Property easements in Morocco
Real Rights Code 39-08 — classification & acquisition
A right of way crossing your land, a neighbor's window overlooking your property, water flowing from an adjacent plot — these are easements. Under Moroccan law, they are governed by the Real Rights Code (Law 39-08). Essential reading for buyers and owners.
What is an easement?
A property easement (servitude) is a burden imposed on one property for the benefit of another. The burdened property is the servient tenement ; the benefited one is the dominant tenement. Easements attach to the properties themselves — they automatically transfer to successive owners.
Classic example: a landlocked parcel benefits from a right of way over the neighboring parcel to reach the public road. Even if the servient parcel is sold, the new owner remains bound to allow the passage.
In Morocco, the easement framework is established by Law 39-08 — Real Rights Code, promulgated by Royal Decree No. 1-11-178 of 22 November 2011. This code consolidates and modernizes the previously dispersed rules.
Classification of easements
Three cross-classifications apply simultaneously:
- Apparent vs non-apparent — visible through external works (gateway, window) vs no external sign (prohibition to build).
- Continuous vs discontinuous — exercised without human action (natural water flow, view) vs requiring human action (walking right of way).
- Legal vs conventional — imposed by law (mandatory access to landlocked land) vs created by contract between owners.
This classification matters because it determines acquisition modes: only continuous and apparent easements can be acquired by prescription. A right of way (discontinuous) cannot arise solely from prolonged untitled use.
Most common easements in Morocco
- Right of way — fundamental for landlocked parcels without direct road access.
- Right of view / light — windows opening onto a neighbor's property. Subject to distance rules.
- Water drainage — natural rainwater flow from upper to lower land (legal continuous easement). Sewage water (artificial), on the contrary, requires conventional easement.
- Party wall — forced co-ownership of a separating wall, hedge or ditch. Specific regime imposing shared maintenance costs.
- Water drawing / pipeline — right to extract water from a well on a neighbor's property.
- Non aedificandi / non altius tollendi — prohibition to build, or to build above a certain height. Typically conventional, created to preserve view or sunlight.
Acquisition modes
- By title — authentic notarized deed expressly establishing the easement. Most reliable. Must be registered at ANCFCC.
- By paterfamilias destination — when a single owner created an internal use between two parts of one property, then separated them. The easement establishes itself ipso jure.
- By prescription — continuous, peaceful, public and unequivocal use for a statutory period. Only for continuous and apparent easements.
Due diligence before buying
Before purchasing, verifying existing easements is essential:
- Get a recent title extract from ANCFCC (online via Mohafadati portal, 24-48h).
- Physically visit the property to identify apparent easements not yet registered.
- Interview the seller and neighbors about oral conventional easements (rare but exist).
- Check the cadastral plan for urbanism easements (setback lines, alignment, zoning).
Extinction of easements
Four extinction modes under Law 39-08:
- Express renunciation by the dominant tenement owner (notarized deed + ANCFCC removal).
- Prolonged non-use — if not exercised for the statutory duration.
- Confusion — when both tenements become the same owner's property (acquisition, inheritance, merger).
- Material impossibility — e.g., servient property destroyed.
Like a mortgage release, extinction must be registered at ANCFCC to be enforceable against third parties.
Independent technical-legal expertise
Pre-acquisition due diligence, neighborhood dispute, party wall contestation, conventional easement negotiation — we analyze and provide a written report enforceable in pre-litigation. Free consultation under 24 h.