What Should a Morocco Eviction Notice Include?

Eviction Notice Format in Morocco: What It Must Contain

If you're a landlord in Morocco trying to end a residential lease, the eviction notice format isn't optional — get it wrong and the court sends you back to square one. Loi 67-12 governs residential leases and sets specific rules for how you notify a tenant. Here's what actually goes in the notice.

Quick answer

Under Loi 67-12, a residential eviction notice (congé) in Morocco must be served through a court clerk (huissier de justice / bailiff) or by judicial notice, not by regular mail or WhatsApp. The notice must identify the parties, the leased premises, the lease reference, the legal ground for eviction, the article of Loi 67-12 relied on, and give the tenant at least 2 months to vacate (longer for certain grounds). Signature, date, and proof of service matter as much as the wording itself.

What the eviction notice format must include

Loi 67-12 (the law regulating residential and professional leases, promulgated by Dahir n° 1-13-111) doesn't publish a fill-in-the-blank template. But Articles 44 to 59 make clear what a valid congé needs. Miss one element and the tenant's lawyer will use it.

The notice should state:

• Full name, address, and ID (CIN) of the landlord — or company details if a legal entity
• Full name and address of the tenant as they appear on the lease
• Clear description of the leased premises (address, floor, lot number if available)
• Reference to the lease contract (date, and whether written or verbal)
• The specific legal ground invoked — for example, unpaid rent (Art. 59), landlord's personal occupation (Art. 47), major reconstruction works (Art. 48), or expiry of a fixed-term contract
• The article of Loi 67-12 relied on
• The date by which the tenant must vacate — respecting the statutory notice period
• A statement that failure to comply will lead to judicial proceedings before the Tribunal de Première Instance
• Date and signature of the landlord
• Delivery through a huissier de justice (judicial bailiff), with the huissier's stamp and process-verbal

No stamp from a bailiff, no valid notice. This is where landlords slip up most often — sending a registered letter and assuming it counts. It doesn't.

Notice periods you actually have to respect

The eviction notice format is only half the job. The delay you give the tenant is the other half, and it varies by ground.

• Non-payment of rent (Art. 59): the landlord issues a mise en demeure to pay within 15 days. If the tenant doesn't pay, you can then file for eviction. The notice must reference Art. 59 explicitly.
• Landlord's personal occupation or occupation by a first-degree relative (Art. 47): minimum 2 months' notice before the intended date of recovery.
• Reconstruction, demolition, or major works (Art. 48): minimum 2 months, plus proof (building permit, architect's plans) attached to the file when you go to court.
• End of a fixed-term written lease: notice served at least 2 months before the term expires.

For commercial leases, you're in a different regime — Loi 49-16 — and the notice periods and grounds are entirely different. Don't mix them up.

Watch out: A notice served for the wrong ground (say, "personal occupation" when you actually plan to sell) can be attacked by the tenant, and courts have annulled congés where the stated ground turned out to be a pretext. The landlord who then occupies must genuinely occupy — for at least the period the court considers reasonable, typically 2 years in practice.

How the notice gets served

The huissier de justice (judicial bailiff) is the person who legally delivers the notice. You draft it, you sign it, then you take it to a huissier attached to the Tribunal de Première Instance where the property is located. The bailiff serves the tenant in person, or leaves it at the domicile with a procès-verbal, and returns a certified copy to you.

Bailiff fees for service of a congé typically run 200–500 MAD depending on the city and complexity, sometimes higher if multiple attempts are needed.

Keep the original process-verbal. You'll need it as Exhibit 1 when you file the eviction claim in court.

Some landlords try to serve notice through a notary or by huissier notification (notification par voie d'huissier). Both are recognized. What isn't recognized: registered post, email, SMS, or handing the paper to the tenant yourself. Courts have thrown out eviction files over exactly this.

What happens after the notice period expires

If the tenant vacates — done. Return the deposit, note the état des lieux de sortie, close the file.

If the tenant stays, you file an action en résiliation de bail et expulsion at the Tribunal de Première Instance of the place where the property sits. You'll need the lease, the congé with the bailiff's process-verbal, proof of the ground (unpaid rent receipts, birth certificate for the relative moving in, works permit, etc.), and your CIN or company registration.

Court fees for a rental eviction case in Morocco are modest — a few hundred dirhams in registration — but you'll typically want a lawyer, and hearings take 3 to 9 months to reach judgment in most jurisdictions. Enforcement adds another 1 to 3 months once you have an executory judgment.

Honestly? The eviction notice format is the easiest part to get right if you follow Loi 67-12 line by line. Where landlords lose is the proof file — showing the ground was real and the notice was properly served.

For more on the surrounding rules, see tenancy law in Morocco.

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