Fatima Zahra Mansouri, the Minister of National Land Planning, Urban Development, Housing, and Urban Policy announced that the beneficiaries of the housing aid program will be receiving financial support starting in January, during a press conference held on Friday.
The Minister revealed that it is expected that between 70,000 and 100,000 Moroccan citizens, be they residing in Morocco or abroad, will benefit from the housing aid.
King Mohammed VI chaired a meeting this week dedicated to the long awaited program, which is estimated to cost approximately 9.5 billion Moroccan dirhams and is envisioned to better the living conditions of citizens and boost social welfare, she stressed.
Since the economic housing projects were limited to major cities, the new program is envisioned to expand the right to housing to other citizens across the Kingdom, said Mansouri. For this reason, the Minister committed to raising the number of housing units being built by 10%.
“The housing aid program will be in accordance with the law, via a digital platform for which an agreement has been signed with the Deposit and Management Fund,” which will guarantee transparency of the aid delivery, underscored Mansouri.
The Minister of National Land Planning, Urban Development Housing, and Urban Policy acknowledged that some residential products provided by some real estate developers were not up to the standard.
“There are cases of people who are not at the same level previously, but we have to be optimistic,” stressing that in Marrakech no economic housing was affected by the Al-Haouz earthquake, explained Mansouri.
The new aid program is anticipated to improve the quality of housing offered by developers through competition increased.
The Government official said that the requirement of 500 housing units for affordable housing projects has been removed, and building projects in cities with lower property prices will allow citizens to purchase larger housing units.
She stressed that the black market is no longer as common in the real estate sector as before, and people who were requested for such illegal payments should expose them.
In line with King Mohammed VI’s determination to strengthen citizens’ ability to access decent housing, the new program, which will run from 2024 to 2028, is envisioned to help households’ purchasing power through direct financial aid to the purchaser, instead of fiscal incentives to the real estate developers.
All Moroccans from low-income social classes and the middle classes, be they residing in the country or abroad, are eligible for this housing aid program. The only exception is individuals who already own a house or have previously received housing assistance, a step forward in accelerating the “Cities Without Slums” program.
The amount of assistance is determined by the purchase price of the home. It is set at MAD 100,000 for the purchase of a home costing up to MAD 300,000 (including tax), and MAD 70,000 for homes costing between MAD 300,000 and MAD 700,000 (including tax).
On a positive note, the housing acquisition aid will stimulate growth in the private sector, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The housing units covered by the new assistance program will be constructed in accordance with current development plans as well as technical and quality standards.
It is planned to establish 12 regional urban planning and housing agencies to support the implementation of the housing assistance program and the renewal of urban and regional planning, taking into account the unique characteristics of both urban and rural areas.