What is habous property and why can't I buy it?

Habous — sometimes spelled hubous, and internationally known as waqf — is property held permanently in Islamic religious trust, typically for the upkeep of a mosque, madrasa, zaouia, or other charitable institution. The title is inalienable: the property cannot be sold to anyone, Moroccan or foreign, under any conditions. This has been the legal situation for centuries and is unlikely to change.

In the Marrakech medina, habous property is more common than foreign buyers realise. Sections of derbs near major mosques, shrines, and madrasas are partly or entirely habous. These properties can be occupied, often through very long-term leases (30 to 99 years in some cases) managed by the Ministry of Habous, but the underlying title cannot be transferred.

What this means in practice: during due diligence, the notaire checks whether the property is habous. If it is, the sale cannot proceed. A property that looks available on Mubawab, has a motivated seller, and an apparent clean chain of documentation can still turn out to be habous once the title search runs. This is one of the reasons due diligence takes the time it does, and why the deposit on the compromis is held in escrow by the notaire rather than handed to the seller directly.

If you encounter a habous property that's being informally leased and the seller suggests they can "arrange something," the answer is to walk away. There is no legitimate way to acquire habous title, and arrangements that promise to work around the restriction are either scams or highly precarious.