Social housing in Morocco: caught between criticism and satisfaction

2008-03-27

A new study released this month in Morocco reveals the successes and failures of the country's social housing programme for low-income families. The housing ministry says that while there have been setbacks, the plan has performed well.

By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 27/03/08

[Sarah Touahri] The construction of social housing districts has enabled many families to own their own home. Some warn that the districts' socioeconomic homogeneity and high unemployment risk turning them into ghettos.

More than 12 years after Morocco launched its social housing programme, a new study issued by the housing, urban development and environment ministry on March 13th indicates that many people are dissatisfied with their accommodation, particularly the small size of living space.

Housewife Hafida Belmadani has been living with her family of six in Salé Al Jadida for six years, in a flat measuring 56 square metres. "At the start, I was happy to be living in a flat of my own at long last. But I later realised that the home is too small for my family," she told Magharebia.

While social housing districts have certainly enabled many families to buy a home of their own, sociologist Jamal Debbaghi noted that great density has negatively affected quality of life for those living there.

Debbaghi said these districts fail to encourage socio-economic diversity, given that the vast majority of residents are from the same social class. "There is a risk of negative consequences in the future. Social housing districts do not reflect characteristics seen at a national level, such as unemployment rates, for example. The ministry’s study has clearly highlighted this: there is a risk of them turning into ghettos," he explained.

Social housing recipients also complain that while the prices are supposed to be properly set and controlled to preserve the buying power of claimants, there is growing influence by the black market.

Samir Bourar said he was required to pay 40,000 dirhams above the price of his flat in Témara to a black market developer. "The advertisement shows one price but, in reality, you have to pay extra under the table. Officials must take action to look after the interests of the public," he said.

Private developers unanimously deny that such a practice exists.

Sixty percent of Morocco's 400,000 social housing has been built by the private sector. The State has brought in a list of exemptions for companies moving into the development of social housing, but they are obliged to fulfil three conditions: a minimum of 2,500 housing units built, with a period of five years between obtaining planning permission and the accommodation being signed off, and diversification of social programmes over several regions in Morocco.

Nevertheless, developers highlight some difficulties, particularly access to financial resources, which are becoming scarcer and therefore more expensive. They also complain of the 2,500-home threshold. New measures in the 2008 finance law have reduced taxes for social housing developers by 50% and may reduce the unit requirement from 2,500 to 1,500 in 2009.

This year, there is also expected to be development of a new type of social housing in urban and rural areas, where for less than 140,000 dirhams a family with monthly income lower than 1.5 times the minimum wage will receive housing of 50 square metres or greater.

The data-rich study, designed to assess the social housing programme's strengths and weaknesses, indicates that despite the effort to cover 60 cities, Casablanca has clearly benefitted the most. More than 60% of buyers have bought housing at prices less than or equal to 200,000 DH, and 77 percent of accommodations were purchased by households where the monthly income is not more than 4,000 DH.

The housing ministry maintains that while there are shortcomings, the housing programme has yielded benefits like 10,000 new jobs, the emergence of large private developers, and availability of housing for low-income families.