Checking a land title before you buy: the checklist
I regularly meet buyers who have signed a preliminary sale agreement on a plot with a "clean" land title, only to discover three months later that they cannot build the villa they had in mind. The titre foncier (land title) is a solid document, but it says nothing about what can actually be built. Here is the checklist I use before committing to a project, point by point, with the warning signs that go with each one.
What a land title proves, and what it does not
The titre foncier is issued by the land registry (ANCFCC) at the end of the registration procedure. It identifies the plot, its surface area, its owner and the real rights recorded against it. It is the most reliable document in Moroccan property law, and that is precisely why it creates a false sense of security.
The trap I see most often is always the same: a perfectly clean title does not entitle you to build what you have in mind. Ownership and buildability are two separate matters, handled by two different administrations. A buyer can be the undisputed owner of a 400 m² plot and still only be allowed a ground floor plus one storey on a reduced footprint, or nothing at all if the plot is zoned as non-buildable or affected by a road alignment.
Three pieces of information that do not appear on the land title
- Zoning and planning regulations: villa zone, apartment blocks, industrial, agricultural, non aedificandi zone. This comes under the development plan, not the land registry.
- Building envelope rules: floor area ratio (COS), ground coverage ratio, maximum height, number of storeys, mandatory setbacks.
- Planning and infrastructure easements: planned road widening, setback from a classified road, power line corridor, protection perimeter.
In other words, the land registry check and the planning check are carried out in parallel, never one after the other. A plot can only be judged on both together. I explain the logic of filing and processing an application in the guide on building permits in Morocco.
This guide describes what an architect observes in real files. It does not replace the advice of a notaire (notary) or a lawyer: it is not legal advice.
The 10 points to check before signing anything
This list should be worked through in order. Any point left without a clear answer is a reason not to sign, or at the very least to make the signature conditional.
- Obtain the land title number. A serious seller will provide it without hesitation, as a reference made up of a registry code and a number. A seller who refuses to give the number, or who only shows a cropped photocopy, is already telling you something.
- Check that the title really matches the plot you visited. Compare the attached plan, the physical boundaries on site and the location. In recent subdivisions, confusion between the neighbouring lot and the one being sold is common.
- Verify the seller's identity. The name on the title must match the identity document exactly. If a power of attorney is used, ask for the original and check its scope. In the case of an inheritance, the division must have been registered.
- Check whether it is an individual title or a parent title. Buying an undivided share in a large title that has not yet been subdivided is the situation that costs the most months of delay on a construction project.
- Obtain a recent certificate of ownership. This is the authoritative document, showing all marginal entries up to date. An online search is no substitute.
- Read every marginal entry, one by one. Mortgage, seizure, provisional registration, objection, right of way, pre-emption right, usufruct, long-term lease, earlier sale promise.
- Compare the surface area on the title with the surveyor's measurements. A discrepancy of a few square metres can be explained. A 10 % gap cannot, and you will pay for it later.
- Request the planning information note from the urban agency or the local authority, depending on the case: zone, COS, ground coverage, height, setbacks, alignments.
- Check road access and utilities. A landlocked plot, or one served by a road not open to public traffic, creates a permit problem before it ever creates a site problem.
- Have everything reviewed by a notaire or an adoul, and have the buildability aspect reviewed by an architect before signing the preliminary agreement, not after.
If the land is intended for a house, cross-check these elements against the floor area you can actually build. I explain this conversion in the guide on villa plans in Morocco, and the corresponding budget in house construction costs.
Online searches: what they give you, and what they do not
ANCFCC offers digital services allowing you to consult land registry information and, for owners, to track their titles. This is useful for a first pass: checking that a number exists, confirming a stated surface area, spotting an obvious inconsistency before you even travel to the site.
But an online search is not a certificate. It may reflect a situation that is only partly updated, may not show all marginal entries, and above all it does not carry the evidential weight of the document issued by the competent registry office. I never accept it as a file document: I treat it as an indication.
For fees, forms and exact procedures, the only source to use is the official ANCFCC website. The cost of obtaining a certificate of ownership or a copy of a plan remains modest in 2026, in the order of a few tens to a few hundred dirhams depending on the document requested, to be confirmed with ANCFCC. I deliberately quote no precise amount or statutory deadline: these change and must be verified at source.
Which document for which purpose
| Document | What it establishes | Useful recency | Where to obtain it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online search | Existence of the title, basic data | Indicative only, no evidential value | ANCFCC online services |
| Certificate of ownership | Owner and up-to-date marginal entries | Less than 1 month old at signature | Competent land registry office |
| Copy of the registry plan | Shape, boundaries, surface area on the title | To be cross-checked against the site | Land registry / cadastre |
| Topographic survey | Measured reality of the plot | Recent, before the preliminary agreement | Licensed land surveyor |
| Planning information note | Zone, COS, height, easements | Less than 6 months old | Urban agency or local authority |
How old a certificate of ownership can acceptably be
There is no official validity period that I would presume to state here. What I see in practice: a certificate more than three months old no longer tells you anything reliable, because an entry may have been recorded in the meantime. My working rule is simple: a certificate less than one month old to sign the preliminary agreement, and a final check on the date of the definitive deed. The cost is negligible compared with the risk.
Check points and warning signs
This is the grid I use when a client sends me a land file. Each line is either ticked or it is not: there is no "more or less".
| Check point | Warning sign | Likely consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Title number provided | Refusal, partial photocopy, illegible number | Stop the negotiation immediately |
| Owner's name | Discrepancy with the ID card, vague power of attorney | Contestable sale, deed blocked |
| Individual title | Share in a parent title | Permit impossible until the subdivision is registered |
| Mortgage | Entry not released on the day of the deed | Encumbered property, financing complicated |
| Seizure, objection, provisional registration | Any unexplained entry | Ongoing dispute, avoid signing |
| Right of way | Passage granted to a neighbouring property | Reduced footprint, siting to be reconsidered |
| Pre-emption right | Entry in favour of a third party or a public body | Sale liable to be set aside |
| Surface area | Gap of more than 2 to 3 % against the survey | Buildable area and price to be recalculated |
| Road access | Landlocked plot or road not open to the public | Refusal or blockage during processing |
| Zone in the development plan | Agricultural zone, non aedificandi, alignment | Project not feasible as it stands |
Three unticked lines on this table are usually enough to explain why a project that was due to start in March starts in October.
Title surface area versus surveyor's measurements: matching the two
The surface area recorded on the title is a legal figure. The land surveyor's measurement is a physical one. The two must match, and that is not always the case, particularly on older titles or those resulting from successive subdivisions.
I systematically request a recent survey before the preliminary agreement, with the boundary markers referenced and the limits measured. The cost amounts to a few thousand dirhams for a standard urban plot in 2026, to be confirmed by quotation from a licensed surveyor. It is the most profitable expense of the whole operation.
What I look at on the survey
- The difference in area: below 2 to 3 %, you are within the tolerance of the measurement methods. Beyond that, you need to understand where the difference comes from before paying a price per square metre.
- The actual shape: a plot described as rectangular that turns out to be a trapezoid changes the siting, the setbacks and sometimes the feasibility of the brief.
- Slope and levels: a 2 m drop across the depth of the plot means retaining structures and earthworks that weigh heavily on the budget.
- Encroachments: a neighbour's wall out of line, a building on the boundary, a gate that overhangs. These are resolved before the purchase, never after.
On the projects I handle in Casablanca as well as in Rabat, I often offer a feasibility review before purchase: reading the title, the planning note and the survey, then estimating the floor area that can genuinely be built. This review costs between 1,500 and 2,500 MAD (Moroccan dirhams) as a 2026 order of magnitude, to be confirmed by quotation depending on the location and the complexity of the file.
The parallel planning check: zone, COS, height
This is the part buyers most often confuse with the land registry side. The title says who owns the land and how large it is. The planning documents say what you can do with it. A seller can be perfectly honest and the plot perfectly titled, and the project still be unachievable.
The data to obtain before buying
- The zone in the development plan and the corresponding regulations.
- The COS and the ground coverage ratio, which determine the permitted floor area and footprint.
- The maximum height and number of storeys, along with the method of measurement used.
- The setbacks from boundaries and from the road, often underestimated on small plots.
- Planned alignments and road widenings, which can cut away an entire strip of the plot.
- Special perimeters: heritage protection, aeronautical easements, flood zones, industrial zones.
Here is an example of a calculation I run through with my clients: a 300 m² plot, a COS of 1.0 and a ground coverage of 60 %. That gives roughly 300 m² of floor area spread over a maximum footprint of 180 m², less setbacks. If the buyer had 400 m² of living space in mind, the plot is not suitable, however good the title may be.
Permit applications are filed through the Rokhas platform, and law 016-89 requires the file to be prepared and signed by an architect registered with the National Order of Architects. A file that is technically inadmissible under the zoning regulations will be rejected whatever the state of the land title. For figures, forms and required documents, refer to the official sources: the Rokhas portal and the ANCFCC website.
What actually causes blockages, and when to refuse to sign
These are the situations I genuinely encounter in files, ranked by the number of months they cost.
What blocks a permit even when the title is "clean"
- Unregistered subdivision. The seller promises that "the individual title is coming out soon". Until it is registered, the application cannot be completed. This is the longest and most frequent blockage.
- An overlooked right of way. Discovered at the siting stage, it forces the project to be redrawn and the submitted plans to be reworked.
- Road alignment. A 3 to 5 m strip taken from the frontage reduces the footprint and shifts the entire brief.
- A mismatch in surface area. It distorts the COS calculation and gets the file rejected at the first review.
- Non-compliant access. A plot served by a private right of way too narrow to meet safety requirements.
- Unresolved joint ownership. One co-heir absent or opposed, and both the deed and the permit remain on hold.
Cases where I advise against signing
- The seller refuses to provide the title number or supplies only an old copy.
- The certificate of ownership shows an unreleased mortgage, seizure or objection, with no written undertaking to have it lifted before the deed.
- The property is sold as an individual lot when the subdivision has not yet been registered with the land registry.
- The gap between the title surface area and the survey exceeds a few percent without documented explanation.
- The planning information note is missing, out of date, or incompatible with the intended brief.
- The plot has no direct access to a road open to public traffic.
- You are pressed to sign "before the end of the week" so as not to lose the deal. Pressure on the timetable is a warning sign in itself.
When only one of these situations applies, it is often still possible to sign a preliminary agreement with precise conditions precedent: obtaining a certificate of ownership free of any entry, registration of the subdivision, issue of a planning note compatible with the brief. Drafting those conditions is the notaire's job, not mine.
My contribution comes before the purchase, on feasibility, then on design and permit filing. The details of my services and their costs are set out on the fees page, and the other guides in this series are collected on the guides page. This text remains professional feedback from experience and does not constitute legal advice.
What clients ask me most
Can I check a land title online in Morocco without going through the land registry?
You can consult certain information online through ANCFCC's digital services: this lets you confirm that a number exists and get a first sense of a file. But this search does not carry the weight of a certificate of ownership and may not show all marginal entries. To sign, you need the document issued by the competent registry office.
How old can a certificate of ownership be before a signature?
There is no period that I would presume to state as regulatory. In practice, I ask for a certificate less than one month old for the preliminary agreement, and a final check on the date of the definitive deed, because an entry can be recorded in between. The exact procedures should be confirmed with ANCFCC.
Does a land title with no marginal entries guarantee that I can build?
No, and this is the most expensive misunderstanding. The title deals with ownership, not buildability. The zone, the COS, the ground coverage, the height and the planning easements appear in the planning documents, obtained from the urban agency or the local authority. A perfectly clean title can relate to a plot on which nothing may be built.
What should I do if the title area does not match the surveyor's measurements?
Below 2 to 3 %, the difference falls within the tolerance of measurement methods. Beyond that, you need to identify its origin before paying a price per square metre: encroachment, shifted boundary, old subdivision poorly transferred. This gap also distorts the COS calculation and can cause a permit application to be rejected.
How much does a full pre-purchase check cost?
Land registry and planning documents remain inexpensive, from a few tens to a few hundred dirhams depending on the document, to be confirmed with ANCFCC and the local authority. The topographic survey amounts to a few thousand dirhams depending on the plot. My feasibility review costs between 1,500 and 2,500 MAD as a 2026 order of magnitude, to be confirmed by quotation.
The seller is asking me to sign before the individual title is issued. Is that risky?
This is the situation that generates the most delays I see in files. Until the subdivision is registered, the permit cannot be granted. If you want to move forward, have the transaction framed by a condition precedent drafted by your notaire rather than by a verbal promise.
Found a plot? Have the file reviewed before you sign
Send me the title number, the certificate of ownership, the survey if there is one and the planning information note: I will tell you what you can genuinely build on that plot and what is missing from the file. Describe your project and its location via the <a href="/en/contact">contact</a> page or by phone on +212 661 25 78 84. You can also browse <a href="/en/projets">the projects</a> and the <a href="/en/a-propos">about</a> page to get a sense of how I work.
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