Property seizure on a condominium lot — unpaid charges
Co-owner failing to pay charges exposes their lot to seizure. Syndicate has effective tools — privilege, forced mortgage, payment injunction, real seizure, public auction. Complete procedure and precautions.
Law 18-00 grants syndicate a privilege guaranteeing charges recovery on defaulting co-owner's lot. Privilege prescription typically 5 years.
Syndicate privilege and forced mortgage
Privilege allows syndicate to inscribe forced mortgage on lot to guarantee its claim; engage property seizure in persistent non-payment; benefit from preferential rank in multiple creditor cases. Privilege prescription: 5 years generally — beyond, syndicate loses mortgage guarantee but keeps common-law recovery action (15 years for civil claims per DOC).
Procedure steps
(1) Constatation and formal notice — registered letter summoning defaulting co-owner to pay within reasonable delay (typically 15-30 days). (2) Payment injunction or substance action — simplified rapid procedure before first instance court president; or substance action for complex/contested claims. (3) Forced mortgage inscription at ANCFCC on debtor lot, enforceable on third parties, blocks transactions on lot. (4) Property seizure and public auction — payment command serving as seizure, seizure minutes by bailiff, charges specification, opening bid, sale publicity, public auction, price distribution per rank.
Independent property evaluation — key piece
Property seizure rests on precise lot evaluation used to fix opening bid. Inaccurate evaluation fragilises procedure: Too low opening bid — derisory adjudication not covering claim, loss for syndicate. Liability risk against syndic. Too high opening bid — deserted sale, procedure to restart, additional delay. Contestable evaluation — contestation basis by debtor or competing creditors. RICS Red Book Global Standards 2025 independent expertise quantifies lot market value, documents comparables, and provides report anchoring opening bid fixation.
Precautions and articulation
Syndic diligence — don't let privilege prescribe (5 years). Regular GA information on contentious dossiers. Systematic independent evaluation to fix opening bid. Articulation with other creditors — mortgage bank, tax authority — to optimise distribution. Provisional administrator procedure (Law 106-12) in parallel if syndic is defaulting.
- Formal notice sent (registered letter)
- Payment injunction obtained
- Forced mortgage inscribed before prescription (5 years)
- Independent RICS expertise commissioned
- Opening bid fixed at market value
- Sale publicity organised
- Distribution per creditor rank prepared
- Privilege prescription not tracked
- Opening bid not based on independent expertise
- Forced mortgage inscription delayed
- Distribution rank not analysed in advance
FAQ
What's the syndicate privilege prescription delay?
Generally 5 years per Law 18-00. Beyond, syndicate loses the mortgage guarantee but keeps the common-law recovery action (15 years per Moroccan DOC). Acting before prescription is essential.
How is the opening bid fixed?
Based on the lot's market value as determined by an independent expert. Too low risks derisory adjudication; too high risks deserted sale. RICS Red Book expertise provides defensible benchmark.
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