Property management agreements for short-term rentals in Morocco: what the DOC says and the clauses to write

Agency or lease, the agent's duties, fees, accounting, revocation, electronic signature: the management agreement for an Airbnb property in Morocco, clause by clause.

The RentDari team · 25 Oct 2026 · updated 29 Oct 2026 · 9 min read

Legal & Compliance

In short: a management agreement (mandat de gestion) is the contract by which an owner appoints a management company, or a relative, to run their short-term rental on their behalf. We found no Moroccan text specific to this agreement: it falls under the general rules on agency in the Dahir of Obligations and Contracts (DOC, articles 879 to 942). Those rules set the essentials, the agent must account in detail and the owner can revoke, but leave everything else to the contract: scope, powers, money, commission, administrative duties and exit. A written, precise agreement reviewed by a lawyer avoids most disputes.

This guide sets out what the DOC already provides, then the clauses to write, an outline agreement and signing remotely. It builds on our guide to short-term rentals in Morocco.

Information checked in October 2026 against the official texts (in French): Dahir of Obligations and Contracts (articles 879 to 942 on agency, 417-1 to 417-3 on electronic documents); Law 43-20 on trust services for electronic transactions; Law 67-12 on residential leases (in Arabic); Law 80-14 on tourist accommodation. Reviewed by a lawyer in October 2026; still have your own agreement checked by a professional.

Agency or lease: two different contracts

Two set-ups coexist, and you need to know which one you're signing:

The management agreement (agency). The management company acts in the owner's name and on their behalf. Acts it performs within its powers bind the owner as if the owner had performed them (DOC, article 925). The owner remains the landlord: the income is theirs, and the manager is paid a commission or a flat fee.
A lease to the management company. The owner lets the property to the manager, who sublets it to guests and pays the owner a fixed rent however full the calendar is. This is often the "guaranteed income" offer. The owner then receives rent, with its own tax rules, which our guide to short-term rental tax explains.

If the "owner" is in fact a tenant, they cannot sublet without their landlord's consent, given in writing with a certified date, unless their lease allows it (Law 67-12, article 39). Check this before any agreement.

What the DOC already provides

Agency is "a contract by which one person instructs another to perform a lawful act on behalf of the principal" (article 879). It is complete once the parties agree (article 883): writing is not required for it to exist, but it is the only way to prove what was agreed. The rules that matter for a management company:

Pay. Agency is free unless agreed otherwise, but it is not presumed free when the agent provides the service as a profession (article 888). If no amount is set, local custom decides (article 916).
Limits. The agent carries out exactly what it was asked to do, nothing beyond (article 895), and if it gets better terms than planned, the difference goes to the principal (article 896). Some acts need express authorisation however broad the agency, such as selling a property or settling a dispute (article 894).
Diligence. The agent owes the diligence of an attentive and scrupulous person, judged more strictly when the agency is paid (articles 903 and 904).
Substitution. It cannot hand its task to someone else without that power, unless the nature of the business or the circumstances imply it (article 900), and it answers for whoever it substitutes (article 901).
Accounting. Every agent must account for its management, present a detailed account of its expenses and receipts with the customary supporting documents, and hand over everything it received under the agency (article 908).
The principal's duties. The principal reimburses necessary advances and expenses and pays the agreed fee (article 914).
Ending the agency. The principal may revoke whenever they wish, any clause to the contrary having no effect, except where the agency was given in the interest of the agent or a third party (article 931). The agent may withdraw by giving notice (article 935). Whoever ends it abruptly, at a bad time and without plausible reason may owe damages, unless agreed otherwise (article 942).

The clauses to write

The parties and the property

The parties' identities and, for a management company, its registered name, address and representative. The property: address, description, capacity, equipment. Its situation: owned or rented (with the landlord's consent), joint ownership if any, co-ownership rules, accommodation category and licence if the property falls under Law 80-14.

Scope and powers

List what the manager does: listings, photos, prices, calendar, messages, check-ins, cleaning, linen, maintenance, statements. Set out its powers: setting prices between a floor and a ceiling, accepting or declining a booking, choosing cancellation terms, using contractors, spending up to a set amount without prior approval. Also say in whose name the listings are opened: an account in the owner's name or the manager's is not recovered the same way, with its reviews, when the agreement ends.

Money

Who receives the platform payouts: the owner directly, or the manager, who pays the balance on. In the second case, write down the payment deadline, the date of the monthly statement and its contents: stays, amounts, platform commissions, the manager's commission, expenses with receipts, balance. Also cover deposits, guest refunds and, where due, the tourist tax collected.

Fees

The rate or flat fee, the exact calculation base, how cleaning fees are treated, VAT, set-up fees. Our article on Airbnb property management fees shows how much the base changes the bill.

Administrative duties

Write down who handles what:

the operating licence, if the property falls under Law 80-14;
guest registration: Law 80-14 requires the operator of tourist accommodation to declare guests on the day they arrive, and to keep their registration forms for a year (articles 36 to 38); for a flat, our guide to the police registration form covers current practice;
the tourist tax, where it applies (our tourist tax guide);
insurance for the property and for the manager;
the owner's tax returns, which remain the owner's.

The manager who welcomes guests is on the front line for collecting ID documents: set out who keeps them and how, since Law 80-14 itself refers to the rules on personal data (article 36).

The owner's own stays

How the owner blocks dates, with what notice, and what happens if a booking already exists.

Term, notice and exit

Initial term, renewal, notice on both sides, what happens to bookings already taken at the end date, return of keys, access codes and listings, a closing statement and the final payment. Notice cannot stop the owner revoking (article 931), but it organises an exit that avoids the "bad time" termination of article 942.

Liability and disputes

Who answers for damage caused by a guest, lost keys, pricing errors. The manager's liability insurance. The competent court in case of dispute.

An outline agreement, in order

Parties and purpose of the agreement.
Description and situation of the property.
Tasks entrusted and tasks excluded.
The manager's powers and spending limit.
Listings, platform accounts and reviews.
Payments received, payments to the owner and the monthly statement.
Fees: rate or flat fee, base, VAT, extra charges.
Administrative duties and insurance.
The owner's own stays.
Guests' personal data.
Term, notice, revocation and exit.
Liability, disputes, signatures.

This outline is not a ready-to-sign template: every clause depends on your property and how you work.

Signing the agreement remotely

An agreement can be signed without travelling, which matters when the owner lives abroad. An electronic document has the same evidential weight as paper, provided its author is properly identified and it is drawn up and kept in a way that guarantees its integrity (DOC, article 417-1). Law 43-20 distinguishes three levels of electronic signature, simple, advanced and qualified (articles 4 to 6), and states that a simple or advanced signature cannot be rejected as evidence solely because it is electronic (article 7).

Only agencies covering the transfer of ownership of a property or other real rights must be entered in a register (DOC, article 889-1); on our reading, a rental management agreement is not one of them.

What remains unclear

The local custom the DOC relies on for fees (article 916) is not documented anywhere we know of: don't leave this point unwritten.
How a "guaranteed income" offer is classified: agency with a guaranteed minimum or a lease, the answer depends on the drafting, and it changes the tax and the applicable rules.
Guest registration for a flat that falls outside Law 80-14: procedures vary from one local authority to another, as our guide explains.
The tax status of the management company and its commissions, to be confirmed with an accountant.

Preparing and signing the agreement in RentDari

In RentDari, the management company prepares each owner's agreement with the commission, its calculation base and the recharging rules. It appears in the "My mandates" tab of the owner portal: the owner signs electronically first, then the person signing for the management company countersigns, and the signed PDF can be downloaded from the portal. Owner statements then apply these rules, stay by stay. Guest contracts follow the same online-signature principle with the contracts and check-in module. RentDari does not draft your agreement for you and does not replace a lawyer's review.

In short

Agency (the manager acts for the owner) and a lease to the manager (guaranteed income) are two different contracts.
The DOC sets the basics: pay, diligence, detailed accounting, revocation at any time.
Write down the rest: scope, powers, money, commission and base, administrative duties, the owner's stays, exit.
A reasonable notice period organises the exit without taking away the owner's right to revoke.
The agreement can be signed electronically, which makes everything easier for an owner abroad.

Frequently asked questions

Does a management agreement have to be in writing?

The DOC does not require writing for an agency to exist: it is complete once the parties agree (article 883). But without a written agreement, you cannot prove the commission, its base or the powers granted. Always put it in writing.

Can a management agreement be ended at any time?

The owner can revoke the agreement whenever they wish, and a clause to the contrary has no effect (article 931). An abrupt termination, at a bad time and without plausible reason, may however give rise to damages (article 942): respect the agreed notice period.

Can the management company collect the rent on my behalf?

Yes, if the agreement says so. It must then give you a detailed account, with receipts, and hand over everything it received under the agreement (article 908). Set the payment deadline in writing.

Is an electronically signed agreement valid?

The DOC accepts electronic documents where the author is identified and integrity is guaranteed (article 417-1), and Law 43-20 forbids rejecting a simple or advanced electronic signature solely because it is electronic (article 7).