Is Airbnb Legal in Morocco? 2026 Rules, Permits & Taxes

Permit required

Yes

Taxes on a stay

No tourist tax

Fine for hosting without a permit

MAD 500,000

Next rule change

May 2027

The rules in brief

Who needs it

Anyone who opens a tourist accommodation establishment (guesthouse, riad, kasbah, tourist residence and similar) or runs a homestay or alternative accommodation. A tourist residence is defined as lodging that rents furnished units equipped with a kitchen, which covers furnished apartments and villas let to tourists.^1,2,6,7

Issued by

The governor of the prefecture or province, after the regional investment centre (CRI) files the application and the regional unified investment commission gives its opinion; for homestay and alternative accommodation, the local authority (autorité locale)

Valid for

Classified establishments: the operating classification runs for seven years and is then renewed for periods of five years. Homestay and alternative accommodation: the authorisation is valid for five years and renewable.

Processing

Homestay and alternative accommodation: within 30 days of filing. Classified establishments: the decree sets steps of 2 and 14 days at each office; no single total is published.

Platform checks

Law 80-14 and its 2023 decree set no listing-number field and no platform check. In June 2025 the Ministry of Tourism announced further orders for homestays and alternative accommodation that will also cover products offered on the most-used platforms.

Who qualifies

• Provisional classification first: the property must meet 100% of the mandatory equipment standards and at least 70% of the points of the complementary standards for its type and star category
• A copy of the certificate of conformity of the building (certificat de conformité) goes into the application for classified establishments
• Insurance against fire, theft of guests' belongings and civil liability must be in place before the authorisation is issued
• Homestay: the host lives in the home, and files a copy of the electronic national identity card, photos of the rooms and common areas, the insurance contract, an occupancy permit (permis d'habiter) or an engineer's safety certificate, and the signed specifications (cahier des charges)

How to apply

1. 1 Classified establishments (guesthouse, riad, tourist residence): file the application electronically, against a receipt, with the regional investment centre (CRI) of the region where the property stands. The file holds the application form, the certificate of conformity and the equipment-standards self-assessment form for the chosen type and star category.
2. 2 The CRI forwards the file within 2 days to the governor (civil protection, hygiene and other opinions within 14 days) and to the regional tourism office, whose visit and provisional classification report is due within 14 days.
3. 3 The regional unified investment commission gives its opinion; on a favourable opinion the tourism office issues the provisional classification within 2 days.
4. 4 File the insurance contract with the CRI; the governor issues the operating authorisation within 2 days of receiving it. Notify the CRI within 60 days of opening to start the operating classification.
5. 5 Homestay or alternative accommodation: file the request, against a receipt, with the local authority, which forwards it within 2 days for a site visit and decides within 30 days.

Permit rules

Operating authorisation before opening

A tourist accommodation cannot open without an operating authorisation (autorisation d'exploitation), and the authorisation is granted only after a provisional classification and proof of insurance.¹ Applies to: guesthouses, riads, tourist residences and similar establishments · In force since August 7, 2023

Authorisation and specifications for homestays

Homestays, bivouacs and alternative accommodation each need an authorisation tied to a set of specifications (cahier des charges), and must respect the law and public order.¹ Applies to: homestay and alternative accommodation · In force since August 7, 2023

Star classification and standards

Each type is classified by stars (a guesthouse from one to five, a riad from three to luxury). An establishment must meet all mandatory standards and at least 70% of the points of the complementary standards.² Applies to: classified establishments · In force since August 7, 2023

Classification valid for seven years

The operating classification of a tourist accommodation lasts seven years and is renewed for periods of five years; the renewal request is filed three months before it ends.² Applies to: classified establishments · In force since August 7, 2023

Homestay authorisation: five years, 30 days to decide

The local authority issues a favourable homestay or alternative-accommodation authorisation within 30 days of filing, and it is valid for five years, renewable on the same steps.² Applies to: homestay and alternative accommodation · In force since August 7, 2023

Official sign at the entrance

Homestay and alternative-accommodation operators must display the official sign showing their authorisation at the entrance, and use the name and category on the authorisation in all printed material.¹ Applies to: homestay and alternative accommodation · In force since August 7, 2023

Platform-listed lodging: further orders announced

In June 2025 the Ministry of Tourism announced new orders for homestays, bivouacs and alternative accommodation that will also cover products offered on the most-used platforms. No platform duty is in force yet.⁷ Applies to: hosts listing on platforms

Homestay in the home where you live

A private person may host tourists for one or more nights in the home where they are domiciled, as family-run lodging. The number of rooms that can be let is set by regulation.¹ Applies to: residents hosting in their own home · In force since August 7, 2023

Furnished apartments and villas: tourist residence

Law 80-14 defines a tourist residence (résidence de tourisme) as tourist lodging that rents furnished units equipped with a kitchen, the nearest category for a furnished apartment or villa let whole to guests. It is classified from one to five stars or luxury. Even at one star, the classification standards require check-in at a desk or dedicated hall with reception staff present 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.^1,2,4 Applies to: whole-home rentals · In force since August 7, 2023

Converting a building must meet construction standards

Converting an existing building into a tourist accommodation must follow the specific construction regulation for tourist lodging, and the certificate of conformity is granted only if the works match the permit.¹ Applies to: conversions and new tourist lodging · In force since August 7, 2023

1. 1. Marrakesh

   Marrakech-Safi

   Marrakesh, the largest market, follows the national route: applications go electronically to the regional investment centre (CRI) of Marrakech-Safi, and the governor of the prefecture issues the operating authorisation. The commune sets its own tourist tax within the national range, so a host should confirm the current figure with the commune's revenue office.^1,2,3,6

   • Authorisation filed electronically with the regional investment centre of Marrakech-Safi
   • Riads and houses let to tourists: national tourist tax range of MAD 10 to 25 per person per night
   • Daily electronic guest declaration and signed guest forms kept for one year
   • Fine for opening without authorisation: MAD 50,000 to 500,000

2. 2. Casablanca

   Casablanca-Settat

   Casablanca applies the national authorisation route through the Casablanca-Settat regional investment centre. The city publishes its own tourist-tax schedule, with guesthouses at MAD 30 per person per night, and operators pay the commune each quarter.^6,10

   • Tourist tax for guesthouses (maisons d'hôtes) on the city's schedule: MAD 30 per person per night
   • Hotels on the schedule: MAD 25 (5 stars), MAD 10 (4 stars), MAD 7 (3 stars), MAD 5 (1 or 2 stars)
   • Operators pay the commune quarterly, within the month after each quarter
   • Annual declaration of guests and nights before 1 April

3. 3. Agadir

   Souss-Massa

   In Agadir, and in nearby Taghazout and Aourir, the Souss-Massa regional investment centre and the regional unified investment commission handle the provisional classification and operating authorisation of tourist accommodation, and its procedure guide lists the renewal of operating classification as a separate procedure.^1,11

   • Provisional classification and operating authorisation handled by the Souss-Massa regional investment centre
   • Operating classification renewed through its own procedure
   • Tourist tax set by the commune where the property stands, within the national range
   • Fine for opening without authorisation: MAD 50,000 to 500,000

Room cap for homestays set by joint order

The maximum number of rooms a homestay may let, and the model specifications, are fixed by joint orders of the Interior and Tourism ministers.² Applies to: homestay hosts

Stays of one night or more

The law covers guests staying one or more nights. Neither Law 80-14 nor the 2023 decree sets a minimum stay or an annual cap on nights.^1,2 In force since August 7, 2023

Insurance is mandatory

Every operator must hold insurance against fire, theft of guests' belongings and civil liability, renew it regularly and show the contract at inspections. Homestay hosts file the contract with their application.^1,2 In force since August 7, 2023

Building safety proof

A homestay application must include the occupancy permit (permis d'habiter) or a certificate from a specialised engineer that the building meets safety, solidity and fire-prevention rules. Classified establishments file their certificate of conformity.² Applies to: homestay hosts and classified establishments · In force since August 7, 2023

Daily electronic guest declaration

The operator must declare guest data electronically (télé-déclaration) on the day of arrival, through the STDN portal of the Tourism and Interior ministries, before 8 a.m. each day.^1,13

ID check and signed form, kept one year

On arrival the operator must ask each guest for identity documents and a signed individual accommodation form, archive the forms for one year and give them to the police or gendarmerie on request.¹

Inspections

Commissioned agents may inspect any accommodation, and owners and operators must give them access to all services and hand over the documents they ask for.¹ In force since August 7, 2023

Classified establishments operate all year

A classified tourist accommodation must be operated permanently throughout the year, with seasonal operation allowed where needed.¹ Applies to: classified establishments · In force since August 7, 2023

Host collects and pays the tourist tax

The operator collects the tourist tax from guests on top of the price, shows it separately on invoices and pays the commune each quarter. Children under 12 are exempt.³

What the host still handles

• Operating authorisation (autorisation d'exploitation) before the first guest, filed through the regional investment centre or the local authority
• Daily electronic guest declaration on the STDN portal (stdn.ma), with the guest forms archived for one year
• Annual declaration to the commune of guests and nights before 1 April, and quarterly payment of the tourist tax within the month after each quarter
• VAT registration with the Directorate General of Taxes where accommodation income makes the host liable to VAT^3,8,9,10,14

• Opening a tourist accommodation, or running another form of tourist accommodation, without the required operating authorisation: fine of MAD 50,000 to 500,000¹
• Failing to take out or renew the mandatory insurance: fine of MAD 50,000 to 500,000, and the court may close the property for up to six months until an insurance contract is shown¹
• For homestay hosts the insurance fine is reduced to MAD 10,000 to 100,000¹
• Failing the guest declaration, identity-check and archiving duties: one to six months in prison, a fine of MAD 50,000 to 100,000, or both¹
• Other breaches of operating duties: a warning, then a reprimand, then a fine of MAD 50,000 to 100,000 if the breach continues¹
• Repeat offences within five years of a final conviction: the penalties are doubled¹

1. May 2027 Upcoming
   Compliance window for older classified establishments ends

   Classified establishments that existed when Law 80-14 was published have 24 months from the publication of the classification standards (Bulletin officiel of 27 May 2025) to comply, which runs to about May 2027.^1,4

2. January 12, 2026
   Decree on buildings used for short-term rental announced

   The Secretary of State for Housing told the House of Representatives that the government is preparing a decree to better control buildings used for short-term rental, citing planning zones reserved for tourist activity.¹⁵

3. June 10, 2025
   Orders for homestays and platform-listed lodging announced

   The Ministry of Tourism announced that further orders will structure bivouacs, homestays and alternative accommodation, and will also cover products offered on the most-used platforms. The orders are not yet in the ministry's list of published texts.^5,7

4. May 27, 2025
   Classification standards published

   Joint order n° 985-24 fixing the star-classification standards for tourist accommodation appeared in Bulletin officiel n° 7407 bis dated 27 May 2025 (official translation edition), with four related orders on documents, restaurants and attached residences.^4,5,7

5. August 7, 2023
   Implementing decree for Law 80-14 published

   Decree n° 2-23-441 of 13 July 2023 was published in the Arabic edition of the Bulletin officiel n° 7219 on 7 August 2023. It sets the authorisation and classification procedures through the regional investment centres and the homestay authorisation by the local authority.²

Estimate what a home could earn

1. 1. Loi n° 80-14 relative aux établissements touristiques et aux autres formes d'hébergement touristique (dahir n° 1-15-108 du 4 août 2015) · Royaume du Maroc, Bulletin officiel n° 6404-3 (text published by the Ministry of Land Planning and Urbanism)
2. 2. Décret n° 2-23-441 du 13 juillet 2023 pris pour l'application de certaines dispositions de la loi n° 80-14 (Bulletin officiel n° 7462, official French translation, 4 December 2025) · Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts and Social and Solidarity Economy (copy of the Bulletin officiel)
3. 3. Loi n° 47-06 relative à la fiscalité des collectivités territoriales, as amended by loi n° 07-20 (chapter IX, taxe de séjour) · Trésorerie Générale du Royaume (TGR)
4. 4. Arrêté conjoint n° 985-24 du 24 décembre 2024 fixant les normes de classement des établissements d'hébergement touristique (Bulletin officiel n° 7407 bis, 27 May 2025) · Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Tourism
5. 5. Hébergement touristique: cadre juridique · Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts and Social and Solidarity Economy
6. 6. Procédure du classement provisoire et de l'autorisation d'exploitation · Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts and Social and Solidarity Economy
7. 7. Hébergement touristique : 5 arrêtés publiés au BO pour amorcer une véritable transformation qualitative du secteur (MAP, 10 June 2025) · Maroc.ma, official portal of the Kingdom of Morocco
8. 8. Colloque « Autonomie fiscale locale et développement territorial » : intervention du Trésorier Général du Royaume, 2 April 2022 · Trésorerie Générale du Royaume (TGR)
9. 9. Code général des impôts 2026 (article 99, VAT rates) · Ministry of Economy and Finance, Direction Générale des Impôts
10. 10. Taxe de séjour · Commune of Casablanca (CasablancaCity.ma)
11. 11. Guide vidéo des procédures · Centre Régional d'Investissement Souss-Massa
12. 12. Chiffres clés du tourisme · Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts and Social and Solidarity Economy
13. 13. Guide du système de télé-déclaration des nuitées (Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of the Interior; copy hosted by the MGH hotel association) · Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of the Interior
14. 14. Areas where tax collection and remittance by Airbnb is available · Airbnb Help Center
15. 15. Morocco Moves to Regulate Airbnb Rentals as Government Targets 20% Rent Reduction (13 January 2026) · Morocco World News
16. 16. Morocco says short term rentals are fully regulated under existing law (23 December 2025) · Hespress English