This chapter takes an in-depth look at the challenges related to housing in Morocco's cities and offers an analysis of the programmes currently being implemented, including social housing policy and the fight against substandard housing. In line with the guidelines of Chapter 4, this chapter then proposes recommendations to improve housing policy in Moroccan cities, in particular to promote the production of comprehensive and better-quality social housing, to support the improvement of housing as part of an integrated approach to urban renewal, to integrate rental housing into housing policy, and to measure and evaluate policies at national, regional, and local levels.
National Urban Policy Review of Morocco
Abstract
Access to adequate housing has been recognised as an integral part of the right to an adequate standard of living in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ONU Habitat, 2010[1]).
In Morocco, having decent housing adapted to the needs of households is a constitutional right. As in OECD countries, housing is an important lever for social and territorial development, and a driver of economic growth. This is why, for several decades, Morocco has implemented major interventionist policies aimed at meeting a growing demand for housing, particularly in cities, and at promoting housing production in order to contribute to the reduction of the housing deficit and improve the living conditions of Moroccan households, especially the poorest. The policies implemented have thus enabled decisive progress and structuring achievements, including in terms of urban development.
However, many challenges exist, with quantitative and qualitative deficits in housing that remain significant. The mismatch between supply and demand, which has persisted for several years and is mainly caused by the high cost of land, administrative complexity, and the tax pressure exerted on this sector, has been amplified by recent global crises and natural disasters, and their consequences in terms of inflation and declining purchasing power. Paradoxically, while the need for current and future housing is very high in Morocco's cities, the number of vacant homes is also high and increasing in urban areas, and must be the subject of special attention. In addition, some housing policies implemented over the past two decades in Morocco have shown limitations. This is the case with the social housing policy, which has often benefited middle-class households rather than low-income households, and the Cities Without Slums (Villes sans Bidonvilles) programme, which, despite its overall success, has not been able to reach all targeted households. Difficulties also persist in integrating housing into the urban fabric due to the lack of facilities and services in certain neighbourhoods.
In 2021, Morocco's New Development Model (Nouveau Modèle de Développement, NDM), which represents the roadmap of the government economic programme, advocates for “improving access to decent housing and adopting a housing policy that promotes social diversity, contributes to mobility and socio-economic inclusion and a better living environment, and ensures an efficient use of public resources”. A new housing policy is needed in Morocco based on a comprehensive, better quality housing production that meets the needs of all social segments, establishes a framework for action and aid in favour of self-construction and/or supervised self-production, improves housing within the framework of an integrated approach to urban renewal, offers greater consideration of rental housing in housing policy, and promotes evaluation measures at the national, regional and local level.
Most data mentioned in this section are based on the 2014 Population and Housing Census (Recensement de la population et de l’habitat de 2014, RGPH 2014), the Housing Survey conducted in 2012, and the 2015 National Survey on Housing Demand, which can limit the analysis. A new general population and housing census will be carried out in September 2024 and a housing survey is scheduled for 2026.
Significant accumulated and future needs for housing
Despite a marked improvement in the housing situation in Moroccan cities between 2004 and 2014 thanks to major interventionist policies such as the social housing, low-value housing (habitat à faible valeur immobilière, VIT) and Cities without Slums (Villes sans Bidonvilles, VSB) programmes, numerous challenges persist. The first major challenge is the persistence of still significant needs. These needs are linked, on the one hand, to the quantitative deficit of existing housing (i.e. the number of housing units that are lacking to meet current needs) and, on the other hand, to the future needs that will arise with the formation of new households and the necessary renewal of the housing stock. According to a study conducted in 2014 (latest estimate available), the cumulative housing needs (quantitative housing deficit and current and future needs) for the country's urban areas by 2030 were estimated at 2,9 million units: nearly 600 000 for the quantitative deficit to be filled, 2,1 million for future needs related to the formation of new households, and nearly 200 000 housing units that are set to disappear. While these cumulative needs have certainly decreased since 2014 thanks to a reduction of the current deficit (according to recent data, the housing deficit has decreased in recent years, from nearly 386 000 units in 2020 to nearly 340 000 units in 2022), current and future housing needs remain significant, as a result of population growth and rural exodus. This mismatch between housing supply and demand is also due to the high cost of land, administrative delays, and the tax pressure exerted on this sector. These obstacles thus lead to a proliferation of under-equipped and unregulated housing groups, particularly on the urban periphery. The dilapidation and precariousness of ageing housing stock in several urban areas is also due to the poverty of their occupants.
While the proportion of slums and basic housing has fallen sharply since the implementation of the Cities without Slums programme in 2004 (with a 74% achievement rate of the total objectives, with more than 300 000 households having seen their housing conditions improve by the end of 2021, i.e. 68% of the households currently targeted, and more than 100% of the initial number of households targeted in 2004 (270 000)), the problem persists, especially in large cities. The quantitative housing deficit is essentially made up of substandard housing that needs to be replaced because it does not meet the minimum conditions for adequate housing. These include basic constructions that are in danger of collapse located in deprived areas, in permanent housing areas or in the old urban core of the medina, and which have a dangerous, basic, or non-existent structure. The city of Casablanca is the most affected (Box 5.1), followed by Fez, Marrakech, Salé, Tangier and Rabat, with more than 40% of the housing stock in need of replacement. The accumulated and unmet housing needs also include households forced to cohabit with others in their homes, with more than 5% of households in the country's urban areas affected by cohabitation. The number of housing units to be produced to meet the needs of new households corresponds to the largest share of the quantitative deficit (more than 70%) and is mainly in urban areas where most households are expected to live in the coming decades.
In 2014, three-quarters of slum housing or basic housing was located in urban areas.
At the regional level, the Casablanca-Settat region is by far the most affected by this type of housing. In 2014, it accounted for about 45% of the total housing of this type in all the country's urban areas and nearly half of the urban population concerned (nearly 500 000 people), ahead of the regions of Rabat-Salé-Kenitra (25.0% of the slum population, with more than 260 000 people affected) and Marrakech-Safi (5.9%, nearly 63 000 people). In 2014, nearly 10% of the urban population of the Greater Casablanca-Settat region lived in slum or basic housing. The proportion was 8.0% in the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra region.
At the city level, the city of Casablanca comes first, with just over a quarter of the country's total urban slum stock. It is followed by the municipality of Témara (5.5% of the stock), Marrakech (5.1%), and the municipality of Ain Harrouda, the site of the Zenata major urban project, with just over 10 000 slum dwellings.
In the country's urban areas, more than two-thirds of slum households were homeowners, 11.0% rented, and 14.6% were free of charge. In terms of equipment, 89% of slums had a kitchen and 94% had toilets. In contrast, 93% did not have a modern bath or shower. Only 42% of the slums were connected to the electricity distribution network and 70% to the water distribution network. The disposal of wastewater from these slums through the public network was only 39%.
Source: RGPH 2014.
A high share of housing vacancies and on the rise in urban areas
Paradoxically, while the need for current and future housing is very high in Morocco's cities, the number of vacant homes is also high and increasing in urban areas. Vacant housing accounts for nearly 16% of the urban housing stock. About 90% of the country's vacant homes are concentrated in urban areas. According to data from the 2012 Housing Survey, which also looked at vacant dwellings, these were mostly recently constructed (more than two-thirds completed after 1990) and in relatively good condition. The vacancy period was relatively long, with 56% of them nationally unoccupied for more than 24 months, suggesting a mismatch between the demand for housing and recent housing production (possibly in terms of housing types or location).
The major challenge of improving housing quality in cities
In addition to the quantitative need for housing, improving the quality of housing in cities is another major challenge. This notion of "qualitative deficit", which is used in some OECD countries such as Chile, Mexico and Colombia (OECD, 2022[2]), does not exist as such in Morocco. The qualitative deficit refers to housing that is not considered adequate but can nevertheless be improved without being replaced. However, the qualitative deficit is addressed indirectly and implicitly through the issue of unsanitary conditions, which is the preferred approach in Morocco to assess the current state of the housing stock. For several decades, the problem of insalubrity has occupied a very important place in the field of public housing policies in Morocco. It has led to the development of a very detailed reference framework comprising six levels of sanitary conditions, intended to make it possible to identify in a very detailed manner the different existing situations in this area.1
According to the 2012 Housing Survey, nearly one-third of the housing stock in urban areas was unsanitary at one level or another, and nearly two-thirds of the substandard urban housing stock was in the regions of Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier, Fez, Meknes and Marrakech. By way of comparison, the qualitative housing deficit was estimated at 20% of the housing stock at the national level in Chile (Henoch, 2022[3]) and concerned 29% of households in Colombia (OECD, 2022[2]). According to the same 2012 survey, for all levels of sanitariness except the first (which corresponds to precarious constructions), the modern Moroccan house, which is a type of dense individual urban housing produced by self-construction or self-production2 and very widespread in Morocco, is the most affected by unsanitary conditions. Nearly 90% of these homes did not have at least one of the three basic facilities, namely drinking water, electricity and sanitation; 82% did not offer a minimum level of comfort, i.e. a separate kitchen or toilet; 76% had a poor relationship with the outside environment in terms of sunlight, ventilation and natural lighting; 47% were located “in a harmful environment in terms of infested areas, polluted atmosphere, harmful microclimate and nuisance areas”; and 81% had a high occupancy density, with less than 9m² per person (MHPV, 2015[4]).
A modest share of rental housing in Moroccan cities
In urban areas, more than six in ten Moroccan households (67.3%) owned their home in 2022 – a high proportion even though lower than the OECD average (71.5%) (OECD, s.d.[5]) – while 22.0% are renters. Between 2005 and 2022, Morocco saw a slight increase in the share of urban households owning their homes (from 66.0% to 67.3%) while the share of renters decreased (from 25.2% to 22.0%). The share of households with other forms of tenure (free-of-charge households, households occupying company housing, etc.) increased slightly from 8.8% to 10.7% (Haut-Commissariat au Plan, 2024[6]). Despite the revisions of Law 67-12 which governs the rental housing sector, it still represents a small share of housing in Morocco, in particular because of the various public policies that have favoured access to property through mass construction and the construction of housing estates. In addition, the use of renting is limited by the social and cultural value placed on access to property. According to a survey carried out in 2015 on housing needs, the aspiration for rental housing is very low in Morocco, with only 13% of households aspiring to rent their home.
In terms of home ownership in cities, there are two methods of acquiring housing, of almost equal importance: either through a purchase from an individual or a company (45.3% of owners), or through self-construction/production (44.8%), including in urban areas, even if the latter remains slightly less common in large cities. This practice of self-construction/production is more popular in some regions. It reaches 68.5% of the housing stock in the Souss-Massa region, 71.5% in Draa-Tafilalet, 59.1% in the Oriental region and 54.4% in Tangier-Tetouan. Although it remains important, the mode of acquisition by self-construction/production is lower in the regions of Greater Casablanca-Settat (31.4%), Marrakech-Safi (35.6%), Fez-Meknes (37.8%) and the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra region (41%). This difference is largely explained by the fact that medium and large real estate transactions are more common in these regions (MHPV, 2016[7]).
Even more than the significant share occupied by homeownership, its tendency to expand further to the detriment of renting constitutes a point of attention for the Moroccan government in terms of housing policy in Morocco. Indeed, the OECD's work shows that property ownership certainly allows for the accumulation of wealth through the constitution of an asset (Causa, Woloszko et Leite, 2019[8]), but that owners appear to be less mobile than tenants, which can limit their flexibility in the context of transformations occurring in the labour market (OCDE, 2021[9]). The rental stock also plays a very important role in the residential trajectories of households, at certain stages of their life cycle.
In terms of rents, in 2015, 73.7% of urban tenant households paid a monthly amount ranging from less than MAD 500 to MAD 1 500 (EUR 45 to EUR 140). The average rent for all cities combined was MAD 1 144 (EUR 105), although there were significant variations between regions. Greater Casablanca-Settat, Rabat-Salé-Kenitra and Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima were the three regions with the highest rents (MHPV, 2016[7]).
Urban housing stock and production is still largely dominated by individual or semi-individual housing that is self-built or self-produced
Even though the share of apartments among the country's urban housing stock increased slightly from 14.0% in 2000 to 17.5% in 2022, the modern Moroccan house was still the predominant housing type as of 2022, with a slight increase in its share of the total number of dwellings, from 63% of the total number of main dwellings in 2004 to 65% in 2022 (Haut-Commissariat au Plan, 2024[6]). This type of individual or semi-detached housing dominated in all regions and cities of the country. Although less significant in Greater Casablanca-Settat than in other regions, the Moroccan house3 still represented half of the housing stock in 2014. In terms of households concerned, this type of housing also appeared to be most prevalent, consisting of more than two-thirds of all households.
The particularity of the modern Moroccan house is that it is essentially a self-built or self-produced construction by its owners (MHPV, 2016[7]). It is most present in urban areas. Despite a downward trend, particularly since 2012, self-built or self-produced Moroccan houses remain a very important housing production modality in the country's urban areas. Of the housing units produced in 2017 (about 125 000 units), 40% of the housing units were still Moroccan houses in self-construction/production (nearly 50 000 houses), compared to only 9% for medium and high-end housing operations (11 000 homes) and 0.9% for villas, the remaining 50% being made up of economic or social housing (Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances, 2019[10]).
In general, self-construction/production of housing occupies a major place in Morocco in urban areas, even if it appears to be slightly less so in large cities where larger-scale real estate operations are more common. According to the 2012 Housing Survey, 92% of modern Moroccan houses were produced by self-construction/production, as were 91% of villas, while only 52% of buildings were self-built or self-produced (which remains a high proportion considering the type of housing).
Self-constructed/produced individual housing has many advantages, in particular its progressive production process, spread over time according to the financial possibilities of households and the possibility of adapting it to the needs of the family, and must continue to have a place in the housing stock and production in Moroccan cities. However, its strong presence and permanence pose several challenges, particularly concerning the occupation of urbanised areas to meet the housing needs of the population. The modern Moroccan house is a type of individual or semi-individual housing that consumes a lot of space, the predominance of which appears to be incompatible with the objectives of urban sustainability as well as a limitation of land consumption and urban sprawl. According to the 2012 Housing Survey, 60% of the urban housing stock had two levels or less and 92% had three levels or less. Buildings with more than four levels represented only 8% of the urban stock. This prevalence of individual or semi-individual housing in Moroccan cities therefore calls into question the prospects for sustainable development and land use, going against the objectives of denser and more compact cities (Moreno Monroy et al., 2020[11]).
Access to decent housing is a major priority for the Moroccan public authorities. The new Constitution of 2011, in its article 31, enshrined the right to adequate housing as well as the right to health, education and work. Within the framework of this priority, a very proactive housing policy has been pursued for two decades, focusing in particular on the production of social housing and the upgrading of substandard housing (Figure 5.1). While the overall assessment is positive, several elements call for a change in public action in the housing sector to better facilitate access to adequate and affordable housing for all households, and to contribute to a more sustainable and resilient development of urban areas.
Source: MATNUHPV.
In order to achieve the strategic orientations in terms of housing, Morocco has launched several reforms aimed at ensuring a better match between housing supply and demand, and strengthening the fight against informal housing:
Public land has been mobilised to intensify and diversify the supply of housing by opening up about 8 720 hectares to urbanisation since 2003, of which 63% have been completed or are in the process of completion (60% for social housing projects, including 14% in partnership with the private sector; 22% for the construction of industrial zones and public facilities to create an economic and social dynamic; and 18% for projects to provide products to all segments of society) and the creation of 20 urban centres and 4 new towns;
On the financial level, the total cost of the programmes contracted between 2002 and 2023 is about MAD 126 351 billion. The Ministry of National Territory and Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy (Ministère de l'Aménagement du Territoire National, de l'Urbanisme, de l'Habitat et de la Politique de la Ville, MATHNUHPV) contributed MAD 50 658 billion, including MAD 30 512 billion as part of programmes to combat poor housing. A guarantee fund to popularise access to Fogarim and Focaloge bank loans has also been set up. In addition, the Housing Solidarity Fund (FSH), established in 2002, continues to mobilise resources from special taxes on cement, concrete and sand, as well as funds from the general State budget, in order to promote public investment in housing.
In terms of taxation, a tax exemption is granted to real estate developers building social housing and housing with a low real estate value.
At the institutional level, the Al Omrane Group was created in 2007 by integrating a group of public institutions with a view to making it a specialised player in the implementation of State policy in the field of housing and urban development.
Social housing: an ambitious and sustained policy over time, but with limits
A policy of mass production of social housing
For the past two decades, Morocco's social housing policy has focused on homeownership with the aim of enabling a very large number of low-income households to become owners of decent and affordable housing, particularly those living in slums, which are subject to an ambitious eradication plan. The production of two types of social housing has thus been promoted: on the one hand, social housing, known as "MAD 250 000", and on the other hand, very economical housing with a low real estate value, known as "MAD 140 000" ("very social" housing). These two housing programmes came to an end in 2020, though housing developments already authorised continue to be developed.
This production of social housing appeared to be a response to urgent needs in the urban areas of Morocco. These needs were estimated in the mid-2010s based on data from the 2012 Housing Survey and based on household incomes at some 1,86 million units by 2030, including 1,42 million very economical housing units at MAD 140 000, i.e. more than three-quarters of the total. While all the urban areas of the country are concerned by these very important needs, the Casablanca region concentrates nearly 20% of these needs, followed by Rabat-Salé (12% of needs) and Tangier-Tetouan (11%) (Synthèse de l’enquête nationale du logement, 2012).
These two types of social housing have been based on a common principle: that of production by public or private developers (for the production of social housing at MAD 250 000, 95% by the private sector) who benefit, via agreements signed with the State, from a set of significant tax incentives. The state-owned Al Omrane group4, created in 2007 by successive mergers of several companies to become the State's specialised operator in the housing and development sector, has played a central role in the production of social and very social housing programmes, whether to develop land intended to receive social housing operations or to produce housing directly. A large number of social housing units have been built in four new cities developed across the country (Tamansourt, near Marrakech; Tamesna, near Rabat; Chrafate, at the gates of Tangier; and Lakhyata, southwest of Casablanca). The decision to create these cities is linked, among other things, to the need to remove the land constraint to increase the supply of social housing, as well as to allow for decongestion and the reduction of pressure on large cities. However, the Al Omrane group is faced with multiple constraints in the execution of its programmes, such as the change in the approved programming at the territorial level, the multiplicity of contractors, and the disengagement of the parties involved in the financing (MATNHUPV, 2022[12]).
Although based on a common principle of tax incentives, the MAD 250 000 and MAD 140 000 housing programmes differ significantly in terms of their target and operation (Box 5.2). These programmes have also, since their implementation, shown contrasting results. Indeed, while the need for social housing was largely (three-quarters) very social housing at MAD 140 000, the latter were much less numerous to be built in the country than social housing at MAD 250 000. There are several reasons for this low production. First, as the profit margin is lower for developers than that allowed by housing at MAD 250 000, the development of these programmes has proven to be less attractive. In fact, after having had a good start in 2008 (53% of the scheme's achievements in the first three years), the MAD 140 000 housing programme showed signs of running out of steam from 2010, a year that coincides with the launch of the MAD 250 000 social housing programme (Cour des Comptes, 2018[13]). The MAD 140 000 housing units also suffered from significant delays in the establishment of beneficiary lists, which resulted in additional costs for the developers concerned and further limited their profit margins (Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances, 2019[10]).
Social housing at MAD 250 000
According to the 2010 Finance Law, social housing is a housing unit with a covered area of between 50 m2 and 100 m2 and the sale price is a maximum of MAD 250 000 excluding taxes (it was previously MAD 200 000). This type of housing, for home ownership and not for rent, is not defined by a specific criterion in terms of socio-economic characteristics or the income threshold of its buyers. Its ceiling price is identical in all regions of Morocco, despite the differences that may exist in terms of construction costs and household living standards.
Although the MAD 250 000 social housing programme officially began in 2010, its origins date back to 1995, with the launch of the programme to build 200 000 social housing units at MAD 200 000. Several tax exemption measures were then adopted to encourage the construction of this type of housing. A new incentive scheme was set up in 2010 (with a target date of 2020). Its aim was to give a strong impetus to the development of social housing, through the introduction of incentives for real estate developers and buyers, as well as the introduction of significant simplifications of procedures related to construction, in particular the obtaining of building permits, in accordance with Article 15 of the Convention (“requirement of compliance with the legislative and regulatory provisions in force and the obtaining of the required authorisations related to it”).
The developer benefits, within the framework of an agreement with the State accompanied by specifications, from a set of tax exemptions (on corporate tax, income tax, business tax and tax on undeveloped land, land conservation rights and special tax on cement). In return, it undertakes to build at least 500 social housing units over a period not exceeding 5 years. The purchaser benefits from an exemption from the payment of VAT and a reduced rate of registration duties of 3% on the purchase of social housing, provided that he or she does not already own a dwelling and that the dwelling is used as a main residence for at least four years.
According to data from the Real Estate Development Directorate of the MATNUHPV, 1 507 agreements were signed between 2010 and the end of 2020 for the construction of 2 107 543 housing units at MAD 250 000 (1 450 with the private sector, for 2 037 466 housing units, and 57 with the public sector, for 70 077 units), equivalent to 34% of the total urban housing stock in 2014. Between 2016 and 2020, 274 978 social units were built and more than 704 000 housing units were the subject of signed agreements. Regarding the geographical distribution of social housing programmes at MAD 250 000, 70% of them were concentrated in three regions: Casablanca-Settat (44%), Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (12%) and Rabat-Salé-Kenitra (15%).
Housing with a low real estate value at MAD 140 000
Initiated in 2008 with the initial objective of building 130 000 housing units by 2012, this programme concerns the production of very economical housing units with a covered area of between 50 and 60 m2. The housing is intended for low-income households, especially those living in suburban housing and slums, and for those whose monthly income does not exceed twice the guaranteed minimum wage or its equivalent, if they do not already own a home.
In addition to the tax advantages for developers and buyers, the State also provides aid:
Through the mobilisation and servicing of public land, which makes it possible to develop public land at cost. Drawn mainly from the private domain of the State, a land base of nearly 9 400 hectares (ha) was mobilised over the period 2002-2011, 83.2% of which was dedicated to projects in the context of social housing. The State's support effort through land then continued with the mobilisation of a base of 2 333 ha from 2014 to the first half of 2018.
Also through financial support from the Housing and Urban Integration Solidarity Fund (initially the Housing Solidarity Fund). Financed mainly by the cement tax, this Fund also covers the fight against slums, urban upgrading and the restructuring of substandard housing, and development.5
Finally, through the Real Estate Guarantee Fund (FOGARIM), created in 2004 to enable low-income households to acquire social housing via a state-guaranteed loan. The total amount of loans that benefited from this guarantee amounted to MAD 24,6 billion over the period 2004-2017 and this scheme has enabled more than 160 000 low-income households to access property.6
While social housing at MAD 250 000 can be acquired directly on the market by any household, housing at MAD 140 000, mainly intended for households rehoused following slum clearance operations or housing threatened with collapse, is allocated by local commissions.
Between 2008 and the end of December 2020, 82 agreements were drawn up, and 29 486 housing units received the certificate of conformity. In terms of the geographical distribution of the production of low-cost housing, 94% of housing completed between 2008 and 2023 was built in 5 regions: Fez-Meknes (30%), Souss-Massa (29%), Casablanca-Settat (21%), Marrakech-Safi (5%) and Oriental (9%).
The limits of the mass production of social housing to meet demand
The social housing policy has undeniably created a positive dynamic within the housing sector. While the production of housing amounted to 4 000 units on average per year between 1995 and 2002, it increased to nearly 48 000 units per year over the period 2011-2017, and cumulative production during this period was double of that achieved over the period 2003-2010 (Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances, 2019[10]). In addition, the economic contribution in terms of wealth and job creation, in particular the MAD 250 000 scheme, has been significant, with an estimated annual investment of MAD 18 988, an annual added value of MAD 16 404 and an annual average of 28 430 permanent jobs, 96% of which are direct (Cour des Comptes, 2018[13]).
However, this social housing policy has shown several important limitations, which have distanced it from its initial objectives. On the one hand, its targeting is being questioned, particularly for housing at MAD 250 000, which is the most numerous to have been produced. Due to the existing tax advantages for buyers, but also the lack of eligibility criteria for access to housing, these homes have aroused strong interest from middle-class households. The buyers would thus only very partially fall under the targeted social strata: nearly 60% of them would be households with an income of more than MAD 4 000.7 Many beneficiaries of social housing have even acquired them for speculative purposes or for use as a second home, to the detriment of the population groups originally intended to benefit from this housing supply. The large proportion of apartments and recent homes in the vacant housing stock could reflect, to a large extent, such motivations for acquisition. Moreover, according to the Court of Auditors (Cour des Comptes), regarding the MAD 140 000 scheme, at the end of December 2016, out of a production of about 21 000 units, only 6 020 (27%) had been allocated to households from rehoused slums, and just 1 113 units (5%) to households in housing at risk of collapse.
A second dysfunction identified in terms of the targeting of social housing production relates to the distribution of production in the different regions of Morocco. While some regions have experienced production commensurate with their needs, such as Casablanca, Oriental and Fez-Meknes, others have been victims of either overproduction, such as Tangier-Tetouan and Souss-Massa, or insufficient production, as is the case of Rabat-Salé-Kenitra and Beni Mellal-Khenifra, which have relatively large deficits due to the inadequacy of actions to promote housing for vulnerable groups (Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances, 2019[10]). The programme suffers generally from the concentration of housing production in large cities.
In addition, the issue of the overproduction of housing at MAD 250 000 is frequently raised. While the initial target was to build 300 000 housing units by 2020, by the end of 2016, the number of units under agreement had already reached the figure of more than 1,5 million, more than five times the target expected by 2020. According to the Cour des Comptes, the overproduction of social housing at MAD 250 000, combined with the inadequacy of targeting conditions, is at the origin of the phenomenon of “slippage” (i.e. the phenomenon according to which the programme has benefited a population group other than the one initially targeted) and vacancy of housing in this segment. While these phenomena are very real according to professionals in the sector, they are nevertheless difficult to measure in the absence of reliable data on the socio-professional categories of the households buying and on vacant housing (Cour des Comptes, 2018[13]).
The difficulties of urban integration of social housing operations are another limitation of these policies. According to the data of the study on the evaluation of the MAD 250 000 social housing programme and the MAD 140 000 low-value housing programme cited by the Cour des Comptes, 83% of the MAD 250 000 social housing projects are located on the outskirts of municipalities. This rate, which varies from one region to another, is 71% in Casablanca-Settat and 31% in Beni Mellal-Khenifra. This is due to urban planning that provides for zoning that can accommodate this type of housing on the outskirts of cities or to urban planning constraints that offer the possibility of building this type of housing only on the outskirts, sometimes by way of derogation, where the land opportunity allows the financial balance of the operations (Cour des Comptes, 2018[13]). The location of social housing on the urban periphery is a major challenge insofar as these are urban expansion sectors in which many services and facilities are lacking, as well as employment opportunities.
Projects for new towns and new urban centres are also faced with this challenge of urban integration. Indeed, although intended to create the conditions for adequate urban integration for social housing operations, the new towns and the new urban centres have not succeeded in fulfilling this objective. In the absence of coordination of the actions of the various partners and of an appropriate legal framework, new towns and new urban centres are faced with problems of inadequate basic infrastructure and connection to road networks, which today compromise their existence and their future (Harroud, 2017[18]). Their geographical location, dictated not by their economic vocation and their proximity to employment areas, but by land opportunities, leads these new localities to have no other vocation than to live and reduces them to the function of dormitory cities (Cour des Comptes, 2018[13]) (see Chapter 4 for more details on the lack of coordination between the sectoral policies leading to these pitfalls).
The characteristics of the housing are also an important limitation of social housing programmes. Specifications define the minimum urban, architectural and technical requirements that developers must comply with in order to benefit from the tax exemption provided. In terms of surface area, social housing produced in Morocco is characterised by standards that are higher than those of other OECD countries that are globally comparable in terms of the nature of their housing demand and have also implemented policies that promote the massive production of social housing (for example, the surface area of social housing at MAD 250 000 built between 2010 and 2017 is 55 m2, while in Mexico and Colombia, the size of social housing built in the last 20 years is often less than 40 m2).8 Despite this, social housing in Morocco is often considered insufficient by households (especially compared to the self-built Moroccan houses). But it is also and above all the quality of housing that is frequently questioned. The Cour des Comptes points out that the specifications are often light in nature and leave a great deal of leeway to property developers, which then results in poor housing quality. The poor quality of housing would have an impact on the marketing of social housing, especially the most economical housing. Indeed, despite their very attractive price, they struggle to find buyers, in particular because of their small surface area, as well as the finishes and materials used for the construction. Other constraints affect social housing programmes, in particular the MAD 250 000 programme. These include: (i) the recent COVID-19 and energy crises that have caused the prices of building materials to increase and a scarcity of certain raw materials; ii) the lack of diversity in the supply of social housing; and (iii) centralised production, with 25% of the social housing programme carried out by only six real estate developers.
Towards a paradigm shift and new impetus driven by the National Dialogue on Urban Planning and Housing: from tax exemption for developers to personalised assistance for buyer households
Once the MAD 250 000 social housing programme concluded at the end of 2020, and in the context of overproduction limited in terms of its impact to house the initially targeted households, a major overhaul of the housing policy was launched. It is also consistent with the New Development Model established for the country to guide all public policies by 2035. One of the important recommendations of the New Development Model was that housing policy must be reimagined in order to move from tax aid to developers (until now the central pillar of the policy of stimulating the production of social and very social housing) to personalised assistance for home ownership in the form of a subsidy granted directly to households.
The National Dialogue on Urban Planning and Housing held in September 2022, entailing a comprehensive and integrated reform of the urban planning and housing sectors, in accordance with the High Royal Instructions and in application of the orientations of the New Development Model, decentralisation and advanced regionalisation, allowed the adoption of a roadmap based on the challenges of "renewal", "incentive", and "proximity". This roadmap includes many operational pathways for transformation for the housing sector (Box 5.3).
Regional Housing Plans (Plans Régionaux de l’Habitat – PRH)
In order to assess housing needs, while taking into account local and regional specificities, the development of Regional Housing Plans (Plans Régionaux de l’Habitat, PRH) is essential. These PRHs are intended to provide a contractual framework to provide the regions and provinces with a vision of housing development over 10 years. To this end, it is necessary to:
Extend PRH coverage: 12 plans for 2024
Implement the provisions of the PRHs on the basis of a State-Region contractual framework.
Better targeting and strengthening of families' purchasing power
Public policy on access to housing is expected to break with the old approaches by adopting the logic of social protection with various actions such as:
Direct assistance to households to reduce the gap between purchasing capacity and housing prices;
Banking support for the benefit of buyers, which could take various forms:
The State takes charge of interest rates;
A State guarantee for the benefit of those who take out real estate loans.
This vision also requires the State to intervene on the production levers in order to reduce this gap in a sustainable and lasting manner, namely:
Operate land regulation by injecting developed land into the market for the private sector;
Control the prices of building materials with a reference system by territory;
Supporting real estate investment in urban planning for compact spaces avoiding land loss;
Adopt an incentive tax regime;
Implement a digital platform that will allow eligible households to benefit from housing assistance, simplify procedures as much as possible and reduce travel.
Boosting the rental housing market
With a view to stimulating the supply of rental housing, the State is called upon to play a facilitating role for the benefit of tenants, especially those with modest incomes, by putting in place legal, institutional and fiscal procedures to revive the rental market through the following measures:
Review the legal framework governing the rental market: lease, rental, home ownership and leasing;
Reducing the rental burden, especially for students and low-income households;
Establish an insurance system to guarantee the payment of rents to landlords;
Set up an intermediation body and a dedicated fund that gives confidence to both parties concerned.
A diversified and intensified housing supply
The right to access housing is a constitutional right for all citizens, which challenges the public authorities to help all social groups to have decent housing by deploying mechanisms and stimulus levers. Beyond the classic typologies (social housing, housing for the middle class, etc.), the public authorities should look for new segments where the need is undeniably present, such as housing for seniors or student housing. These new products need to be tested in order to stimulate demand and create a market by demonstrating the functionality of this offer. In this wake, state operators, in particular the Al Omrane Group, are called upon to trigger new production niches, by:
The creation of an offer dynamic for specific segments (seniors, students, etc.);
The stimulation of new markets, particularly around employment areas, and support the industrial acceleration policy in terms of housing.
Source: MATNUHPV, results of the National Dialogue on Urban Planning and Housing.
This direct aid mechanism for buyers of dwellings intended for the main residence was adopted in the 2023 Finance Law (Article 8) and entered into force in January 2024 (Box 5.4). The introduction of this new mechanism signifies an important paradigm shift in housing policy, with the transition from a system of supply-side subsidies (allocation of subsidies to developers who build social housing programmes) to a demand-side principle (granting assistance to households to acquire housing on the market). This is similar to what is practiced in OECD countries engaged in an intense process of social housing production, such as Mexico and Colombia and, to a lesser extent, Chile. While the results of this new mechanism in Morocco have yet to be observed and measured, in Mexico and Colombia, the demand-side subsidy system has enabled the development of a massive supply of social housing, though the quality and location of the housing have sometimes been called into question. These aspects will therefore need to be carefully assessed.
Morocco's new housing assistance programme presented in October 2023 is part of the political will to strengthen citizens' ability to access decent housing.
This new programme, which runs from 2024 to 2028, aims to renew the approach of helping people access to property and helping households' purchasing power through direct financial assistance to buyers. Moroccans living in Morocco or abroad, who are not homeowners in Morocco and who have never received housing assistance are eligible.
The amounts of the aid will be defined according to the value of the property acquired. Thus, the amount of the aid is set at MAD 100 000 for the acquisition of a home with a sale price of less than or equal to MAD 300 000 including VAT (all taxes included), MAD 70 000 for the acquisition of a home between MAD 300 000 and MAD 700 000 including VAT.
This programme aims to facilitate access to housing for low-income social classes and the middle class (thus meeting about 70% of the total housing demand), to contribute to the reduction of the housing deficit while improving access to affordable housing, and to accelerate the completion of the Cities without Slums programme. On the economic front, the programme aims to maintain the position of the housing sector in the national economy and strengthen its contribution to the country's investment, promote job creation in the sector, stimulate the participation of the private sector, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, and regulate and control the real estate market.
The total value of housing acquired through this programme amounts to MAD 6.3 billion in June 2024. Women represent 44% of the beneficiaries, young people under 35 years old 39%, and 22% of the beneficiaries are Moroccans living abroad (MRE).
Since the launch of the programme, housing sector indicators have been on the rise, with a 16% increase in the number of authorised projects, a 20% increase in cement sales, and a 1.5% increase in housing loans and a 3.8% increase in loans to real estate developers between May 2023 and May 2024.
The regions of Fez-Meknes, Casablanca-Settat and Rabat-Salé-Kenitra lead in terms of the number of beneficiaries, while the cities of Fez, Berrechid, Kenitra and Casablanca dominate at the prefectural and provincial levels. In addition, 41% of the beneficiaries have bought a home with a price of less than or equal to MAD 300 000.
Several partnerships have been set up to ensure the success of the programme, including the signing of an agreement with the Caisse de dépôt et de gestion (CDG) for the creation of a digital platform dedicated to the management of subsidies. This initiative aims to dematerialise and simplify procedures, control deadlines and improve programme management. The Ministries of Economy and Finance, the Interior, as well as the National Agency for Land Conservation, Cadastre and Cartography (ANCFCC) are also involved in the exchange of data for better governance of the programme. In addition, participatory banks have been integrated to enable beneficiaries to acquire housing.
Source: Royal Communiqué of October 17, 2023 and Statement by Mrs. Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, Minister of National Territory and Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy during a presentation on housing policy in Morocco before the Committee on the Interior, Local Authorities, Housing and City Policy of the House of Representatives (Wednesday, July 3, 2024).
The fight against substandard housing: despite significant efforts, mixed progress
The fight against unhealthy urban housing has been a priority in Morocco for several decades because of the cumulative existence, in urban areas, of several types of precarious, under-equipped or unsafe housing: deprived areas (precarious housing established on occupied public or private land), informal housing (generally built in stone, but without permission to subdivide and sometimes without land titles, characterised by significant deficiencies in terms of connection to essential urban services), as well as old housing, located in particular in the medinas. Several programmes have therefore been carried out to deal with each of these habitat types, the analysis of which follows below.
Slum clearance: a mixed success story
Cities without Slums (Villes sans bidonvilles, VSB) is one of Morocco's flagship housing programmes. Intended to massively address the problem of substandard housing and in particular slums, this programme has received significant international recognition, including the “Habitat 2010” honorary prize awarded by the UN, which rewards the people and institutions that have implemented the most significant projects in the field of housing and human development. Launched in 2004, the programme aimed to provide decent housing to all households living in nearly 1 000 slums located in 85 cities and urban centres, the vast majority of which are concentrated in the “Casablanca-Kenitra” Atlantic axis, the most economically dynamic. Between 2004 and the end of March 2024, the programme targeted a total of more than 464 000 slum households (in 2014, 250 000 households lived in slums), whereas it was initially planned to reach 270 000 households, an increase of more than 70% of the initial target population. Living conditions have improved for more than 344 000 households. In 2021, 59 cities and urban centres were declared “slum-free cities”. In addition, the rate of processing almost tripled from 2022 onwards, from 6 200 households per year during the 2018-2021 period to more than 18 000 households annually from 2022 to March 2024.
Three methods of slum clearance were planned: restructuring, rehousing and resettlement. Restructuring in situ consists of redeveloping slums that can be integrated into the urban fabric, by providing them with the necessary infrastructure and regularising the land and urban situation of the neighbourhoods concerned. Although the initial programme had foreseen that 32% of households would be affected by restructuring, this modality was ultimately implemented to a very limited extent (which would be due in particular to the fact that slums are most often located on private land). Resettlement consists of facilitating the access of the households concerned to the ownership of an economic housing plot (area between 64 and 80 m2) to be developed in self-construction, in the context of subdivisions with prior or progressive equipment. The precarious housing in the slum is then demolished. Rehousing differs from resettlement in the sense that households are rehoused in a dwelling with a low real estate value of MAD 140 000, in collective housing (which is sometimes called "rehousing estates") which generally has a surface area of 50 to 60 m2. Rehousing is being considered in particular in large urban agglomerations where public land is scarce (ONU Habitat, 2011[19]).
The particularities of the VSB programme include a global and innovative approach at the city level, considered as a unit of programming and action, and not of the project; a contractual approach between the State and local authorities9; and a social support system for transferred households. The programme has benefited from the mobilisation of public land as well as funding through a Solidarity and Housing Fund (Fonds de solidarité de l’habitat, FSH).
While VSB has certainly made it possible to eliminate a large number of slums since its introduction, the programme has also shown certain limitations, leading to questions about the effectiveness of the interventions and the adequacy of the responses provided within its framework. On the one hand, some households have developed strategies to benefit from the programme (for example, setting up a shack in a slum as a means of accessing a plot of land). The lack of an integrated information system at the national level has also encouraged some beneficiaries to take advantage of several slum clearance operations in different areas of intervention in the country, which would explain the considerable inflation observed in the number of households rehoused or resettled as part of the operations carried out (Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances, 2019[10]).
On the other hand, the programme has not been able to reach all the targeted households. An in-depth assessment based on surveys in resettlement operations10 has thus shown the existence of sometimes significant phenomena of resale of lots by the beneficiaries, with slippage rates (ratio between the lots inhabited by non-allotted households and all the inhabited resettlement lots of the operation) sometimes reaching up to 20%. This evaluation also highlighted the low rate of support on the part of the beneficiary families: several years after the slums concerned were cleared, about half of the lots in the operations evaluated were occupied by the beneficiary families, the other half of the households having not settled (Toutain et Rachmuhl, 2014[20]). Nevertheless, another large-scale evaluation carried out in 2014 by the Ministry of Urban Policy showed contrasting results, with 9.7% of direct beneficiaries of the VSB programme having sold the land or the dwelling after construction or the apartment after acquisition: a much lower slippage rate, of about 11% for the resettlement programme and 3% for the rehousing programme (MHPV, 2015[21]).
In addition, beneficiary households have faced difficulties in urban integration due to the incompletion of operations and the inadequacy of facilities and services, as well as the remoteness and isolation of neighbourhoods. Despite the housing acquis, households have therefore seen a deterioration in their conditions of access to public facilities and services (schools, health centres, ovens, hammams, etc.). Families have also had to face difficulties related to the increase in their expenses, particularly in transport, following their trip. For these various reasons and despite the undeniable improvement in their housing conditions, the vast majority of households expressed dissatisfaction with their new living environment (Toutain et Rachmuhl, 2014[20]).
Several dysfunctions have also been identified, such as the difficulty in mobilising land and opening up to urbanisation areas including land mobilised for this programme, or the slowness of the implementation of the programme and the very long duration of project implementation (this slowness having been identified as one of the important causes of the lack of equipment denounced by the beneficiaries (MHPV, 2015[21]). These difficulties are linked to a weakness in administrative support (monitoring structures and operational failures, contracting, viability of the content and commitment of partners, increase in target populations, local governance, etc.) as well as to operational aspects (relevance of operating methods, prevention policies and administrative control, financial contributions and recourse to credit, social support and involvement of partners) (ONU Habitat, 2011[19]).
Urban upgrading of under-integrated neighbourhoods and non-regulated housing: a sectoral approach focused on urban networks, infrastructure and equipment
Since its launch in 2002, the programme for the urban upgrading of under-equipped neighbourhoods and non-regulated housing has been part of the Moroccan government's major mobilisation against substandard housing, along with VSB. This programme aims to integrate into the urban fabric the constructions carried out on land located on the outskirts of the city, but not open to urbanisation and therefore not serviced. These were estimated in 2002 at nearly 540 000 units. The programme, which does not include a housing improvement component as such, is focused on actions to improve sanitation, drinking water supply, mobility, or the eradication of unsanitary outbreaks and the anticipation of urban sprawl. As such, it has played a significant role in improving urban housing in the broad sense, i.e. the living environment, of nearly 1 325 million households (MATNUHPV, 2022[22]). It is also based on a principle of contractualisation. Thus, 569 agreements were concluded between the State and the municipalities between 2002 and 2017, for a total cost of MAD 22.33 billion and a subsidy from the Housing and Urban Integration Solidarity Fund (Fonds de Solidarité Habitat et Intégration Urbaine, FSHIU) amounting to MAD 13.02 billion. Since the start of urban upgrading programmes, 230 cities and urban centres have benefited from it.
Housing at risk of collapse: significant progress and the recent creation of a dedicated agency (ANRUR)
Habitat at risk of collapse (l’Habitat Menaçant Ruine, HMR) is treated differently depending on the degree of danger of collapse (which can sometimes be imminent). The actions may consist of reinforcement of the building concerned, its demolition and/or its reconstruction in situ. A building threatened with collapse is defined as “any construction or installation of any type whatsoever, the total or partial collapse of which may affect the safety of its occupants, its operators, that of passers-by or neighbouring buildings, even if they are not contiguous.” A building threatened with collapse is also understood to mean “any construction or installation that no longer meets the necessary guarantees of solidity due to the dilapidation of one of its main interior or exterior components or due to its construction on land exposed to risks” (Law 94-12 of 2016, article 2).
The programme for the treatment of housing threatened with collapse consists of rehabilitation operations for fragile constructions, as well as actions for the rehousing of households living in houses that are irretrievable and therefore destined to be demolished. In 2012, a survey conducted by the Ministry of the Interior revealed that nearly 44 000 homes could be defined as “at risk of collapse”, i.e. 0.5% of the housing stock. Half of these dwellings were concentrated in four provinces (Fez, Marrakech, Casablanca and Meknes) and were home to 69% of the households concerned. The medinas alone contained nearly 19 000 dwellings at risk of collapse (42.5% of the total), of which nearly 17 000 dwellings were occupied by 42 650 households in the cities of Marrakech, Fez, Meknes, Casablanca and Tetouan, the remainder being located in irregular and under-equipped neighbourhoods as well as in the old centres of certain urban agglomerations (Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances, 2019[10]).
In 2016, Law No. 94-12 established a new specific framework for the treatment of this housing threatened with collapse, with the regulation of the roles of all stakeholders and the definition of responsibilities, including owners of dilapidated buildings, and with the creation of the National Agency for Urban Renewal and the Rehabilitation of Buildings at Risk of Collapse (Agence Nationale pour la Rénovation Urbaine et la Réhabilitation des Bâtiments Menaçant Ruine, ANRUR). As a national entity in charge of urban renewal and the restoration of old buildings and fabrics in danger of collapse or dilapidation, ANRUR is responsible for the development and study of strategies, urban programmes and projects relating to urban renewal and the rehabilitation of fabrics and buildings in danger of collapse, the development and supervision of the implementation of the schemes and plans necessary for this purpose, as well as operations aimed at enhancing the various urban areas, whether through demolition, reconstruction or renovation operations or through the development of infrastructure, the provision of basic equipment, the construction of housing or the implementation of land development operations. Its very broad mission therefore goes far beyond intervention on housing threatened with collapse, since it is a question of tackling the issue of urban renewal as a whole.11 ANRUR also aims to implement a participatory approach to carry out its missions and to get all the stakeholders concerned to join its projects. In the context of the priority given to the rehabilitation and enhancement, particularly heritage and cultural enhancement, of the old urban fabric of the medinas, the agency is a decisive tool to give impetus to intervention on housing threatened with collapse, by changing scale and integrating an integral urban dimension.
According to the latest data from the Housing Department of the MATNUHPV cited in the 2019-2020 report of the Cour des Comptes, some 37 000 buildings had been the subject of financing and construction agreements, of which 22 000 were completed (Cour des Comptes, 2021[23]). Data published in January 2022 by MATUHPV indicate that by the end of 2021, more than 35 000 households housed in housing at risk of collapse had benefited from interventions (MATNUHPV, 2022[22]).
While the progress is highlighted, criticism has nevertheless been made by the Cour des Comptes concerning the approach to treating housing at risk of collapse. On the one hand, there is no common and agreed approach between the Ministries of Housing and the Interior for the identification of HMRs, insofar as it is carried out by specialised design offices and the census of HMR buildings and beneficiaries of public aid for the treatment of this type of housing is the responsibility of the local authorities decentralised to the Ministry of the Interior. This lack of standardisation leads to different data on the HMR fleet depending on each department. On the other hand, although it was created several years ago, ANRUR has not yet really moved into the operational phase and has not yet activated its action plan. Its positioning should also be specified within the system of actors working on the HMR, in order to clarify the roles and responsibilities of each person (Cour des Comptes, 2021[23]). Other difficulties related to the absorption of housing threatened with collapse have been pointed out, such as the lack of technical expertise and specialised companies, the absence of a legal framework obliging owners to carry out periodic assessments of the condition of their homes, the low incomes of some households preventing renovations, the lack of mechanisms to intervene in emergency situations in the event of non-involvement or absence of owners, and insufficient social support for families involved in the process of assessing buildings at risk of collapse.
Housing for the middle class and rental housing: an impetus still largely in the making
The housing programme for the urban middle class
To facilitate homeownership for middle-class households (characterised by a monthly income net of tax that does not exceed MAD 20 000, or approximately EUR 1 800), incentives for middle-class housing were introduced by the 2013 Finance Law, in particular regarding the exemption of buyers from registration and tax stamp duties, as well as registration fees for land conservation. To make this scheme more attractive to real estate developers, the 2014 Finance Act then raised the ceilings on the sale price per m2 of apartments eligible for the scheme and on surface areas12, with developers committing in return to build at least 150 housing units over 5 years. A framework agreement was concluded in 2014 between the State and the National Federation of Real Estate Developers (la Fédération nationale des promoteurs immobiliers) to build 20 000 units for the middle class by 2016. For its part, the Al Omrane Group has committed to building 3 680 housing units in this category.
However, the implementation of the programme has proven to be significantly below expectations. According to updated data from the MATNUHPV, from 2013 to January 2022, 32 agreements had been targeted, for a total of 11,328 dwellings, but only 253 dwellings had received their certificate of conformity. This low development is largely explained by the competition exerted by social housing programmes at MAD 250 000, acquired by many middle-class households and more attractive in terms of profit margin for real estate developers in terms of their advantages. In addition, the incentive scheme, which is designed in a uniform manner, does not take into account the disparities between the middle class from one region to another (Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances, 2019[10]). Finally, housing is not well suited to the requirements of the middle class in terms of surface area (too small), location (distance from the city centre for the most part) and basic facilities (Benchanna, 2022[24]). More recently, the new buyers' assistance programme targeted the middle class with a subsidy of MAD 70 000, for homes priced at MAD 700 000 or less (see Box 4.1). In addition, the legal arsenal is being revised by the Housing Department of the MATNUHPV, which has also conducted a study on the security of residential rent, the results of which are to be published.
Rental housing in the context of social housing and low-value housing operations: a very limited scope
In order to help strengthen rental housing, an essential component of the housing market to support mobility and meet the needs of households that do not yet have enough savings to own social housing, a scheme designed to encourage social and low-value housing rental operations of MAD 140 000 was established as part of the 2013 finance law, then revised in 2015. Tax incentives have been provided for natural or legal persons who acquire at least 25 dwellings (initially 20) under an agreement concluded with the State and allocate them to rental for use as a main residence for a minimum period of 8 years. The incentives consist of exemption for a maximum period of 8 years, from the year of the first rental contract, corporation or income tax in respect of the income relating to the rental, as well as corporate or income tax in respect of the capital gain realised in the event of the sale of the dwellings beyond the eight-year period. These exemptions are granted to landlords on the condition that they acquire the dwellings within a maximum period of twelve months from the date of signature of the agreement and that they rent out the dwellings within a maximum period of 6 months from the date of acquisition. The 2015 Finance Law increased the maximum monthly rent paid by the tenant to MAD 2 000 for social housing of MAD 250 000 (instead of MAD 1 200 initially) and to MAD 1 000 for housing to MAD 140 000 (MAD 700 initially) (Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances, 2019[15]).
Although interesting in principle, this device of rent-controlled rental housing introduced in 2012 and revised in 2015 has not succeeded in attracting investment in the rental housing segment. At the end of 2022, only one agreement had been signed, concerning a total of 50 housing units (MATNUHPV, 2022[22]).
The housing policy pursued in Morocco over the past two decades has been very proactive, but several of the programmes and policies implemented have shown their limits. In addition, some important issues, such as rental housing or self-construction/supervised and assisted production, have not been included so far or have not been sufficiently included. Concrete recommendations can be made to put in place a comprehensive, coherent and articulated policy framework to address the challenges of demand for new housing and the need to improve existing housing, while helping to create the conditions for more sustainable, inclusive and resilient urban development.
Promote the production of rational, better quality and better targeted social housing
Although the production of social housing has certainly been marked by dysfunctions of various kinds, it nevertheless seems necessary today to continue the effort to build low-cost and very economical housing, particularly in view of the scale of future needs from the low-income categories of the population. Nevertheless, the policy aimed at boosting this production of social housing should be rethought by integrating three priorities: more comprehensive, better quality and better targeted.
The production of social housing should be more rational, i.e. less massive at the national level and more differentiated according to the types of urban territories, according to the size and characteristics of their needs. In particular, the construction of social housing should be encouraged in cities and regions where such housing is insufficient in relation to needs. Conversely, it should not be promoted where a large number of housing programmes have already been carried out and are already making it possible to meet needs. Such an approach would make it possible to limit the effects of overproduction observed in certain regions and their corollary, such as the increase in vacant housing (particularly observed in the stock of new apartments). To implement this approach, Morocco will have to rely on a territorialised methodology to assess needs and closely monitor production, as is done, for example, in Chile (Box 5.5).
Based on this knowledge of needs, several options could be considered. The new direct housing assistance programme for new buyers, which came into force in January 2024, could, for example, include a variable dimension with greater aid to households for the acquisition of social housing in areas defined by the Ministry as priorities. For example, this variability according to the level of priority according to the territories was implemented in Chile in another context (that of the need to build new low-cost housing in the central parts of cities, which were then in the process of depopulation). From the 1990s onwards, Chile introduced greater assistance to households in the case of the acquisition of housing located in sectors previously defined as urban renewal, which allowed a return to private real estate development for the production of housing in the heart of cities (OCDE, 2021[9]). However, such a measure, intended to strengthen demand, may not be sufficient to encourage developers to build in certain regions considered unattractive (due to their isolation and/or construction costs, for example). It can therefore be accompanied by specific measures to support supply, such as the provision of public land when possible (as has already been tested in Morocco for housing at MAD 140 000), or the maintenance of certain tax advantages.
In all cases, it is necessary to ensure, in the areas defined as priorities for the production of social housing, that the urban planning documents allow and promote the construction of housing complexes. Otherwise, they will have to be adapted to take into account the challenge of producing social housing.
The production of social housing must also give greater priority to the construction of good quality housing. The difficulties encountered in terms of the quality of social housing are not unique to Morocco. They arise in most OECD countries that have embarked on a process of mass production of social housing. For example, several Latin American countries whose housing demand situation is quite comparable to that of Morocco have adopted this type of policy of mass production of social housing over the past thirty years (Chile, Mexico and Colombia). Although these production strategies have been successful in terms of the number of housing units produced and the support provided to the economy, they are increasingly being challenged due to the insufficient quality of housing and the neighbourhoods in which it was built, produced quickly and in large numbers (Aguilera, 2016[25]) (Fuster‑Farfán et Toro, 2021[26]). As a result, in Chile and Mexico, national governments are already being forced to implement complex and costly renovation actions (Bustos-Peñafiel, 2020[27]) (OECD, 2015[28]).
In order to prevent such a risk, efforts should be made to guarantee the quality of social housing produced in Morocco as well as that of the neighbourhoods in which it is located, in terms of services, facilities and accessibility. Demanding specifications for developers should be established by the MATNUHPV, and be closely monitored. As already initiated by the Al Omrane Group, which has been engaged for several years now in a movement to integrate sustainability issues into its activities13, the imperatives linked to sustainable development should be integrated into these documents, like a common thread, imposing standards on developers, for example, in the field of energy sobriety, which is also a significant lever for reducing the costs of beneficiary families. In Mexico, for example, the green mortgage mechanism has made it possible to generalise the introduction of environmental technologies in the production of social housing (OECD, 2022[2]). A collaborative effort with all developers would allow for the establishment of a framework consisting of standards applicable to social housing, ensuring that real estate developers adhere to it. Furthermore, it would be desirable for such a “sustainable social housing framework” not to be limited to environmental and climate aspects (such as improving energy efficiency in housing or measures to reduce emissions), but also to include, as proposed in Chile, elements related to social development and inclusion. This would ensure the sustainability of social housing projects not only in environmental and energy terms, but also in social terms (OECD, 2022[2]). Adequate access to mobility solutions, and the existence not only of essential urban services, but also of cultural and sports facilities whose maintenance is planned and guaranteed, are elements that should be integrated into a "sustainable social housing" label or reference.
Because it is contingent upon receiving state aid, social housing can offer a powerful lever to steer housing production towards quality criteria. It can serve as a field for technical, energy, environmental, and social innovations, acting as a driving force and demonstrator for the entire housing construction sector. In Europe, this is the case, for example, in the Netherlands, where social housing serves as a platform for environmental, energy, and social innovations (Boerenfijn et al., 2018[29]). The example of France, where social housing plays the role of a laboratory for environmental and social innovation, can also be mentioned (Ecologik, 2017[30]).
Finally, the production of social housing should better target clearly identified types of beneficiary households. To do this, it is important to set a ceiling, not only for the purchase price of housing classified as social or very social, but also for the income of households that can buy the housing. Until now, in Morocco, there was only a maximum amount for the sale price of social housing (MAD 250 000 or MAD 140 000) and any household could acquire a unit of this type, which led to a phenomenon of slippage, also observed in other contexts. In Colombia, for example, housing of social interest (known as “VIS” for Vivienda de interés social) which are defined by a capped selling price, are in principle intended to be acquired by targeted households according to their income and which will be able to benefit from subsidies and/or subsidised loans granted by the State. However, these same housing units are also accessible to all types of customers who do not benefit from public aid. Due to the low cost of housing, a large number of people have acquired units not with the aim of living in them, but with a view to investment or even speculation, which has led to a misuse of housing policy (OECD, 2022[2]). This principle should also apply to the new direct housing assistance programme for new buyers that came into force in Morocco in January 2024, which should include a ceiling on household income as a condition of eligibility.
It is imperative to ensure that housing cannot benefit non-priority populations. As regards maximum housing sales prices and income ceilings, these should not be set uniformly at national level, but should be adjusted at regional level, depending on parameters such as the cost of construction, the value of land, and the level of wages. For example, Chile has had such a system for many years (see Box 5.5).
Since the mid-1980s, Chile's housing policy has been based on market-based housing production (by private developers) and the granting of direct state aid to households acquiring housing, in the form of non-refundable subsidies. There is variable aid for different types of beneficiaries, from the most vulnerable to the middle class. For each type of aid, households are targeted in a very detailed way through the social register of households, a tool that makes it possible to characterise the socio-economic level of households in real time (there are 7 socio-economic levels) and which is based on various State databases. As regards housing for vulnerable populations, grant DS49 (Supreme Decree 49) provides for the State to make a contribution of approximately EUR 12 740 for housing with a maximum value of approximately EUR 38 540. However, it is a floor subsidy, to which additional aid may be added depending on the characteristics of the households, but which may also and above all be increased depending on the region and the municipality in which the dwelling is located. This means that the maximum grant can reach more than EUR 22 000 in the case of very remote areas. In highly urbanised regions, such as the metropolitan (capital) region of Santiago and that of Valparaiso, the variations between municipalities can be quite significant, reaching a maximum of 16 400 euros.
Source: Ministry of Housing and Urban Development of Chile (MINVU).
Establish a framework for action and aid in favour of self-construction and/or supervised self-production
As seen above, the self-construction/production of housing, in particular the modern Moroccan house, still occupies a very important place in Moroccan cities. This type of individual or semi-detached urban housing is interesting because of its affordability and the maximum optimisation of the base land that it implies (townhouse-type housing). Despite this, it can be a problem at the urban level, insofar as it contributes to the development of relatively sparsely populated areas, in a context of increasing scarcity and price of land.
However, it seems important to maintain a place for it among the methods of housing production, particularly for low-income households. It is indeed an option favoured by the population because of its reduced cost, thanks to the involvement of family or friends; the progressiveness of the construction, spread over time and according to the means available; and the adaptation of the home to the needs and wishes of the family, at the time of construction, but also in the future. OECD countries such as Mexico, which in the early 2000s opted to support only the production of social housing, then became aware of the need to continue to subsidise this type of option in order to allow access to housing for part of the population (Box 5.6). It is therefore a question of no longer allowing informal housing to proliferate, but of organising and supervising its production, particularly in a collective framework, in accordance with the stimulating proposal of the Social production of housing, that is to say, a collective process of production, by the inhabitants, of their own habitat (Habitat Worldmap, s.d.[31]) (Royez et al., 2015[32]).
From the middle of the twentieth century, the self-construction of informal housing was the main mode of production of urban housing in Mexico (as in the whole of Latin America). For a long time, public action consisted above all of supporting it a posteriori, by providing neighbourhoods with irregular urbanisation with essential urban facilities and services, sometimes by supporting household construction initiatives, and even by making land available for subdivision. In the early 2000s, however, housing policy largely turned its back on self-construction/production, considered to be responsible for a large part of urban ills, to engage solely in the mass production of social housing. This then proved to be a problem because of the poor quality of the housing and the difficulties of accessibility of the new housing areas.
In this context, in 2020, the Mexican government decided to significantly increase the value of self-construction/housing production, and to no longer reserve aid for home ownership in social housing built by private developers and delivered on a turnkey basis. From now on, the loans granted by the National Institute of the Housing Fund for Workers (INFONAVIT), the main financier of the vast majority of the 10 million or so social housing units produced in the country since the early 2000s, can also be used by households to build or self-produce their housing. The Ministry in charge of urban issues and housing (SEDATU) has opened a very comprehensive platform for households applying for self-construction/production, which brings together all the information that could be useful to them, from housing plans and lists of craftsmen from different trades to a detailed presentation of all existing sources of financing. through practical advice to carry out all the stages of the project. The platform, called “Decide and Build” (Decide y Construye), is part of the new National Strategy for Self-Construction launched by Mexico and which is currently still being rolled out.
However, there are many challenges that arise. Indeed, it is not a question of promoting processes of self-construction/production such as those of the 1950s to 1980s, which gave rise to the appearance of under-integrated urban spaces. The objective is to channel households' self-construction/production projects towards areas capable of accommodating them, to supervise households and to support the dynamics of housing production, in order to contribute to the production of viable and sustainable urban spaces (which are not the case with massive social housing districts, which must now be the subject of renovation interventions).
Source: SEDATU and Decide y Construye platform.
The introduction of aid for self-construction/housing production projects could be a powerful lever in Moroccan urban areas to guide and improve self-construction/production and thus avoid the development of forms of insalubrity, linked to a deficit connection to urban networks or to poor housing design. The granting of aid could indeed be conditional on compliance with specific rules and standards by building households and the latter could be supported by professionals (architects, construction craftsmen). The production of denser forms of housing than the modern Moroccan house, such as a small collective building (3 or 4 storeys), could be strongly encouraged in the context of aid provided to households. In this respect, the principle of the associated third party had been tested in Casablanca, whereby two households awarded resettlement operations had the possibility of joining forces with a third party who undertook to build the housing of the two households.14 Identified as a good practice (Toutain et Rachmuhl, 2014[20]), this principle could be taken up and improved. Thanks to subsidies granted to households to ensure the self-production of housing as well as better support, construction could be of much better quality.
In general, a strategy of financing self-built housing projects/supervised and assisted products would have its place in a diversified housing policy, alongside the pursuit of aid focused on turnkey social housing. From an urban point of view, it must be duly thought out and integrated into urban plans, through the definition of areas with services and accessible, suitable for subdivision and imposing, for example, compliance with a minimum density.
Supporting housing improvement as part of an integrated approach to urban renewal
Until now, housing policy has focused heavily on the quantitative housing deficit: by promoting the production of social and very social housing, and/or by absorbing slums through rehousing or resettlement operations. Interventions in terms of habitat improvement have certainly been carried out in the context of housing at risk of collapse, but they have mainly concerned a very specific type of habitat, that of the old fabrics of medinas, and have been limited in number. In informal housing neighbourhoods where, due to the self-built mode of production, many dwellings need to be improved in order to meet decent conditions of habitability, actions have focused on urban upgrading (i.e. access to essential urban services and facilities) and have not concerned housing as such. The challenge posed by the qualitative housing deficit, i.e. unsatisfactory but improving, has therefore remained essentially uncovered by housing policy. However, it is very important in Morocco, as reflected in the data on insalubrity. The reformulated housing and housing policy will therefore have to address this issue, which is also essential in terms of the challenges of sustainable urban development, since it makes it possible to consolidate and improve existing buildings and not to resort to new constructions.
This challenge of housing improvement is not limited to the housing threatened with collapse located in the old urban fabrics of medinas, nor to the neighbourhoods of non-regulated housing resulting from self-construction processes. More broadly, it concerns all central or pericentral consolidated urban sectors, where the need for renovation of old housing (particularly energy), although not quantified, is also numerous. It is therefore essential to set up aid for owner-occupiers and landlords to enable the improvement of this diffuse housing stock. Mobilising by improving this stock of housing to meet needs seems even more relevant where significant investments have been made in favour of public transport and mobility. Indeed, the old housing located along the new public transport routes benefits from very good accessibility and their improvement appears all the more strategic because it makes it possible to optimise the public investments made. There is a very significant potential for urban renewal around tram and bus rapid transit routes, in which housing must play a central role (see Chapter 4 on “Transit-Oriented Development” (TOD) strategies). This integrated approach to housing must provide for citizen-oriented and citizen-centred development by developing innovative and resilient housing concepts that offer more benefits to residents, in terms of access to services, mobility and energy, environmental and water (in particular in connection with national labels and certification systems), in order to reduce the expenses associated with energy consumption, thus reducing the risk of energy poverty and contributing to the reduction of inequalities in cities.
The improvement of the diffuse old housing stock in the consolidated parts of urban areas could be a priority project entrusted to ANRUR, equipped in particular with new adapted financing tools. International experience shows that in terms of urban regeneration (or urban renewal), the integration of this issue into urban planning instruments, which is essential, is not enough. The recent OECD National Urban Policy Review of Colombia clearly showed, in the case of this country, that the fact of having urban planning documents clearly advocating urban regeneration as a priority was not enough to initiate concrete dynamics in this area, despite the existence of an enormous potential for rebuilding the city on itself and the existence of recently created transport corridors, in theory conducive to the appearance of urban reconquest processes (OECD, 2022[2]). On the other hand, the levers of dedicated aid are proving to be decisive. In this area, the experience of the French National Housing Agency (l’Agence nationale de l’habitat française, ANAH) is interesting (Box 5.7).
Created in 1971 and financed by the additional tax on the right to lease, the National Housing Agency (ANAH) has the mission of improving the existing private housing stock by providing financial aid for works, by supporting the owners of the private housing stock as well as the local authorities. It contributes to the absorption of substandard housing by offering support and financial support to owner-occupiers or landlords who undertake major rehabilitation work on their homes for more dignified living conditions, provided that they do not exceed a defined income ceiling. The Agency's powers were extended in 2006, with the inclusion of the possibility of concluding agreements with landlords undertaking to charge rents below the market price to tenants whose resources must not exceed a certain ceiling, in order to facilitate the provision of a renovated rental stock at affordable rent. Energy renovation and in particular the fight against fuel poverty have become a major priority for the Agency.
The Agency is also a privileged partner of local authorities who undertake coercive actions to reduce this substandard housing, in particular within the framework of the Programmed Operations for the Improvement of Unhealthy Housing (OPAH) which allow the implementation of a policy of rehabilitation of the built housing stock and improvement of the supply of housing in neighbourhoods in which vacancy phenomena or a prevalence of degraded housing are identified or unhealthy. These operations also aim to compensate for the inadequacy of public services and the decline of shops in order to best meet the needs of the resident populations and to contribute to the improvement of the living environment as well as the preservation of social diversity. They are established by means of agreements between the municipalities, the public establishments for inter-municipal cooperation (EPCI) competent in housing matters or the joint associations that have received a mandate from the latter, in partnership with the State and the ANAH.
In 2021, ANAH financed the renovation of more than 750 000 homes, thanks to EUR 3.11 billion in aid distributed. This activity has generated more than EUR 8 billion in works and created or maintained nearly 900 000 jobs.
Source: ANAH, (CEREMA, 2021[33])
With regard to under-integrated neighbourhoods of unregulated housing as well as deprived areas likely to be restructured in situ (a modality that should undoubtedly be reinforced whenever possible, in order to avoid population displacements, with serious consequences for households), the already existing framework of the City Policy, which the MATNUHPV wishes to refocus on its original missions, could be particularly opportune for the development of territorialised and integrated neighbourhood improvement projects including housing actions, essential urban services, but also cultural and sports facilities as well as employment and economic opportunities. The comprehensive neighbourhood improvement projects developed in many Latin American countries over the past several decades (Mejoramiento integral de barrios) offer a good illustration of this type of particularly interesting multisectoral approach, with a clear priority given to the cultural dimension and citizen participation, which are major levers for the urban and social integration of the inhabitants of the neighbourhoods concerned (Box 5.8). In Morocco, the approaches favoured in the context of housing policy have been above all sectoral, centred either on housing or on urban upgrading. As highlighted by the Cour des Comptes in terms of recommendations for the Cities without Slums programme, the slum clearance programme has been mainly focused on housing. However, this dimension, although essential, is nevertheless only one element of the process of urban integration that includes economic and social parameters: employment, schooling, and social integration (Cour des Comptes, 2020[34]).
Comprehensive neighbourhood improvement programmes (Mejoramiento integral de barrios) are being developed in many Latin American countries at the initiative of local governments, particularly in Colombia. They consist of a set of multisectoral interventions articulated together and concentrated in a given territory, considered as a precarious urban space to be improved and integrated into the city at the social and urban level. These are generally neighbourhoods of irregular origin located on the outskirts of the city, but also sometimes, as in Chile, run-down social housing neighbourhoods.
While these programmes often include a component of pre-regularisation of property and urban upgrading (in terms of essential urban services), they go far beyond that. They include actions in the field of mobility and accessibility (for example, in Colombia, the installation of urban cable cars), interventions in the field of public spaces, as well as the construction of socio-cultural facilities in neighbourhoods that play a major role in the development of initiatives to improve the living environment and social and economic opportunities for households. Interventions in terms of habitat improvement are also generally present.
In addition to this integral, multisectoral and articulated nature, the comprehensive neighbourhood improvement programmes are developed in close consultation with the population, who actively participate in the design of the projects and the monitoring of their implementation. The development of citizen participation is one of their priorities. While the experience of the city of Medellín is probably the best known, many other projects have been implemented in the cities of the region. Supported by local governments, some of which benefit from the support of donors such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), they are now beginning, in some countries such as Colombia, to be adopted and promoted within the framework of national policies. In Colombia, urban planning documents explicitly define neighbourhood improvement perimeters.
Spring: (OECD, 2022[2]), (Paquette Vassili, 2022[35]).
The various challenges of renovating the stock of old housing in central and peri-central consolidated urban areas, improving substandard housing and urban upgrading could be addressed within the framework of an integrated urban renewal strategy, which would make it possible to implement a global and transversal approach and to mobilise energies in the direction of reinvesting in existing urban spaces (which is part of the now a default). In this context, existing new towns, which are experiencing fairly significant difficulties, could be the subject of a reurbanisation and urban renewal process, an ambition that could be supported by their recovery plans. In these newly created urban spaces, as well as in the older and consolidated parts of cities, the implementation of an integrated urban renewal strategy could be an opportunity to mobilise part of the vacant housing stock. However, it would first be necessary to have an in-depth knowledge of the phenomenon of vacancy, in order to characterise and territorialise it.
Supporting housing improvement as part of an integrated approach to urban renewal must also seek to reduce pollution in city centres, not only air pollution, but also visual and noise pollution, through actions to transform and beautify residential neighbourhoods and areas with a dense population, such as projects dedicated to the enhancement of medinas and kasbahs.
Integrating rental housing into housing policy
The efforts made within the framework of Moroccan housing policy have been focused almost exclusively on home ownership, the share of which has continued to increase. However, not all households, especially not the most modest, are in a position to commit to the acquisition of a home, which is costly and often risky. In addition, rental options are relevant not only at certain stages of the life cycle of individuals (young adults), but also to allow geographical mobility linked to the labour market, which is increasingly frequent (OCDE, 2021[9]). The development of a more substantial formal rental market is therefore essential for Moroccan cities.
Several measures could be considered simultaneously to strengthen rental options:
As part of the recommended refocusing of social and very social housing towards more comprehensive, quality, and targeted production, a programme for rent-to-own could be created. If the programme Pool of owners (Semillero de propietarios), developed very recently in Colombia and designed as a gateway to the Social Housing Programme, is an interesting experiment (OECD, 2022[2]), other countries have also developed programmes of this type. A comparative study carried out on behalf of the French Development Agency and which focused on fifteen schemes operating or having operated in eleven countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, offers an overview of the diversity of international experiences of rent-to-own and makes it possible to identify the challenges of the scheme and its conditions for success (Agence française de développement, 2021[36]). According to this study, in order to meet social objectives, the mobilisation of public aid and the support of local authorities appear to be key factors. Otherwise, rent-to-own can only be viable for middle-class or even upper-middle-class households. Rent-to-own, which is geared towards home ownership, is not, however, a form of rental housing as such. Above all, it is a useful supplementary product within a holistic housing policy, which can also contribute to the emergence of an affordable rental sector, in particular by strengthening regulatory frameworks and institutional players in the sector (Agence française de développement, 2021[36]). In Morocco, the Ijara montahia bi-tamlik mechanism for real estate (a contract through which a financial institution rents a specific, identified property owned by the institution to a client, combined with a promise to sell the property at the end of the lease) can be particularly advantageous, especially for disposing the accumulated stock of social housing units. However, a rent-to-own programme should be based on specific aid allowing the most modest to access rent-to-own contracts (Agence française de développement, 2021[36]).
Other measures in favour of rental housing can be implemented to complete a subsidised rent-to-own scheme – in particular, the creation of a public stock of social rental housing, which could accommodate low-income households with capped resources, in return for adapted and also strictly regulated rents. Recent social housing units that are currently vacant could be acquired to constitute this stock, or even old housing, via an acquisition-improvement mechanism intended for institutional landlords. In France, for example, acquisition-improvement is a method of producing the supply of social rental housing. In addition to the majority of funding for new construction, from 1978 to 1990 there were loans specifically intended to help social housing bodies acquire existing housing in order to give it social status after having carried out improvement work. To benefit from it, any acquisition by a social landlord had to give rise to work. From 1990 onwards, it was made possible to acquire without improvement in order to produce a very social offer aimed at disadvantaged households. Since 2001, in order to stimulate the production of social housing, particularly in dense urban areas where land is scarce, the obligation to carry out work has been completely lifted (Politique du logement, s.d.[37]). The latter could be public or private entities, but also from civil society, as shown by South Africa's experience in this area (see Box 5.9).
After having pursued a policy of mass production of individual social housing for home ownership as part of its post-apartheid public policies aimed at combating segregation and racial discrimination, South Africa set up rental housing programmes from the mid-1990s onwards to respond to the enormous quantitative housing deficit still present in the country. Non-profit organisations (social housing institutions) created for the occasion have taken on the task of setting up a social housing stock with government subsidies. Private real estate developers have also recovered disused buildings in central parts of cities, particularly in Johannesburg, to convert them into rental apartments.
A new public policy was then put in place in 2006, allowing the subsidised construction of social rental housing in so-called urban restructuring areas, characterised by significant needs in terms of urban regeneration. In 2017, 138 such zones (located in six provinces and 38 municipalities) were added to the 127 already existing. These areas also concern intermediate cities and small towns. There are currently some 35 000 social rental housing units in the country's urban areas.
Although there has been a gradual shift in this type of housing supply to the peripheries (due to the context of the slowdown in the South African economy and high inflation and the impact on the possibilities of developing operations in valued urban areas), the South African experience is interesting, particularly because there are very few programmes in favour of social rental housing in the context of emerging economies, where housing policies tend to massively favour social housing for home ownership
Source: Salenson et al. (2021[38]), Can social housing in South Africa help to finally overcome the legacy of apartheid?, The Conversation https://theconversation.com/en-afrique-du-sud-le-logement-social-peut-il-aider-a-depasser-enfin-lheritage-de-lapartheid-157477; Sheba, Turok and Visagie, (2021[39])The role of social housing in reducing inequality in South African Cities, AFD Research Paper.
Measuring, evaluating and calibrating at national, regional and local level
A rigorous assessment of housing needs in Moroccan cities is essential to be able to develop and implement an appropriate and efficient housing policy. While Morocco has a well-established methodology for determining the number of housing units to be produced (missing units and future needs), this is not the case for estimating the number of housing units that need to be improved in order to be considered adequate (or suitable), i.e. the qualitative housing deficit. This concept is used by a large number of countries, particularly Latin American, to develop and calibrate their housing improvement policies (OECD, 2022[2]). The data used in Morocco for the qualitative dimension of the housing deficit concern the unsanitary housing of housing. As relevant as they are for characterising the current state of the housing stock, they are in fact of little effect in terms of public policy, because there is no prioritisation of the degrees of insalubrity or definition of the notion of adequate housing. In addition, some levels of unsanitary conditions are similar to the quantitative deficit, while others concern the qualitative dimension. Certain levels of the scale of insalubrity refer or may refer to quantitative needs, i.e. housing to be replaced. This is the case for the first level, but also for the sixth, which relates to overcrowded housing. While some overcrowded units could be expanded (and thus improved), others would not allow this type of improvement and would therefore need to be replaced. The translation of level 6 of unsanitary conditions in terms of quantitative or qualitative needs is therefore not clear. On the other hand, the question of acceptability thresholds may arise for certain degrees of unsanitary conditions. This is particularly the case for level 4 insalubrity, which relates to the relationship of the dwelling with the outside environment in terms of sunlight, ventilation and natural lighting. Indeed, it is not clear that all housing affected by this type of insalubrity is necessarily part of the housing to be improved.
Adopting a rigorous methodology for estimating the overall housing deficit based on a clear distinction between the two components, the quantitative deficit and the qualitative deficit, would be an important step forward for Moroccan housing policy. A draft joint circular between the MATNUHPV and the Ministry of the Interior on the implementation of regional housing plans aims to monitor the land market at the regional level in order to better predict demand, set needs at the level of each region and limit the mobilisation of land to the implementation of housing projects. With regard to the qualitative housing deficit, i.e. the deficit in quality housing, it is important first of all to establish a clear definition of the concept of adequate or adequate housing as it is understood in the country. Like other forms of social need, the need for housing is normative. Habitability criteria can therefore differ from country to country and from context to context: what may be considered an adequate housing solution (in terms of materials, thermal comfort or number of occupants) in one country, or even a region, may be perceived as unacceptable in another. At the international level, interesting examples of methodologies for defining the housing quality deficit, such as those used in Colombia and Chile, could serve as a reference, although such a methodology must be adapted to the specific context of Morocco (OECD, 2022[2]).
If the estimation of needs is a fundamental issue in order to be able to implement an effective housing policy, so is the evaluation of the programmes and actions carried out within the framework of this policy. In particular, it makes it possible to verify that the targeted households are indeed the main beneficiaries of the assistance schemes put in place and, if necessary, to modify or redirect the aid schemes. Significant efforts should be made in this direction in order to develop a culture and practice of evaluation in the context of housing policy, in particular by mobilising the various departments of the Ministry responsible for housing issues. As the Cour des Comptes has pointed out in several of its reports, the programmes implemented in Morocco in favour of housing, whether in terms of social housing or the clearance of slums, have not been sufficiently evaluated.
As well as the assessment of needs, the evaluation of programmes and actions should be carried out at the national level, but also at the regional level, or even more locally. The recently launched Regional Housing Plans are a very promising initiative in this regard. In order to constitute relevant instruments, these plans will have to focus not only on the identification of local needs (on the basis of a quantitative and qualitative estimation methodology), but also on the state of the housing stock (paying particular attention to vacant housing, which is very numerous in several regions of the Kingdom), as well as on the existing housing supply. The Local Housing Programmes developed in France over the past 40 years are an example of such instruments (see Box 5.10).
Created in France 40 years ago, the local housing programme (PLH) has become a structuring document for the thinking of public establishments for inter-municipal cooperation (EPCIs) in order to respond to residents' concerns about housing. Currently covering almost the entire French metropolitan territory, the PLH set out over six years the responses to be provided to the needs in terms of housing and accommodation, in terms of development or adaptation of the offer, for all audiences, and in particular households with the most modest resources.
The PLH is an important strategic document for the territory at the local level, which is articulated with the territorial planning instruments. It must be compatible with the territorial coherence scheme (SCoT) and it guides the local inter-municipal (PLUi) or municipal (PLU) urban planning plans. It makes it possible to respond to regional challenges such as urban densification, urban renewal, the promotion of energy-efficient buildings, and to integrate comfort and quality of life. It is based on a diagnosis that analyses the functioning of the housing and land markets, needs and shortcomings, and it defines objectives and means to be mobilised at the financial, urban, land and human levels.
Spring: (CEREMA, 2021[33]).
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[9] OCDE (2021), Boîte à outils de l’OCDE pour les politiques publiques du logement - Rapport de synthèse, https://www.oecd.org/fr/rcm/Bo%C3%AEte%20%C3%A0%20outils%20de%20l%E2%80%99OCDE%20pour%20les%20Politiques%20Publiques%20du%20logement%20%E2%80%93%20Rapport%20de%20Synth%C3%A8se.pdf.
[2] OECD (2022), National Urban Policy Review of Colombia, OECD Urban Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9ca1caae-en.
[28] OECD (2015), OECD Territorial Reviews: Valle de México, Mexico, OECD Territorial Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264245174-en.
[5] OECD (s.d.), OECD Affordable Housing Database, https://www.oecd.org/housing/data/affordable-housing-database/.
[19] ONU Habitat (2011), Évaluation du programme national Villes sans bidonvilles: Propositions pour en accroître les performances.
[1] ONU Habitat (2010), Le droit à un logement convenable, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/FS21_rev_1_Housing_fr.pdf.
[35] Paquette Vassili, C. (2022), Participatory neighborhood improvement programs: a way par excellence to promote greater urban and territorial equity from the bottom. Zooming into Latin-American inspirational experience, https://gold.uclg.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/ch4_commoning_1_0.pdf.
[37] Politique du logement (s.d.), Acquisition-amélioration, https://politiquedulogement.com/dictionnaire-du-logement/a/acquisition-amelioration/.
[32] Royez, C. et al. (2015), La production sociale de l’habitat, https://www.citego.org/bdf_dossier-268_fr.html.
[38] Salenson, I. et al. (2021), En Afrique du Sud, le logement social peut-il aider à dépasser enfin l’héritage de l’apartheid?, https://theconversation.com/en-afrique-du-sud-le-logement-social-peut-il-aider-a-depasser-enfin-lheritage-de-lapartheid-157477.
[39] Scheba, A., I. Turok et J. Visagie (2021), The role of social housing in reducing inequality in South African Cities.
[16] Secrétariat général de la promotion immobilière (2022), Principaux indicateurs immobiliers.
[20] Toutain, O. et V. Rachmuhl (2014), Évaluation et impact du Programme d’appui à la résorption de l’habitat insalubre et des bidonvilles au Maroc.
← 1. The first level of insalubrity concerns housing with extreme deficiencies and is assimilated to the quantitative deficit because the housing must be replaced. Unsanitary level 2 corresponds to housing that lacks at least one of the three basic facilities, namely drinking water, electricity and sanitation. Insalubrity level 3 corresponds to dwellings that do not have a separate kitchen or toilet. Insalubrity level 4 corresponds to dwellings with a poor relationship with the outside environment in terms of sunlight, ventilation and natural lighting. Unsanitary level 5 corresponds to dwellings located in a harmful environment in terms of infested areas, polluted atmosphere, harmful microclimate and nuisance areas. Insalubrity level 6 corresponds to dwellings with a high occupancy density, with less than 9 m² per person.
← 2. In the case of self-built housing, the owner builds his or her own home, usually gradually, according to his or her means, while in the case of self-production, he or she is his or her own developer and uses a small company to build his or her home.
← 3. The Moroccan house corresponds to a dense housing of the townhouse type, individual or even semi-individual, built in R+2 with most often a maximum occupation of the land. It is in fact defined statistically by default as a "construction intended for habitation that does not meet the criteria of either buildings or villas", which are other categories of housing that are individualised in population and housing censuses as well as housing surveys.
← 4. The Al Omrane Group was created in 2007 by successive mergers of several companies to become the State's specialised operator in the housing and development sector. A public institution with legal status and financial autonomy, it operates under the supervision of the MATNHPV and acts as a public operator for the implementation of government policy on housing, particularly regarding actions to reduce substandard housing and other components of the housing deficit, urban upgrading and development, the production of social housing, and the regulation of the land market. The Al Omrane Group is present in all regions of the country through its 14 subsidiaries and 43 agencies.
← 5. Over the period 2002-2017, the housing sector was able to benefit from a total allocation of nearly MAD 22.5 billion as a contribution from the FSHIU, i.e. an average annual amount of MAD 1.4 billion with peaks that in some years exceed MAD 2 billion (Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances, 2019[10]).
← 6. Since 2017, however, the granting of this credit by banks has decreased because of its high risk. Now, only two banks grant more than 80% of FOGARIM loans, while all banks are in principle eligible (Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances, 2019[10]).
← 7. The population is divided into 5 social categories according to the monthly income of households: the “vulnerable class” corresponds to monthly incomes below MAD 2 000 (EUR 181) and the “social class” to monthly incomes between MAD 2 000 and MAD 4 000. The upper thresholds are MAD 6 000 for the “lower intermediate class” and MAD 11 000 for the “upper intermediate class”. The “wealthy class” is characterised by monthly incomes of more than MAD 11 000 (EUR 1 000) (Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances, 2019[10]).
← 8. The average area of social housing at MAD 250 000 built between 2010 and 2017 is 55 m2 and that of low-value housing of MAD 140 000 built between 2008 and 2017 is 52 m2 (MATNUHPV, 2016[40]), (MATNUHPV, 2016[17]). In Mexico, but also in Colombia, the size of social housing produced over the last twenty years is most often less than 40 m2 (for a household of 4 people); in Colombia, there is no minimum surface area required for housing of social interest (OECD, 2022[2]). In Chile, a country that pioneered the production of mass social housing in the 1980s, the minimum standards have even reached 27 m2 (they have been considerably increased since the 2000s and are now set at 55 m2).
← 9. The contracts thus define the names of the slums and the number of households concerned; the operating method(s) adopted; the deadlines for completion and the estimated date for declaring the “city without slums”; the objectives of the programme and the technical and financial data relating to the land bases, the consistency of the operations as well as the resources allocated according to the agreed implementation schedule; the role and responsibilities of each of the partners in the implementation of absorption and prevention actions (ONU Habitat, 2011[19]).
← 10. More specifically, the evaluation concerned nine resettlement operations divided into fifteen phases in five cities, three of which are among the major agglomerations particularly affected by substandard housing: Agadir, Casablanca and Kenitra (Toutain et Rachmuhl, 2014[20]).
← 11. Renovation is defined as “operations aimed at taking care of the old urban fabric and old quarters, preserving the architectural and civilisational heritage of cities and enhancing urban spaces, either through restoration and renovation operations, infrastructure development, provision of basic facilities and construction of new housing” (Law 94-12 of 2016).
← 12. The selling price per square meter under the scheme has thus increased from MAD 6 000 including VAT to MAD 7 200 including VAT, and the area covered, initially from 80 m2 to 120 m2, to 80 m2 to 150 m2.
← 13. The Al Omrane Group is working on its own sustainable development and construction reference framework and also on demonstration projects located in different regions with the aim of labelling them as “Eco-cities” (a label adapted to the Moroccan context).
← 14. This system was tested in Casablanca, as part of the resettlement operation set up by the Al Omrane Group. To cope with the land constraints encountered, the operation was designed to rehouse two families on the same lot (with a surface area of 84m2) in four-storey buildings (R+3). The two households receiving the award, called pairs, had the option of joining forces with a “third party associate” (developer, first-time buyer, etc.) who undertook by contract to finance and carry out the construction of the homes of the two families. In return, he recovered the remaining two floors (generally the ground floor and the first floor).