After works or over time
Ploughing, earthworks, a rebuilt fence: boundary markers have disappeared. Their position is recalculated from the coordinates or dimensions of the title plan, then marked on the ground.
Boundaries and neighbours →Expertise
Boundary marking and boundary marker reinstatement.
A boundary marker pulled out, a wall that creeps forward, a doubt before buying or building: before arguing, you need to know where the official boundary lies. We find it again, mark it on the ground and document it.
Three operations
Do not confuse boundary marking, reinstatement and checking.
Boundary marking for land registration (التحديد) is a stage of the procedure that turns untitled land into a land title. It takes place after a registration application has been filed, it is directed by the land registrar (conservateur de la propriété foncière), neighbouring owners are summoned and it is publicised. It cannot be ordered as a stand-alone service: see our Land registration page and the land registration guide.
Boundary marker reinstatement concerns land that is already titled. The boundaries were set at the time of registration or of a plot division and appear on the title plan annexed to the land title. The aim is not to redefine the boundary but to find it again and to replace missing or doubtful boundary markers. Decree No. 2-13-18 (Article 17) provides that an application for boundary marker reinstatement is based on a technical file prepared by a surveying engineer registered with the ONIGT and checked by the cadastre service.
The boundary check survey compares the land with the title plan without replacing boundary markers: markers present or not, fence compliant or not, neighbouring building that encroaches. This is the check to make before a purchase or a setting-out.
The legal details (who acts, what is authoritative, articles of the dahir) are in our boundary marking guide.
Situations
When to call on us.
Check before signing
Does the land you are being shown match the title plan? Boundary markers, area, encroachments and paths are checked before any payment.
Buying land →Before setting-out
A boundary wall taken for the boundary, and the building encroaches on the setback or onto the neighbour's land. The boundaries are checked before the project is transferred onto the ground.
The permit guide →Turning a dispute into a measured finding
A signed plan, drawn up from the official documents, shows where the title boundary lies and quantifies the discrepancies. It serves for an amicable agreement or, failing that, can be produced before a court-appointed expert or a court.
What the guide says →How it works
A boundary marker reinstatement, step by step.
For titled land. The steps follow our method.
Documents
Recent certificate of ownership, title plan (can be ordered online on the ANCFCC website) and, if possible, the original technical file.
Written quote
Number of boundary markers, deliverables, supply of the markers, presence of the neighbours, travel, administrative fees shown separately.
Search for reference points
Tie-in to the geodetic points and to the boundary markers still in place, check of their consistency with the plan.
Computation and setting-out
Position of the missing boundary markers computed, then marked on the ground, preferably in the presence of the neighbouring owners, whom we advise you to invite.
Plan and file
Signed reinstatement plan: boundary markers found, boundary markers replaced, discrepancies observed; technical file for the cadastre service when the procedure requires it.
Deliverables
What you receive, what you need to provide.
- Signed plan
- Reinstatement or check plan, in PDF, signed by the surveying engineer
- Discrepancies
- Wall, fence or building outside the boundary, with the measured distances
- Coordinates
- Boundary markers in Moroccan Lambert coordinates; DWG/DXF file on request
- Boundary markers
- Marked on the ground; their supply is specified in the quote
- To provide
- Title number and recent certificate of ownership, title plan if you have it, neighbours' contact details, photos of the remaining boundary markers and of the disputed buildings, any earlier plan or letter about the boundary
Precision, timescales, cost
What makes the operation simple or tricky.
We work with GNSS and the total station. The precision achieved depends first of all on the title plan: old plans do not all offer the precision of recent ones, and some are not tied to the geodetic network. When coordinates are missing, the engineer relies on the dimensions of the plan, the neighbouring boundary markers and the adjoining titles.
The cost has no single rate. It depends on the number of boundary markers, the area and access, the age of the plan, the distance to usable geodetic points, the relief and vegetation, the supply of the boundary markers and whether a detailed plan is needed for a dispute. The time for our work is stated in the quote; the time taken for the check by the cadastre service does not depend on us.
To check an area from the coordinates of your boundary markers, use our area calculator. It does not replace a measurement on site.
References
Finding boundaries again, on a large scale.
Extracts from our references.
Forest estate — 640 ha
Survey, technical file and boundary marker reinstatement; topographic survey and boundary marker reinstatement for the Fez Water and Forests directorate.
Survey of boundary-marked cases
Topographic works. Contract No. 112/2008.
Questions
What we are often asked.
My neighbour refuses to come. Does that block things?
No. For titled land, the boundary is that of the title plan and it can be found again in his absence. His presence is still advisable, as it makes an agreement easier.
Can you move the boundary if my neighbour and I agree?
Not by a simple measurement. Changing a titled boundary amounts to transferring part of the land: it requires a deed, a technical file prepared by a surveying engineer and an entry at the land registry.
My neighbour's wall has been on my land for years. What should I do?
First have a plan drawn up that quantifies the encroachment. The boundary marking guide sets out the rules that apply to titled land. For what follows, an amicable agreement or legal action, consult a lawyer: we measure and document, we do not give legal advice.
My land is held under a melkia. Can you “mark its boundaries”?
We can survey the land and mark on the ground the boundaries described or agreed, which is useful before a purchase or a partition. But only boundary marking for land registration, directed by the land registrar with the neighbouring owners summoned and publicity, results in boundaries guaranteed by a title (land registration).
Boundary markers have been deliberately pulled out. What should I do?
The dahir on land registration penalises the destruction or moving of land registration boundary markers. First have the state of the site recorded by a professional, then ask a lawyer for advice before filing any complaint.
Can a technician or a mason find the boundary again?
He can measure, but not establish an enforceable boundary: the delimitation of landed property is the remit of the surveying engineer registered on the roll of the ONIGT (Law No. 30-93). You can check Ali Oufrid's registration on the [roll of the Order](https://onigt.org/onigt-tableau.php).
Quote
A missing boundary marker, a boundary to check?
Send us the title number, the plan if you have it and a few photos. We will tell you which operation is appropriate and send you a written quote.
- Address
- 47, avenue des FAR, 3e étage, appartement 5, Ville Nouvelle
30050 Fès - Office
- +212 5 35 64 14 36
- Mobile
- +212 6 61 29 81 75