A large-scale audit campaign rearranges the path of building permits in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region.
The regional authorities in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region have launched an unprecedented campaign to review the records of “housing permits” and compliance certificates across several municipalities, following emerging data suggesting the possible use of outdated documents outside legal procedures, particularly prior to recent ministerial directives that prohibit the issuance of partial permits.
Joint committees comprising urban planning services and local authorities have moved to the relevant municipalities, initiating a meticulous audit of old records. This follows observations of attempts to circumvent the digital platform for permits and exploit administrative loopholes to process documents with dates not matching the actual status of buildings.
During the review operations, the committees discovered cases of apartments being sold before construction was completed, especially within resettlement projects and some small subdivisions. This comes at a time when the region has seen a notable increase in the issuance of “housing permits” in the last months of the electoral term.
Local sources did not hide their concerns regarding some parties potentially concealing unfinished construction work by beautifying facades or covering them up. This has led the committees to emphasize the necessity of adhering to original designs and strictly following guidelines that prohibit occupancy of buildings before their completion.
Monitoring teams also warned about the dangers of leaving construction sites unsupervised, noting that this situation has been exploited to alter the characteristics of certain buildings, which has recently reflected in demolition decisions carried out by authorities against non-compliant projects.
The Ministry of the Interior asserts that the digital platform remains the only pathway for processing permit applications in the region, emphasizing its commitment to closing all avenues that have allowed for the spread of urban imbalances and ensuring that permits are granted in accordance with the provisions of Law 66.12 and the regulatory decree governing compliance operations.
