1. Scope and the co-ownership regulation
References: Art. 1 · Art. 6 · Art. 8 · Art. 9 · Art. 21 · model regulation
The law applies to built property divided into apartments, floors or premises, owned by several people and split into lots that each combine a private part and an undivided share of the common parts. It also applies to ensembles of buildings, villas or premises, attached or separate, whose common parts are held in indivision, whether the land is registered, being registered or unregistered.
The law speaks of the undivided share (quote-part), where everyday French usage often says “tantièmes”. A lot’s undivided share is its area divided by the total area of the private parts when the co-ownership was created, unless the title deeds or the general meeting decide otherwise.
Every building must have a co-ownership regulation, drafted by the original owner or by the co-owners by agreement, and every co-owner receives a copy. If there is none, the model regulation set by Decree No. 2-17-354 of 23 October 2017 applies.
A clause restricting a co-owner’s rights over their private parts is void, unless it concerns the building’s use, character or location. The regulation is adopted or amended by three quarters of the co-owners’ votes, and it must set out, among other things:
- the use of the private and common parts, and the conditions of that use
- the rules for administering the common parts
- the distribution of the undivided shares
- the rules for running the syndicate and the general meeting
- the criteria for appointing the syndic and the deputy syndic
- the charges for conservation, maintenance and administration
- the charges for common equipment and for each collective service
- each co-owner’s share of the charges, by undivided share
2. The syndicate, the syndic and the deputy
References: Art. 13 · Art. 19 · Arts. 29 to 29 quater (29 مكرر 3)
The syndicate of co-owners exists by law from the registration of the first transfer of a lot. It has legal personality and financial autonomy, and its purpose is to conserve, maintain and administer the common parts. It is run by the general meeting and managed by the syndic and the deputy syndic, and it is liable for damage caused by negligent management.
The general meeting appoints the syndic and the deputy from among the co-owners present or represented, by three quarters of the co-owners’ votes, for a renewable term of two years, and revokes them by the same majority. The syndic may also be someone outside the co-ownership, appointed by the same majority: a natural or legal person who practises property management as a liberal profession. The law sets no licensing regime.
If no one is appointed, the president of the court of first instance makes the appointment at a co-owner’s request.
The Moroccan “conseil syndical” (syndicate council) is not the supervisory council of French law. It exists only where a complex is run by more than one syndicate, and it brings together the syndic and the deputy of each of them. The law provides no supervisory council inside a single syndicate.
3. Convening the general meeting
References: Art. 16 ter (16 مكرر 2) · Art. 24 · Art. 16 · Art. 16 quater (16 مكرر 3) · Art. 26 ter (26 مكرر 2) · Art. 16 quinquies (16 مكرر 4) · Art. 16 sexies (16 مكرر 5) · Art. 16 octies (16 مكرر 7) · Art. 16 septies (16 مكرر 6)
The ordinary general meeting meets at least once a year, within thirty days of the end of the current year. An extraordinary meeting can be held whenever needed.
Another provision has the meeting convene, to vote the budget, within six months of the last day of the previous accounting year. Both rules date from Law 106-12 and stand side by side in the text; this guide reports both without choosing between them.
The syndic convenes the meeting. The first meeting is convened by one or more co-owners. If the syndic does not convene it, one third of the co-owners may ask them to; if there is no response, a single co-owner may convene it eight days after serving the syndic with a formal notice. A resigning syndic must convene the meeting within thirty days.
The notice of meeting goes to each co-owner by any legal means of notification, at the last personal or professional address they gave the syndic, at least fifteen days before the meeting. It states the place, date, time, agenda items and draft resolutions, and it reminds co-owners that anyone who has not paid the common charges will not be admitted to the meeting. The meeting is held within the commune.
Any co-owner may ask the syndic, at least twenty-four hours before the meeting, to put a question on the agenda; if the syndic refuses, the meeting may still consider it. The meeting decides validly only on agenda items and after a proper notice of meeting, save for the exceptions the law allows in an emergency.
If the accounts or the budget are on the agenda, the notice of meeting says how to consult the supporting documents, and the syndic makes the contracts and vouchers available at least three days before the meeting. At least fifteen days before, every co-owner must be able to see:
- the financial situation and the general management account
- the draft budget, with the last budget voted
- the main terms of the contracts
4. Deciding in the general meeting
References: Art. 18 · Art. 16 decies (16 مكرر 9) · Art. 20 · Art. 21 · Arts. 22 and 44 · Art. 45 · Art. 17 · Art. 16 nonies (16 مكرر 8) · Art. 30 · Art. 59 duodecies (59 مكرر 11) · Art. 59 undecies (59 مكرر 10)
The meeting can decide only if at least half of the co-owners are present or represented. Otherwise a second meeting is held within thirty days with the co-owners who attend, and it decides “by majority”.
Each co-owner votes in proportion to their rights in the lot, as the regulation fixes them. Depending on its subject, a decision is taken by one of three majorities:
- A relative majority of the co-owners present or represented, in particular for the upkeep and safety of the building, authorising a co-owner’s works that affect the common parts or the exterior, antennas, access for disabled people and the concierge.
- Three quarters of the co-owners’ votes, in particular to adopt or amend the regulation, appoint or revoke the syndic and the deputy, set the syndic’s fees, approve the budget, the charges and the major-works fund, and decide on improvements and major works.
- Unanimity to put up a new building or raise the building, convert common parts into private parts, carry out works that change the common parts, decide on rights to raise or excavate, demolish the whole building or rebuild it after total destruction.
The text requires “three quarters of the co-owners’ votes” without saying whether that means all the votes of the syndicate or only those of the co-owners present or represented. Nor does it say whether the second meeting, which decides “by majority”, is still bound by three quarters or unanimity for the decisions that require them. This guide quotes these phrases without interpreting them.
A co-owner may be represented under a written proxy, given to a member of the syndicate or to someone else. One proxy holder may represent no more than three co-owners, whose combined votes are no more than 10% of the total.
The meeting elects its chair from among its members and appoints a secretary; neither the syndic nor the deputy may chair it, but the syndic may act as secretary with the meeting’s consent. The minutes, signed by the chair and the secretary, are notified by the syndic to every co-owner, with all the decisions, within eight days and by any legal means.
An aggrieved co-owner may contest a decision before the president of the court of first instance where the property is located, in summary proceedings, for breach of the law or of a regulation. The action must be brought within two months of the day they were informed of the decision; after that, it is time-barred.
5. The syndic’s duties
References: Art. 26 · Art. 28 · Art. 32 · Art. 24, paras. 4 and 5 · Decree 2-23-700, Art. 1 · Decree 2-23-700, Art. 2
The syndic must:
- apply the co-ownership regulation
- collect contributions against a receipt
- issue, on a sale, a certificate to the co-owner who owes the syndicate nothing more
- draw up a regular budget and keep accounts showing the position of the syndicate and of each co-owner
- inform the co-owners of the financial situation at least every six months (the official French translation says “situation de la trésorerie”)
- keep the archives and registers, and give the co-owners access to them, especially before the meeting that reviews the accounts
- open a bank account in the syndicate’s name and deposit the funds received there without delay
- represent the syndicate in court
The syndic reports on its activity to the general meeting. When a successor is appointed, the syndic must hand over all documents, archives, registers, accounts and funds within fifteen days, under penalty of a daily fine ordered in summary proceedings. Every co-owner may consult the archives.
The accounts follow the accounting rules set by regulation, are presented against the previous year and are kept on an accrual basis.
Those accounting rules are set by Decree No. 2-23-700, applicable since 1 January 2026 to a syndicate whose accounting year is the calendar year. Read the guide to Decree 2-23-700
6. Charges and funds
References: Art. 36 · model regulation · Art. 24 · Art. 37 bis (37 مكرر 1) · Art. 37
The law distinguishes two categories of charges. The costs of conserving, maintaining and managing the common parts are shared by each lot’s undivided share. The costs of collective services and common equipment are shared by the utility those services and equipment have for each lot. The model regulation repeats this distinction. The Moroccan text does not use the labels “general charges” and “special charges”.
Every year, the general meeting votes a budget and a special fund for major maintenance works. Contributions fall due on the first day of each quarter, unless the meeting decides otherwise. The syndic may call a supplementary contribution, which the next meeting must ratify.
The official French translation uses the word “provision” in two senses: for the periodic contributions and for this major-works fund.
A reserve account is optional. The meeting may provide for one to meet unusual or urgent expenses; it is funded periodically by all the co-owners, and its amount and use are set by three quarters of the votes. In an emergency, the syndic may use it with written notice to each co-owner.
The split of the charges can be changed only by a vote of the meeting or by a court.
7. Unpaid charges
References: Art. 25 · Art. 25 bis (25 مكرر) · Art. 36 bis (36 مكرر) · Art. 40 · Art. 40 bis (40 مكرر 1) · Art. 41 · Art. 42 · Art. 43 · Art. 16 quinquies, para. 2 (16 مكرر 4)
The syndic needs no authorisation from the meeting to sue. When an instalment is unpaid on its due date, the remaining instalments fall due once a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt has gone unanswered for more than thirty days, counted from the day after its first presentation. The syndic then starts the payment-order procedure, and the order is provisionally enforceable despite an appeal.
By way of exception to Article 155 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the president of the court of first instance issues the payment order on the basis of four documents:
- the minutes of the meeting that approved the year’s charges
- a statement of the debtor co-owner’s debts, certified by the syndic
- a property certificate showing the debtor’s undivided share
- proof that the formal notice was served
The order is issued within three months at most.
The debt is secured by a forced mortgage on the lot and its undivided share: if the co-owner refuses a voluntary mortgage, the syndic sends them a statement of the debt with a certified copy of the meeting’s decision, and the court orders the forced mortgage eight days after its receipt. The debt also carries a privilege over the movables in the unit and over the rent. A buyer of a lot is jointly liable with the seller for the seller’s debts to the syndicate.
The debt is time-barred five years after its approval by the general meeting.
A co-owner who has not paid the common charges “will not be admitted” to the general meeting, and the notice of meeting must say so. The law sets no threshold of arrears from which this rule applies.
8. How the law has been amended
References: Law 106-12, Art. 4 · Official Bulletin No. 6465 · Arts. 13, 16, 16 ter (16 مكرر 2), 16 quinquies (16 مكرر 4) and 30 · Law 39.24, Art. 2 · Official Bulletin No. 7328 · Art. 12 · Law 41.25, Art. 2 · Official Bulletin No. 7526
Law 106-12, published in Official Bulletin No. 6465 of 16 May 2016, amended and supplemented Law 18-00; several rules in this guide come from it, including the fifteen-day notice and the two deadlines for the meeting. It required existing co-ownership regulations to be brought into line within the year after it entered into force; clauses not brought into line are void.
Law 39.24, published in Official Bulletin No. 7328 and in force on the day of its publication, 22 August 2024, amends five articles of Law 18-00:
- the syndicate may sue, including against a co-owner, where conciliation and mediation have failed, whereas Law 106-12 named conciliation only; the text sets no procedure for this mediation
- notices of meeting and notification of decisions are made “by any legal means of notification”; the registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt and the bailiff are no longer named
- the notice of the first meeting must include the agenda
- the posting of the list of co-owners, which Law 106-12 required for the first meeting, is no longer in the text
- the fifteen-day notice period is unchanged
Not from Law 39.24 but from Law 106-12: the fifteen-day notice, the first meeting convened by one or more co-owners, and a single co-owner convening the meeting after a request by one third of them went unanswered.
Law 41.25, published in Official Bulletin No. 7526 of 16 July 2026, rewrites Article 12: every act transferring a lot, or creating or changing a real right in a lot, must be an authentic deed, on pain of nullity. A dated deed drawn up by a lawyer is no longer an option, and the text contains no deferred-commencement clause.
No official French or English text of Laws 39.24 and 41.25 exists: this section translates their Arabic text.
9. Remedies, and what the law does not provide
References: Arts. 59 bis to 59 decies (59 مكرر 1 to 59 مكرر 9) · Art. 27
Where the syndicate cannot pay its debts or preserve the building, the court may appoint a provisional administrator, at the request of the syndic or of 10% of the co-owners. The mandate lasts up to one year; it suspends the syndic and the general meeting and freezes creditors’ actions.
The consolidated text contains no criminal penalty. Its tools are civil: the daily fine, the liability of the syndic and the deputy, the voiding of certain clauses and provisional administration.
What Coprio equips among the Article 26 duties
Coprio is management software. It helps the syndic carry out some of the Article 26 duties; it does not carry them out in the syndic’s place, and using it does not make a syndic compliant with the law.
Collect contributions against a receipt.
In Coprio: Payments and receipts
Keep accounts showing the position of each co-owner, and inform the co-owners of the financial situation.
In Coprio: Dashboard and reports · Owner app
Draw up a budget.
In Coprio: Expenses and budgets
Keep the archives and give the co-owners access to them.
In Coprio: Documents and announcements
Everything else remains entirely the syndic’s own: opening the bank account in the syndicate’s name and depositing the funds, representing the syndicate in court, applying the co-ownership regulation and issuing the certificate due on a sale.
Sources and official texts
The texts this guide relies on, as published on sgg.gov.ma and adala.justice.gov.ma. The number, date and page let you find each text again if a link changes.
- Law No. 18-00 on the status of co-ownership of built property, promulgated by dahir No. 1-02-298 of 3 October 2002
Official Bulletin No. 5054 of 7 November 2002, p. 3175 · PDF in Arabic
- Law No. 106-12, amending Law No. 18-00
Official Bulletin No. 6465 of 16 May 2016, p. 3781 · PDF in Arabic
- Law No. 39.24, amending Law No. 18-00
Official Bulletin No. 7328 of 22 August 2024, p. 5367 · PDF in Arabic
- Law No. 41.25, rewriting Article 12 of Law No. 18-00
Official Bulletin No. 7526 of 16 July 2026, p. 4425–4426 · PDF in Arabic
- Consolidated Arabic text of Law No. 18-00, up to date as of 16 July 2026
PDF in Arabic
- Official consolidated French translation of Law No. 18-00, as amended by Law No. 106-12
PDF in French
- The official translation edition of the Official Bulletin on which that translation is based
Official Bulletin No. 6514 of 3 November 2016, p. 1664 · PDF in French
- Decree No. 2-17-354 of 23 October 2017, the model co-ownership regulation
Official Bulletin No. 6635 of 1 January 2018 · PDF in Arabic