Legal conditions for the purchase of property by foreigners in Turkey

Land law in Turkey

Land law in Turkey

Legal conditions for the purchase of property by foreigners in Turkey.

The first law of real estate acquisition “Law on Property № 2644” was approved in 1934, allowing foreign individuals to acquire real estate in Turkey. In 2003 the government with the law Nr. 4916 made easier the real estate acquisition for foreigners in Turkey. This law cancelled the Law on Village № 442/1924 (Köy Kanunu) and Property Law № 2644/1934 (Tapu kanunu). However, the Law №. 4916 was later contested by the constitutional court.
New law on real estate acquisition, the law № 5444, was adopted by the Turkish Parliament on 29 of December 2005 and entered into force on 7 of January 2006. This law changed the article № 35 of the land register law № 2644 (Tapu Kanunu) and new conditions of the real estate acquisition in Turkey by foreign individuals and companies entered into force.
According to the latest amendment of laws, foreigners can acquire property in Turkey with the following restrictions:

Reciprocity Principle: The purchase of real estate by foreigners in Turkey is based on the reciprocity principle. This means, that the rights to buy property in Turkey have nationals from countries that are linked to Turkey's reciprocity agreement. At this moment, Turkey has mutual relations with 80 countries, including all countries of Europe. The list of countries that has reciprocal relationship with Turkey you can find at Turkish General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (www.tkgm.gov.tr) in Turkish and English.

Area restriction: Foreigners can buy up to 2.5 hectares (25,000 m²) land for residential and business purposes in Turkey. For a larger area to 30 hectares requires permission of the Ministry. In addition, up to 0.5% of the total area of a province may be acquired by foreigners.

Location restrictions: Foreigners can buy property only in areas that have qualified building or local development plan. Purchasing of property isn’t possible in military forbidden and security zones, Outside these limits must for each individual property purchase , approval of the military authorities for registering by the Land Registry Office be submitted, whether it is a property in the permitted areas.

Exception: the acquisition of inheritance: For citizens of countries that have mutual relations with Turkey and inherit property, these limitations do not apply.

Legacy:
Upon death the property is transferred to the heirs. With an officially translated and notarized certificate of inheritance, property in Turkey is rewritten to the heirs.

Property purchase process in Turkey:
According to Turkish law is the transfer of ownership in an appropriate advance directive from the sellers and buyers, only registered at the Land Office. For Foreigners who want to buy property in Turkey is a written approval needed from the military authorities to ensure that the relevant property not in a military barricade and safety zones located is. In general this consent is applied by the appropriate Land Registry office at the responsible military authority and is received approx. in 2 months. Notaries are not involved in the contract settlement and registration at the Land Office. With the transfer at the Land Office a sworn translator must be present when the foreign party does not understand the Turkish language. For the sale settlement in the Land Registry office, personal documents and information from foreign party must be present in advance.

Required documents for private individuals:

» ID card or passport.
» Passport photos.
» Home address, names of father and mother.
» If procedure is done by authorized person, the power of attorney is needed.
» Turkish tax number (is issued by the local tax office).

Required documents for legal entities (companies):

In addition to the documents above:

» A notarized signature of-fact representative of the company.
» An authority certificate, issued by the local chamber of commerce, providing overview of registered data
of the company. If processing is carried out by an authorized person, the power of attorney must be
submitted
» Tax Number of the company.

After the transfer of ownership, local Land Registry office issues the certificate of ownership "Tapu Senedi". The foreign owner can resell the property at any time and transfer the sales proceed again to abroad.