In brief:Casablanca Commercial Court of Appeal, 01/06/2023 (ref. 61304). Khaled, majority co-owner (>75%), sued Mahmoud, an occupant without right or title of a commercial unit. First instance: dismissed. On appeal: reversed. The majority owner holding >3/4 has standing to act alone, on the basis of article 971 of the DOC: “holding more than three quarters of the undivided shares confers on the owner the right to bring the eviction action alone.” Proof of ownership: land title + an appraisal report establishing that the commercial unit is part of the undivided property. Eviction ordered — the occupant produced no legitimate title. A crucial lever for heirs and co-owners blocked by a blocking minority.
1. The overlooked weapon: article 971 of the DOC
Article 971 of the Moroccan DOC is a valuable but under-used text. The Court gives it a directly operational formulation:
The rule is functional: it prevents the joint ownership from being blocked by a dissenting or defaulting minority. For simple acts of management (and the eviction of an occupant without title is one of them), the qualified majority owner can act alone. This does not give the power to dispose of the property (sale, mortgage) — for those acts, unanimity remains required. But to manage, preserve and defend, yes.
2. Why this ruling changes the game for Moroccan successions
Property successions in Morocco are often frozen by multi-heir indivision with unequal shares. It only takes a single minority heir refusing to sign to block a sale, a lease, or even a simple action to evict an undesirable occupant. This is the daily drama of hundreds of families, notably MRE (Moroccans living abroad), who see their inherited properties occupied by a cousin, a neighbour, a former caretaker — unable to act as long as they cannot gather unanimity.
The June 2023 ruling opens a path: if you (or a group of consensual heirs) hold more than 75% of the shares, you can act ALONE. No need for the consent of the difficult cousin, the absent minority heir abroad, or the disagreeing heir. It is an operational lever that concretely unblocks successions paralysed for years.
3. How to prove the 75% in practice
The three-quarters threshold must be demonstrated to the court in an incontestable way. Here are the exhibits to gather:
- Deed of notoriety (adoul or notary) identifying all heirs and their respective shares under Moroccan succession law (Moudawana / Personal Status Code)
- Land title (or ANCFCC ownership certificate) mentioning the co-owners if the registration has been made
- Detailed calculation of shares in precise fractions (1/4, 1/8, 3/16…) according to the rules of succession devolution
- If you consolidated shares (buyouts of other heirs): the corresponding deeds of transfer
- Real estate appraisal report precisely identifying the property and its cadastral designation — this is the exhibit that led the Court to recognise standing in our ruling
Blocked in an undivided family property? An appraisal report identifies the asset and supports your standing to act.
Request an appraisal4. The strategy for blocked MRE heirs
If you are an MRE heir with a family property occupied without title by a third party for years, here is a proven protocol:
- Map the indivision: all heirs, their shares, their positions (consensual, undecided, opposing)
- Consolidate the shares by buying out the shares of consensual heirs who wish to exit — to reach the 75% threshold if you do not hold it alone
- Establish the indivision diagnosis with our specialised appraisal service: value of the shares, fair buyout price, exit strategy
- Instruct a local lawyer for the eviction action, supported by the June 2023 case law
- If the occupant raises prescription claims: prepare the defence (occupation without title never founds acquisitive prescription on a registered property)
To value the shares and identify the property, use our independent RICS appraisal service, review our condominium advisory, browse more analyses on the ReaConsult blog, or contact our team.