“Housing Subsidy” platform shutdown causes confusion in the real estate sector
Oriental Eco
The sudden discontinuation of the “Housing Support” online platform led to a state of confusion and resentment among a large number of citizens in the east and other Moroccan cities, who were waiting to complete the procedures to benefit from the national program of direct housing support, which comes in implementation of the royal directives aimed at facilitating access to decent housing for Moroccan families.
In recent days, many citizens were surprised by their inability to access the online platform dedicated to filing or following up on their files, as technical messages appeared indicating a temporary glitch or service interruption, without receiving any explanations or reassurances regarding their requests.
This situation led to increased tension between real estate developers and some of their clients, as some developers resorted to canceling “promise to sell” contracts with notaries and reoffering the apartments for sale again, which angered a large segment of citizens who were relying on housing subsidies to pay the remaining installments to real estate developers, according to identical sources.
According to the testimonies of a number of applicants who confirmed that they met all the required conditions and entered all the required data, and were supposed to receive a response within the next few days according to the specified time frame. However, the suspension of the platform has increased their anxiety, especially as the dates for signing sales contracts with real estate developers are approaching.
Sources pointed out that the lack of clear communication from the competent authorities at the central and regional levels added to the ambiguity and led to the frustration of citizens who were counting on this subsidy to improve their housing conditions.
The sources stressed that it would have been preferable for the platform to be more technically ready, given its association with sensitive social programs, especially when it comes to financial obligations and time pressures related to contracts between citizens, real estate developers and banks.
Some actors suggested strengthening the reception and support mechanisms in the housing offices of the regional offices, to avoid any negative impact on this major royal project that targets all categories of families, in addition to Moroccans abroad, whose official data showed that large percentages of them benefited from this support before the sudden suspension of the digital platform.
At the end of last week, Fatima Zahraa Mansouri, Minister of National Territorial Preparation, Urbanization, Housing and City Policy, confirmed that the platform was automatically suspended due to cyberattacks targeting official institutions, indicating that the platform would be reopened to the public this week to receive citizens' requests. However, the platform is still down, despite repeated attempts to access it.
