Most spoliation victims learn what happened too late: when selling, when inheriting, or during a summer visit. Yet the State now offers a way to be warned early, and a few simple habits cut off most scenarios. This article explains what an owner can do today, without a lawyer and at almost no cost.
1. Register for the “Mohafadati” alert service
The National Agency for Land Registration, Cadastre and Cartography has launched a mobile application, “Mohafadati”, which lets the holder of a land title check the status of the title and receive a notification of any application for entry or formality concerning it. The principle is simple: if someone tries to register a sale, a mortgage or a power of attorney against your title, you are alerted before the operation is complete and can act the same day, instead of discovering the facts years later. Registration uses the national ID and the title references; add every title you hold, including undivided shares.
2. A certificate of ownership every year
The certificate of ownership (Land Registry certificate) is an official document showing the state of the title on a given date: registered owner, charges, mortgages, protective registrations, pending applications. Request it once a year from the Registry that holds your title, before any long absence, and keep the dated copies: the series of certificates is your proof of when any suspicious entry appeared.
3. Update your address with the Land Registry
Many notifications and summonses are sent to the address on the title. If that is an old house or a Moroccan address you no longer live at, nothing will reach you. Declare your current address, telephone and e-mail.
4. Powers of attorney: the first source of danger
- Never give an open-ended general power of attorney, even to a relative.
- A special power of attorney names the property by its title reference, the authorised act and the duration, and is drawn up in the form required by Law 39-08 (Article 4) for real-estate transactions.
- Revoke old powers of attorney by authentic instrument and file a copy of the revocation with the Land Registry so that it is noted.
5. The empty property and the inherited property
Abandoned property, or property whose estate has not been settled, is the first target of organised networks: the Ministry of Justice, with the Interior Ministry and the Land Registry, has counted thousands of abandoned properties exposed to spoliation. If you hold such a property: keep possession (a tenant, a caretaker, documented visits) and have the heirs entered on the title without delay after a death, because a title left for years in a deceased person’s name is an open invitation.
6. What to do if you receive an alert for an unknown application
- Immediately request a certificate of ownership and a copy of the application filed.
- Lodge an opposition or a protective registration depending on the nature of the application, then a complaint if a forgery appears.
- Do not wait for the summer or a trip to Morocco: a power of attorney legalised at the consulate is enough for the lawyer to act.
See also: My property was sold with a forged power of attorney: what to do and Deadlines for a property-fraud complaint.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Mohafadati service?
An application launched by the National Agency for Land Registration, Cadastre and Cartography that lets the holder of a land title check the status of the title and receive a notification of any application for entry or formality concerning it. It is the most effective way to learn early of an attempted spoliation.
How often should I request a certificate of ownership?
At least once a year, before any long trip, and immediately if in doubt. The certificate is requested from the Land Registry that holds the title, and any interested person may obtain it.
I live abroad and cannot travel. What can I do?
Register for the alert service, update your address and contact details with the Land Registry, and give a trusted person a special power of attorney limited in time and scope, never an open general one.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every matter has its own facts and calls for its own assessment.
