HIBAPRESS – Mohamed El Harouali
The housing crisis in Morocco is no longer a technical file, but has turned into daily pressure on families and has begun to affect the decision to marry, have children, and achieve stability.
Today, apartments not exceeding 51 meters are offered for more than 400,000 dirhams in cities like Marrakech, with only 300,000 dirhams being declared, a reality that makes owning a home a deferred dream for many years. The situation is exacerbated by the aggravation of the "Noir" phenomenon. The citizen hears a price in the advertisement and then is surprised by another price during negotiation and purchase. The result is wider speculation and a lack of confidence in the market. In contrast, economic housing and housing directed to low-income groups have disappeared from the lives of families as they used to be. This disappearance was not compensated by realistic alternatives in quality, price, and space, and the offer became present in name and absent in effect. This housing pressure is reflected in the decision to marry and have children. When the rate is around 1.4 persons per room, this means overcrowding inside the house before the street. The young family simply asks: Where are we going to have a child? The income of the average family turns into a monthly battle to provide housing, a long-term loan or high rent, then education, health, and transportation. In the end, the ability to build a stable family weakens, and congestion grows inside crowded neighborhoods. With the aggravation of urban pressure, worrying indicators related to violence and crime appear in some areas. No one says that housing alone is the cause, but it is a factor that raises tension and weakens integration when the hope of a decent life is absent. All this puts the Ministry of Housing before a clear political responsibility. The ministry is required to have a policy that guarantees family apartments with logical spaces and is also required to truly control the Noir and speculation, not seasonal slogans. Morocco is not a poor country in the field. The area is large, with a long coastal strip that can accommodate new gatherings, but as long as development is concentrated in narrow areas, demand will remain congested and prices will rise. Observers believe that if the housing policy continues to produce narrow apartments at exorbitant prices, we will see more delays in marriage and childbirth, and we will see a weaker middle class and greater social tension, so that the ministry remains obliged to provide answers, not justifications, and field data, not astronomical figures that are brandished in the parliament.
