of property repairs if needed.

Tenant responsibilities

- To keep property rented in a good state.
- To inform the lessor of any damage made to the property.
- To not make any transformations to the property without the authorization of the lessor.
- To not sub-let the property.
This list is not exhaustive and is given for reference.

Rent payments

- The cost of the rent must be stated in the lease as well as when it is to be paid, for example, the first of each month.
- Rent cost revision: The request of a rental revision is not accepted, even if a clause stating the contrary exists, before the expiration of a minimum period of three years from the date the lease was established.

Registering the lease (in the case of a private agreement between the two parties, in other words without using the services of a notary)

- The lease must be legalized: the signatures of the lessor and the tenant must be authenticated in order to make the lease legal.
- The lease must be registered (Article 127 of the general tax code (I-A-4°) obliges that all written or verbal agreements (private or authentic) must be registered at the latest 30 days after the date of signature. The fee for registering a lease is 200 dirhams (Finance Law 2008).

Importance of the inspection checklist

- The inspection checklist is a document established between the tenant and the lessor to protect themselves from possible litigation.
- The inspection checklist may be established on paper providing there are two copies (one for each party). Both copies must be signed and dated by both parties and must describe in detail the state of each room as well as the state of each element in the room : floor, ceiling, wall and must state inventory of the equipment in the premises as well as the closets etc. This document must be kept by both parties for the duration of the rental period.
This document acts as a proof of status in terms of conditions and state of the property at the tenant’s arrival. It obliges the tenant to leave the property in the same condition he found it upon his arrival (Article 676 of the Dahir obligations and contract code).
- At the departure of the tenant a second inspection checklist will be established and will be compared to the inspection checklist established when the tenant arrived in the property. This enables the comparison between the state of the property at arrival and departure of the tenant and will determine if repairs need to be made and who needs to pay for them.
For example, damage resulting from abnormal usage of the property will be charged to the tenant (for example stains or burns on a carpet, holes in the wall etc.). Also, if a tenant transforms the property without the lessor’s authorization the tenant will be obliged at his cost to change the property to original state.

Comments:

- If the owner refuses to establish an inspection checklist he will have to prove that the damages he evokes at the end of the lease is the tenant’s fault.

- If the tenant is against establishing an inspection checklist upon entry of property it will be presumed that the premises were given in good condition.

- If both the owner and the tenant refuse to establish an inspection checklist upon entry of the tenant in the property it will be presumed that the tenant received the property in good condition (Article 676 of the Dahir obligations and contract code).

- It is in the tenant’s best interest to insist on establishing an inspection checklist upon entry of the rental to avoid possible litigation.

Debt collection procedure in the case of unpaid rent

In the case of unpaid rent in which no amicable solution has been found it is necessary to follow the procedure from act n° 64-99 promulgated by the Dahir n°1-99-211 from journal 13 1420 (August 25, 1999).. This procedure may be applied only if a lease has been established by a notary or privately and then made legal.

- If the rent is not paid at the due date the owner must request the authorization from a trial court judge to send a final notice requesting payment.
- The notice must state the following information (failing to do so will automatically invalidate the notice): names of both parties, address of lessor, address of the building, the rent cost, how long the rent has not been paid and the total due.
- The tenant is given a maximum of 15 days to pay the debt starting from the date of notification of the notice.
- In the case that the tenant does not pay the debt or only sends a partial payment indicated on the notice the lessor may request that the trial court judge probates the notice and orders the payment.
- In the case of a probate the payment is ordered and the tenant must accept to pay.

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