Rent review and increase in Morocco: what the law allows the landlord, and how to contest

1. The principle: freedom at signing, framing at revision

The starting point is simple: in Morocco, the initial rent is freely set between landlord and tenant. It is afterwards, during or at the end of the lease, that the law takes over. Increasing a sitting rent is neither free nor unilateral — the procedure depends on the nature of the lease:

• Residential lease (and non-commercial professional): governed by Law 67-12 of 19 November 2013. Conventional revision if a clause provides for it, otherwise the tenant's agreement, otherwise a decision of the court of first instance.
• Commercial, industrial or craft lease: governed by Law 49-16 of 18 August 2016. Revision possible every three years only, within capped limits, litigation before the commercial court.

The common thread of both regimes is the same: you do not revise a rent "by estimate", you bring it back to an objective benchmark — the property's market rental value.

2. Housing (Law 67-12): three routes to revise the rent

For a dwelling let for residential use, the rent revision takes one of these three routes:

• Conventional revision. If the lease contains a revision clause (indexation, fixed annual increase), it applies according to the terms set in the contract. Hence the landlord's interest in inserting this clause when drafting the written lease.
• Amicable agreement. Absent a clause, landlord and tenant may agree on a new rent. A contradictory appraisal upstream helps set an amount accepted by both sides and avoid litigation.
• Judicial revision. Failing agreement, one of the parties may seize the court of first instance, which rules on the rental value of the dwelling in light of the current market. The judge generally relies on an appraisal report.

The most frequent case is that of the clearly below-market rent: a lease concluded ten or fifteen years ago, at a rent now well below the market. The landlord may request the reassessment, but will have to demonstrate the gap. Conversely, a tenant faced with a disproportionate rent may request a downward revision. In both directions, the mechanics are identical: everything rests on the rental value established by comparison with recent rentals of similar properties in the same area.

3. Commercial (Law 49-16): the capped three-yearly revision

The commercial lease obeys a more rigid regime, designed to stabilize the flows of both the lessee and the landlord. The initial rent remains freely set (art. 10), but its revision is strictly framed:

• A revision every three years (art. 11), based on a reference index — in practice the consumer price index published by the HCP — or a comparison with the rents of the area.
• A cap on the increase (art. 12): 8% for premises used for professional purposes and 10% for purely commercial premises, save for notable transformations justifying a judicial reassessment.
• The litigation of the revision falls to the territorially competent commercial court.

This cap explains why commercial premises let for a long time can end up well below the market: even applied at each due date, a capped increase rarely catches up with a surge in area rents. This gap between the sitting rent and the rental value bears directly on the property's value.

4. Contesting an increase: who decides, and on what basis

First thing to know, on the tenant's side: an increase is not imposed by a simple letter. Outside a contractual revision clause, the landlord may proposean increase, but if the tenant refuses it, the landlord cannot apply it on their own — they must obtain the tenant's agreement or seize the judge.

And then it is the court that decides, on the basis of the rental value:

• Housing (Law 67-12): the court of first instance sets the new rent in light of the dwelling's rental value on the current market.
• Commercial (Law 49-16): the commercial court rules within the three-yearly cap, save for notable transformations justifying a reassessment beyond.

An essential point to understand: in court matters, it is the judge who appoints the expert. The report of an independent private appraisal does not replace the judicial expertise: it serves to objectify the debate and support a party's position with third parties — to calibrate a defensible request, negotiate an amicable agreement before trial, or seriously contest a disproportionate request. It is a decision and negotiation tool, not a substitute for the mission ordered by the court.

5. Below-market or above-market: two situations, one method

Rent revision almost always turns on the gap between the rent paid and the rent the market would demand today:

• Below-market rent (landlord claimant). Old lease, frozen rent: the landlord wants to catch up with the market. Their challenge is to quantify the current rental value incontestably to ground their reassessment request — by documented comparison, not by assertion.
• Excessive increase (tenant defendant). The landlord demands a market alignment deemed disproportionate. The tenant's challenge is to demonstrate the real gap: a request for +50% or +80% often comes down, appraisal in hand, to a much more modest real gap, and leads to a negotiated moderate increase rather than a long procedure.

In both cases, the same method settles the dispute: the rental-value appraisalby comparison, integrating the property's condition, wear and tear, fittings, exposure and rental situation. It is this same notion of rental value that serves as a reference in other rental disputes, such as the occupation indemnity when a property must be recovered from an occupant without right.

6. Landlord: securing your revision request

• Anticipate in the lease. Insert a revision clause (indexation, periodic increase) when drafting the written lease: it is the simplest route and avoids recourse to the judge.
• Respect the calendar. For commercial leases, revision only opens once every three years; a request out of period is inadmissible.
• Document before requesting. A reassessment request supported by a rental-value report has a defensible range, a written methodology and recorded comparables — far more solid than a letter invoking "the market rise".
• Check the economic logic. Before recovering a property rather than revising it, make sure you are not depriving yourself of a rent higher than the rental value.

7. Tenant: contesting without being at fault

• Do not give in to the pressure of a letter. Outside a revision clause, a refused increase does not apply without agreement or a court decision.
• Keep paying the current rent. Contesting an increase does not exempt you from paying the current rent: non-payment is a ground for termination.
• Counter with a figure, not an impression. A contradictory rental-value report demonstrates the real gap and shifts the discussion from feeling to data.
• Prefer the amicable agreement when the gap is small: a negotiated moderate increase often costs less than a procedure.

8. FAQ

To document your property's rental value, get it valued by our independent RICS appraisal service and browse more analyses on the ReaConsult blog. The terms, deadlines, indices and caps depend on the texts in force and their application: confirm your precise situation with your lawyer or notary. In court matters, the expert is appointed by the judge; a private appraisal serves to objectify the negotiation and support a position, not to substitute for the expertise ordered by the court.