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IV

Weekly highlights Weekly highlights

The Ministry of Interior tracks down

violations of urban planning

n The head governors of Rabat and
Tangiers point out the responsibility
of architects

n The buildings in an irregular situation

are deprived of the occupancy permit

n An essential document for the splitting

of land titles

T action concerning urban planning vio-
HE Ministry of Interior wants to take

lations. At least two initiatives confirm
this. First, there is the letter sent to eve-
ryone’s surprise by Mohamed Yaacoubi, wali
(head governor) of the region of Rabat-Salé-Ke-
nitra directly to the Minister of Urban Planning
and Housing instead of going through the hie-
rarchy. In his letter, the wali said that the local
commission in charge of monitoring projects
has visited 91 real estate projects in the region
having obtained the certificate of compliance
for the year 2021. It turns out that 70% of these
projects have received the certificate of comple-
tion signed by architects, attesting to their com-
pliance with the authorized documents, including
construction plans, while the situation is quite
different. The letter also states that the increa-
sing number of certificates of compliance issued
by architects for projects in an irregular situa-
tion with respect to the authorized plans endan-
gers the safety of citizens and affects the urban
aesthetics. The regional chapter of the Architects'
Association has been asked by the wali to take
administrative action on these violations of the
law. Legal proceedings may also be considered
against the architects concerned.
On another level, the wali announced that
the issuance of occupancy permits will now be
conditioned by the compliance of real estate pro-
jects. This is considered by some architects as
a step backwards from the provisions of Law
66-12 which places architects at the heart of the Many real estate projects undergo minor modifications from the original plan, but these changes must be authorized and be the subject of a
procedure for the occupancy permit. The docu- revised plan (Ph. L’Economiste)
ment is delivered on the basis of the certificate
of compliance signed by the architect who seems region of Tangiers-Tetouan-Al Hoceima has sent one or two additional floors without authoriza-
to have been left out of the new scheme. This a similar letter to the president of the regional tion, the transformation of a mezzanine floor
pilot experiment is conducted in several cities, council of the Architects' Association. A letter into a full floor, the construction of a recessed
including Rabat. that says a lot about the nature of irregularities floor, the increased height of the building, and
As a reminder, the failure to obtain an occu- in 26 projects under construction in the region. other irregularities.
pancy permit prevents the splitting of the land The wali has also accompanied his letter by The initiatives of the walis of Rabat and
title and the registration of the property at the a table summarizing the nature of violations, Tangiers are considered by a professional as
Land Registry. This has the consequence of pro- with the address of the buildings concerned, the an «open war» between the Ministry of Inte-
hibiting any transaction. number and date of the building permit, and the rior and the Department of Urban Planning and
The approach of the wali of Rabat does not name of the architect responsible. Among the Housing.o
seem to be isolated. Indeed, his colleague in the irregularities reported were the construction of Hassan EL ARIF

Friday 18 February 2022