Reading a Moroccan house construction quote from abroad: a 2026 worked example

By Yassine AT-TARASSI, architect · Updated on 27/10/2026 · Reference texts (4)

You live abroad and a Moroccan builder has sent you a quote, often in French, full of abbreviations (DQE, BPU, HT, TTC, situation, retenue de garantie). This guide decodes it, shows a complete priced example from the CITURBAREA cost estimator, and explains how to compare three quotes and pay in stages without being on site.

The words on a Moroccan quote, translated

What does a good house construction quote look like?

A serious quote reads like a technical document, not like a sales offer. It contains, in this order:

1. Identification: company (legal name, ICE company identifier, trade register number, address), project owner, address of the plot, references of the permit and of the drawings used.
2. Assumptions: type of foundation, concrete class, slab thickness, finish level, what is excluded.
3. Detail by package: each item with unit (m³, m², linear metre, unit), quantity, unit price excluding VAT and amount.
4. Summary: total excluding VAT per package, total excluding VAT, VAT, total including VAT.
5. Conditions: deadline, payment schedule, retention, penalties, validity of the offer.

A one-page quote saying "turnkey house: 4,000 DH/m²" allows you neither to compare, nor to check, nor to settle a dispute.

Priced example: a 150 m² two-storey house

This summary comes from the CITURBAREA cost estimator (2026 prices): a house attached on two sides, 75 m² footprint, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, good soil, mid-range finish, city of Kénitra, general contractor.

CITURBAREA cost estimator, version 2026-10. Quantities from a parametric take-off: an order of magnitude from the simulator, with no guaranteed accuracy; with drawings, they become measured quantities.

This summary excludes the land, the fees (64,267 DH including VAT for a full architect's assignment, the engineering consultancy (BET), the soil survey, the surveyor and the laboratory), the permit taxes (8,118 DH) and the utility connections (about 12,500 DH). The full budget therefore reaches 897,919 DH. Prices per m² are detailed in our guide on house construction cost per m².

Extract from the bill: what do the lines look like?

Each unit price includes supply, installation, overheads and the company's margin. For the detail of structural-work prices and of concrete and steel quantities, see structural work cost in Morocco.

What about a 100 m² house?

Same assumptions, 100 m² of floor area on two levels: 493,560 DH excluding VAT of works and 621,885 DH including VAT in mid-range finish (6,219 DH including VAT per m²), 689,601 DH for the full budget. In very economical finish with a tâcheron (labour-only contractor), the works drop to 368,979 DH including VAT. The m² is more expensive than at 150 m² because the kitchen, bathrooms, staircase and electrical panel do not shrink with the floor area. On a 100 m² plot, see house plan on 100 m².

How do you compare three quotes?

1. Have the same quantities priced. Give each company the same bill, prepared by the architect or taken from the estimator. Otherwise you are comparing different projects.
2. Bring everything back to amounts excluding VAT, then apply VAT yourself. Check whether the company charges VAT and on what.
3. Compare package by package, then line by line. A quote 15% cheaper overall often hides a forgotten package (waterproofing, drainage, low-voltage systems) or reduced quantities.
4. Spot differences of more than 20% on a unit price compared with the estimator's reference or the average of the quotes. That is the threshold the CITURBAREA engine uses to flag a price that needs justifying.
5. Check how the work is done. A tâcheron who prices only labour cannot be compared with a company that supplies everything. On this house, the estimator gives 580,344 DH including VAT with a tâcheron against 813,034 DH with a company, but with a tâcheron the purchasing and coordination are yours.

How do you pay a Moroccan builder from abroad?

• By bank transfer only, to an account in the company's name, against an invoice or a situation; never cash through an intermediary.
• Against verified progress: each situation is checked against the site by the architect (dated photos, short report, video call if you wish) before you pay.
• With a retention kept until the handover record is signed and the snags are cleared.
• With written amendments for any extra work, priced at the BPU unit prices.

On CITURBAREA, situations and invoices are validated by the client before payment and every exchange stays on the platform; no phone numbers are exchanged between parties.

Which clauses should you require in the contract?

• Payment according to progress: a schedule tied to verifiable stages (foundations, each slab, weathertight, finishes), never to the calendar. LesMRE recommends never paying more than 30% in advance.
• Retention (retenue de garantie): a share of each payment kept until acceptance without reservations. LesMRE cites 5 to 10%.
• Deadline and penalties: a written completion date and a penalty per day of delay, with a cap. Their amounts are negotiated in the contract.
• Quantities and extra work: payment on quantities actually carried out at the unit prices of the bill, and any extra through a written, priced amendment before it is carried out.
• Compliance with the drawings: compliance with the architect's drawings and the reinforced-concrete drawings of the BET, with inspection visits before each concrete pour.
• Acceptance: a handover record with a list of snags and a deadline for lifting them.

What are the warning signs?

• An overall price per m² with no quantities at all.
• An advance of more than 30% requested, or cash payments without a receipt.
• No mention of the concrete class, the type of foundation or the slab thickness.
• Missing packages: waterproofing, external drainage, low-voltage systems, false ceilings.
• A quote 30% below the others with no written explanation.
• A company with no ICE and no verifiable address, which refuses a written contract.

To check a company before signing, read how to choose a construction company. For items outside the works, see architect fees and building permit fees and taxes.

How do you get your own reference quote?

Enter your project in the estimator: you get a bill of quantities package by package, with unit prices and ranges, to hand to companies as the basis for tendering. Once you have the drawings and the zoning information certificate, measured quantities replace the ratios and the figure is refined, together with the soil survey and contractors' tenders.

Frequently asked questions