Preparing Your Home in Morocco Before You Arrive: An Owner’s Checklist

Arriving at a house that has been closed for months should feel like arriving on holiday — not like spending the first day finding a plumber. A few days of preparation, ideally by someone local, makes the difference. Here is the checklist we recommend for owners and for guests arriving at a holiday home.

Three days before

Water and hot water

• Turn the main water supply back on and open the valves that were isolated.
• Run every tap and shower for a few minutes to flush the pipes, and flush every toilet.
• Check for leaks under sinks, around toilets and at the water heater; watch the meter with all taps closed.
• Switch on the water heaters and check that hot water reaches every bathroom. If one fails, there is still time to repair or replace it.

Power and appliances

• Check the distribution board: everything on, nothing tripping.
• Test lights, sockets, fridge, oven, washing machine.
• Plug in and test the router.

Air conditioning and heating

• Clean the filters — they collect dust while the house is closed.
• Run every unit in cooling (or heating, in winter) and listen for unusual noise or drips.
• If a unit does not cool properly, book a technician now rather than on arrival — see air conditioning in Marrakech or in Agadir.

Pool

• Bring the water back into balance and run the filtration well before anyone swims.
• Clean the skimmers, brush and vacuum.
• Check the pump, filter and lights.

Two days before

Deep clean

A house that has been closed collects dust everywhere — terraces, courtyards, window frames, light fittings. A deep clean before arrival should cover:

• Dusting all rooms, including high surfaces and fans.
• Bathrooms and kitchen, with products suitable for tadelakt, zellige and marble.
• Terraces, courtyard and outdoor furniture.
• Fresh linen and towels, if supplied.

Outside

• Sweep terraces and clear drains.
• Garden watered and tidied, irrigation running.
• Outdoor lighting working.

The day before

• Test the locks, keypads or smart locks, and check that keys are where the guest or owner expects them.
• Test the Wi-Fi in every room.
• Air the house, open shutters, set the AC to a comfortable temperature.
• Send a short report with photos to the owner.

If something goes wrong

The point of starting three days ahead is to leave time to fix things. If a water heater, pump or AC unit fails, there is time to repair it before anyone arrives.

Let us prepare it

StaysFix prepares riads, villas and apartments before owners and guests arrive — water, hot water, AC, pool, cleaning, Wi-Fi and locks — and sends you photos when the house is ready. See maintenance for owners abroad and our checklist for leaving your property empty, or request a quote.