The title deeds in Turkey. What investors should know about the title deed

The Title Deed Department in Turkey offers many services and advantages, which have made Turkey one of the most important destinations for real estate investment globally. These advantages include the possibility of applying for a real estate residency visa directly after receiving the title deed, and even obtaining Turkish citizenship for different nationalities upon buying a property in Turkey.

In this exclusive article by Properties Gate – the real estate portal in Turkey, we will highlight the most prominent information about the title deed of the property, or as it is well known in Turkey as “Tabu” which means the title deed.

Understanding the Concept of Title Deed in Turkey

Title deed in Turkey means: the ownership document which gives legal status to owning any property on Turkish territory. It gives the owner of the property the legitimacy to register this property, as well as it gives him the full right to dispose of it either by renting, selling and all other forms of investment.

Certainly, this document will include detailed information about the type of property, the name of the property owner, his photo, and the previously archived information about the property, provided that the data of this document is in Turkish language and included in the records of the title deed’s Department in Turkey.

Before introducing the terms of this document, we will review the types of title deeds in Turkey, as follows:

Types of Real Estate Title Deeds’ Documents in Turkey

The documents of real estate ownership in Turkey are divided into:

Red title deeds: ownership contracts for buildings, houses, and urban lands.
Blue title deeds: ownership contracts for agricultural lands.

By definition, we will introduce some detailed types of real estate contracts and documents in Turkey at length due to their importance.

Complete Ownership title deed in Turkey

This document refers to the category of 100% complete ownership, and contains data showing detailed information about the building, identifying its area, location, and number of apartments inside.

Interim Title Deed in Turkey

This document is a pre-stage before obtaining a full title deed, where the property is still under construction and has not yet been delivered to its “investor” or owner. However, this property is registered in the Turkish Land Registry Directorate, within the real estate records, with all data related to it, such as the building number, its location, and the original owner of the aforementioned property.

Once the construction works are completed and approved by the municipality, this interim title deed becomes a complete title deed.

Nowadays, many real estate investors prefer buying properties in projects under construction regulated by such interim title deeds, mainly because they generate more profits, due to the increase in selling prices in between the first stage of construction up to its completion.

Terms of Title Deeds in Turkey

It is worth noting that the registration of the newly constructed building, within the Land Registry Department records in Turkey, depends on the acceptance granted by the municipality, to approve the construction of this building.

This is part of a law enacted after the big earthquake of 1999. The conditions are as follows:

The building under construction must be earthquake-resistant, according to the approved technical specifications and standards.
The building must contain a fire ladder, and emergency exits.
The availability of sufficient fire extinguishing cylinders within the building.

The implementation of all terms and conditions mentioned above shall be undertaken by the owner of the building. Eventually, it is of utmost importance to make sure that all these conditions are applied before buying a property in Turkey!

Commercial Real Estate Title Deed in Turkey

The commercial real estate title deed is issued, in the event of any commercial business involved in the property, which includes many different commercial activities such as:

Offices.
Stores.
All real estate designated for the use of a commercial activity, even residences used as office-apartments, for example.

Consequently, all these properties are registered within the commercial title deed records in Turkey.

The difference between residential and commercial title deeds in Turkey

The taxes of commercial real estate in Turkey are much higher than their residential counterparts!

Therefore, to avoid future problems related to payment of legal fees or taxes due on the property; You should identify the type of property you want to own.

It may be that the property was sold as a residence but registered previously as a commercial property at the Land Registry Directorate, in which case the type of real estate deed must be changed.

** Some people might wonder if changing the registration of the type of the property is possible at all!**

The answer is that it is possible, however it may take a long time to convince all property owners in the building itself to approve this change, while the legal procedures do not require much time.

Joint title deeds in Turkey

These bonds grant an important advantage to investment shareholders, especially partners. It regulates that one property can be owned by several people.

This is done by including the names of all partners, along with the percentage of ownership of each of them in the property. However, the con of this type of deeds is that the partners are not allowed to sell their share in the property without the consent of all other partners.

The same condition applies if one of the partners wants to transfer his ownership to a partner, relative or another person.

Buildings’ Title Deeds in Turkey

These deeds are registered at the Housing Department in Turkey, to prove the ownership of the building as a single indivisible unit.

The main information of such deeds is mentioned in the real estate registry in general, without addressing the details of independent sections of the property, like having some residences linked to other buildings such as factories and others.

Agricultural title deeds in Turkey

Some invest in buying a number of agricultural lands. However, these lands are not regulated for construction as per the Land Registry Law in Turkey.

To invest these lands in the Turkish real estate sector, they must be registered in the municipality’s reconstruction plan, in order to be considered as constructible land.

Fees of Title Deeds in Turkey

The fees of the title deeds are one of the most important things any investor should know before making his decision to buy any property in Turkey. There are fees imposed by the government on owning any property on Turkish territory.

The fees should be incurred by the buyer, but it may be agreed to divide it equally between the seller and the buyer, for example, at a rate of 2% each.

* The issue of paying the property fees must be agreed and clearly stated in the contract before anything else between the two parties, with an explanation of the payment method*.

It should also include the reimbursement of any additional expenses related to the purchase of the property.

Papers Required to Process the Title Deed in Turkey

Before submitting the title deed transaction in Turkey, you need to prepare some important documents as follows:

Personal identification documents, or passport: for both the seller and the buyer.
In case the seller or buyer was absent, an official power of attorney must be presented by his agent that authorizes him to complete the contract.
Personal photos: One photo of the seller and two photos of the buyer.
Earthquake and natural disaster insurance policy: It can be easily obtained through any branch of local and international insurance companies.
The property current value document: It is issued by the municipality to which the property belongs.
The real estate registry document pertaining to the property.
Bank documents: in case a bank loan is used to finance the purchase of the property.

How does the title deed in Turkey regulate the rights of owners?

The property title deed document, or as it is called “Tabu” in Turkey, is granted exclusively to the legitimate owner of the property.

In the event of having more than one owner to the property, such as partners, the title deed is granted in one copy and the share of each owner within this property is clearly stated.

It is worth noting that if the Turkish title deed document was issued without mentioning a specific percentage of ownership, then that means that the property is completely owned by one owner only.

The aforementioned contains details of everything related to the topic of the title deed in Turkey. You are more than welcome to share your inquiries with us about any other matter related to real estate in Turkey, and benefit from our extensive experience in real estate market in the beautiful city of Istanbul.

Source: Turk Press + Land Registry Directorate in Turkey

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