Airbnb Morocco Rules: Short-Term Rental Laws, Taxes, and Yields for Foreign Owners

Morocco received a record 19.8 million tourists in 2025, and Airbnb and Booking.com have become major channels for short-term rental income in cities like Marrakech, Agadir, and Essaouira. For foreign property owners, this represents a genuine income opportunity. But operating a short-term rental in Morocco requires compliance with a legal framework that became significantly more formalised in 2023 — and ignoring the rules carries severe financial penalties.

The Law That Changed Everything: Law No. 80-14

In 2023, the Moroccan government enacted Decree No. 2.23.441 to implement Law No. 80-14 on tourist accommodation establishments. This law applies to any property owner who regularly lets their property to short-term paying guests — including individual landlords listing on Airbnb, Booking.com, or any other platform.

The core requirement is a formal operating authorization from the local municipality. This is not a registration or a tax filing — it is an operational license that must be obtained before you start accepting guests.

What the Authorization Requires

The municipal application requires:

• An official application form
• Proof of absolute title — a clean Titre Foncier. Properties without a state-issued land title cannot obtain the authorization
• Detailed architectural floor plans and professional interior and exterior photographs of the property
• An architect-certified structural safety compliance certificate
• A comprehensive civil liability insurance certificate specifically covering short-term paying guests

Obtaining the architect certificate and the civil liability insurance takes time. Build at least four to six weeks into your pre-launch timeline.

Ongoing Operational Obligations

Once authorized, operating a short-term rental in Morocco comes with specific daily and annual compliance obligations:

Guest registration: You are legally required to record the passport details of all foreign guests and submit them electronically to the local police department within 24 hours of arrival. This is strictly enforced, particularly in tourist cities.

Tourist promotion tax: Property owners must pay the taxe de promotion touristique, assessed at approximately 10 MAD per person per night, or around 1.5% of nightly revenue depending on the municipality. This is separate from income tax and must be paid to the relevant municipal authority.

Rental income tax: Short-term rental income is subject to Morocco's Impôt sur le Revenu (income tax) at a flat rate of 10% on gross receipts for tourist accommodation — or you can opt for the 20% flat withholding tax introduced by the 2025 Finance Law, which exempts you from filing an annual global income declaration for that property. The 20% option is simpler administratively but may be less efficient if your income is modest.

Penalty for non-compliance: Operating an unauthorized short-term rental carries penalties of up to 500,000 MAD and can result in an administrative closure order. The financial exposure from non-compliance significantly outweighs the cost of getting authorized correctly.

The Condominium Restriction

A significant complication for apartment owners: under Morocco's Condominium Law No. 18-00, the co-owners' assembly (Assemblée des Copropriétaires) has the authority to explicitly restrict or prohibit short-term rentals within the building. This decision is typically embedded in the co-ownership rules (règlement de copropriété).

Before purchasing an apartment for short-term rental, review the règlement de copropriété carefully. If the document prohibits short-term commercial stays, the building's Syndic can sue, and the courts can issue an injunction compelling you to stop rental activity. There is no compensation for the lost income.

This is a check that must happen before purchase, not after.

Rental Yields by City and Property Type

The income potential for short-term tourist rentals varies significantly by location:

These are gross figures. Peak-season occupancy in Marrakech and Agadir reaches 65% to 80%. Net yields after management fees (15%–20% of revenue), platform fees (approximately 3% host fee on Airbnb), property tax, insurance, and income tax will be materially lower — typically 30% to 40% below gross. A medina riad quoted at 15% gross might net 9% to 11% for a well-managed operation, which is still an exceptional figure by international standards.

Long-Term Rentals: A More Predictable Alternative

For foreign owners who prefer administrative simplicity, long-term residential leasing is a practical alternative, particularly in Casablanca and Rabat where corporate and diplomatic demand is strong.

Long-term leases are governed by the Moroccan Civil Code and must be registered with the local municipal authority. Average gross rental yields in Casablanca and Rabat for standard unfurnished residential apartments range from 4.5% to 6.5%. The standard lease term is one year renewable, with a mandatory three-month written notice period required from either party.

Rental income from long-term leases benefits from a 40% flat-rate deduction on gross income — only 60% of the income is subject to the progressive tax scale. Alternatively, the 2025 Finance Law's 20% flat withholding option also applies to long-term rental income.

From July 1, 2026, a mandatory 5% non-final withholding tax applies when the tenant is a corporate entity, credit institution, or public body. This can be credited against your final tax liability at year-end.

Repatriating Rental Income

To legally transfer rental profits out of Morocco, the property must have been purchased through the official convertible banking pathway — meaning all purchase funds arrived via international wire and the bank issued a Formule 2 at the time of the original transfer. Without the Formule 2, rental income cannot be repatriated in foreign currency.

At the time of each repatriation, your Moroccan bank will require: the Formule 2 from the original purchase, the registered lease agreement, up-to-date tax receipts proving rental income taxes have been paid, and a current quitus fiscal.

This is why it matters to declare income annually and pay taxes on time — not just for legal compliance, but to maintain the clear paper trail that makes repatriation possible.

The Buying Property in Morocco — Expat Guide includes the full rental compliance checklist for foreign property owners, covering Law No. 80-14 registration steps, income tax options, and the repatriation documentation sequence.

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