Land title and melkia: what a buyer must check

Registration places a property under a regime it can never leave. The land title cancels all earlier titles and clears every earlier right not recorded on it: it is final and unchallengeable, and it is the single starting point of all rights over the property (dahir of 12 August 1913, articles 1 and 62).

Nobody can acquire a registered property by prescription against the registered owner (article 63). An entry obtained by fraud or forgery can be challenged by the person harmed within four years of that entry (law 39-08, article 2).

An unregistered property, known as melkia, has no land title. Possession that meets the legal conditions gives a right to ownership until proven otherwise; a deed of sale is not enough on its own and must rest on the origin of the ownership and on lawful possession (law 39-08, article 3).

When the evidence conflicts, the court applies rules of precedence: a stated origin of ownership prevails over none, and proof of ownership over proof of possession. Checking takes longer and is less certain than with a land title.

• Registered property: ask for the land title number and a recent ownership certificate from the land registry. It names the registered owner and the charges (mortgage, seizure); it costs 100 DH and is issued the same day (ANCFCC schedule).
• Check that the seller is the registered owner, or holds a valid power of attorney.
• Property being registered: any right must be declared to the land registry during the procedure, otherwise it is cleared by the registration (ANCFCC).
• Melkia: have a notary examine the origin of ownership and the seller’s possession before paying anything.

The sale must be drawn up, on pain of nullity, as an authentic deed or as a deed with a certain date drafted by a lawyer admitted to the Court of Cassation (law 39-08, article 4).

On a registered property, the sale takes effect, even between the parties, only from its entry on the land title (dahir of 1913, articles 66 and 67). The entry must be requested within three months of the deed; after that, a penalty of 5% of the fees applies for the first month, then 0.5% per month (article 65 bis). The land registry fee is 1.5% of the price, plus a 100 DH fixed fee, with a minimum of 500 DH (ANCFCC schedule).

The owner files a registration application with the deeds. An extract is published in the Bulletin Officiel and posted, then a surveyor marks out the boundaries. After the notice closing the boundary survey is published, objections remain possible for two months; the registrar then issues the land title or sends the objections to the court (ANCFCC).

Land registry fees: 1% of the value, a 500 DH publicity fee, 50 DH per are in an urban area, a 100 DH fixed fee, minimum 1,000 DH; about twelve months without objections (ANCFCC schedule).