Can I rent out my riad as a guesthouse?

Yes. Short-term rental of a privately owned riad to tourists is legal in Morocco, but there's a formal classification that distinguishes a compliant operation from a grey-market one.

A maison d'hôtes (guesthouse) is a riad or villa formally classified by the Ministry of Tourism for tourist accommodation. Classification involves an inspection of the property against a published standards list, registration of the owner or operator, and ongoing obligations around tax declaration, guest registration, and tourist tax collection. Classified maisons d'hôtes appear on Booking.com and Airbnb as legitimate listings and can be marketed openly.

An uncertified property rented short-term to tourists is technically operating outside the formal framework. In practice, enforcement varies — many riads rent this way without issues — but the risks are real. The maison d'hôtes next door can report you. Tax authorities can review platform-reported income. A dispute with a guest can trigger legal exposure. For foreign owners who want to rent seriously, pursuing the classification is the cleaner path.

The classification process takes several months and involves standards the building must meet: a minimum number of rooms, private bathrooms, safety compliance, and so on. Operating a registered maison d'hôtes comes with tax obligations — income tax declarations, guest registration (the fiche de police filed nightly), tourist tax collection and remittance.

Most foreign riad owners who let to tourists seriously work with a local property manager or tourism agency who handles the compliance side. The cost is modest (typically 10% to 20% of gross revenue for full management, less for more limited services) and the peace of mind is worth it. Trying to run a compliant operation remotely from abroad without local help is possible but difficult.