Syndical council of a real estate complex in Morocco
art. 29 Law 18-00 + gated communities case study

1. What is a real estate complex within the meaning of the law

Article 1, paragraph 2 of Law 18-00 as amended covers "built real estate complexes made up of buildings, villas or premises, contiguous or separate, divided into private areas and common areas held in undivided ownership by all the co-owners". The defining feature: there are common areas shared by several buildings, distinct from the common areas internal to each building.

Typical cases in Morocco:

• Gated communities in Hay Riad, Anfa Aïn Diab, Bouskoura — several buildings within a shared enclosure, with roads, security, garden, pool, club house
• Multi-building residential complexes such as Hay Riad Eden, Casa Green Town, Marina Smir — separate buildings but shared services (park, sports grounds, concierge)
• Subdivisions with private roads not handed back to the municipality — typical of family or MRE development projects
• Mixed retail and office centres such as Anfa Place, Morocco Mall, Ghandi Mall — shared spaces (parking, walkways, security, central air conditioning)

2. The automatic creation of the syndical council (art. 29)

Article 29 is central: "Where it concerns a real estate complex managed by several co-owner syndicates, a syndical council is created, by operation of law, with the mission of ensuring the management of the common areas, in accordance with the bylaws of the complex of syndicates and the decisions taken by the general assemblies of those syndicates".

Three crucial points to remember:

• By operation of law — no constitutive decision is needed; the syndical council exists by the mere presence of several syndicates on the same complex
• Mission limited to the complex's common areas — not the common areas internal to each building, which remain managed by their own syndicate
• Reference to the complex's bylaws — which must therefore exist and specify what belongs to the complex vs what belongs to each building

3. Composition and appointment

The composition is imposed by law: the syndical council is composed by default of the syndics and their deputies from all the co-owner syndicates of the complex. It does not elect itself, it is composed. Once constituted, it appoints by absolute majority among its members, at its first meeting, a syndic of the syndical council (the equivalent of a chair) and a deputy, for a renewable 2-year term.

The syndic of the syndical council may be removed by absolute majority of the syndics and their deputies present or represented in the general assembly of the council. The local administrative authority is informed of the appointment of the management bodies (art. 19 in fine).

4. Operational functioning

The syndical council holds its meetings at the request of 2 or more of its members, at least once every 6 months, and whenever deemed necessary. The notices and the holding of the council's GA follow the same arrangements as for the co-owner syndicate: 15-day notice, precise agenda, attendance sheet, signed minutes.

The decisions of the syndical council are taken by absolute majority of the syndics of the real estate complex and their deputies present or represented at the general assembly (art. 29 bis). This is a more demanding majority than a relative majority — more than half of the members actually present is required to adopt.

5. Expenses and financing (art. 29 quater)

The rule is clear-cut: "The costs of managing and maintaining the common areas of the real estate complex are borne by the co-owner syndicates of the complex" (art. 29 quater). Each building's syndicate therefore calls from its own co-owners a share intended to finance the complex's expenses, then transfers that sum to the syndical council.

The allocation key between the various building syndicates is set by the complex's bylaws. Common criteria:

• In proportion to the number of lots of each building
• In proportion to the built area of each building
• According to a mixed key (area + standing + usefulness of the services for each building)
• With partial exemptions where certain services do not benefit a particular building (e.g. a building that has no access to the pool)

6. Case study — a 4-building gated community in Hay Riad

Gated community in Hay Riad, Rabat: 4 buildings of R+5 (24 lots each, i.e. 96 lots in total), a shared secured enclosure, a 2,500 m² landscaped garden, pool, gym, 24/7 concierge. Each building has its own syndicate (4 syndicates), so 4 syndics and 4 deputy syndics. Syndical council: 8 members.

Annual budget of the complex: 720,000 MAD (security 360,000, garden 96,000, pool 60,000, concierge 120,000, equipment maintenance 60,000, insurance 24,000). Allocation key: 1/4 per syndicate (equal, as the buildings are identical). Each syndicate therefore calls 180,000 MAD / year from its co-owners, i.e. 7,500 MAD per lot per year (625 MAD / month), to be built into each building's own budget.

7. Case law: the primacy of appointment by the council

The Casablanca Commercial Court of Appeal, in its ruling no. 68961 of 22 June 2020, settled a revealing dispute: a co-owner claimed to have appointed a syndic in a separate GA, but that appointment came after a proper appointment by the syndical council of the complex (art. 29). The Court confirmed the primacy of the appointment by the syndical council and ordered the bank concerned to recognise this syndic in its banking relations. The minutes of the syndical council retain their full validity.

For an independent valuation of a lot or a whole complex, see our RICS appraisal service and browse more analyses on the ReaConsult blog.