Title Deeds in Turkey ... Types and Features

Real estate ownership for foreigners is considered a legitimate and legal procedure. Any person has the right to own real estate within Turkish territory, except for some nationalities, which must meet certain conditions to be able to buy a property in Turkey.

The foreign property owner can register his property to the housing department of the city in which the property is located, and thus be able to inherit it to his family, in addition, he can also apply for Turkish citizenship if the value of the property is equal to 250 thousand US dollars.

In this article, we will find out about title deeds (Tabu) and the most common types of them in Turkey.

What is the title deed (Tabu)?

It is a document that proves the ownership of a property to a specific person, it is issued by the Turkish Land Registry Directorate and it is written in the Turkish language as it is the official language in Turkey, and this document generally includes all information related to this property.

Once the title is delivered, some important points are translated at both the Land Department and the Land Registry of the city in which the property is located.

Any foreigner has the right to buy and register more than one property in his name unless the area of ​​land and real estate that will be registered in his name does not exceed 25 hectares.

The Turkish government has made an electronic portal where investors can learn about real estate information before starting to buy real estate.

You can learn about this service through this link: https://www.yourkeyturkey.gov.tr/

There are many types of title deeds in Turkey, the most important of which are:

• Real estate easement deed.
• Complete title deed.
• The transitional title deed (participation deed).

First - the real estate easement deed “Kat Irtifaki”:

It is considered the first stage in the process of obtaining the full title deed. This type of document is given when the property is still under construction stage and has not yet been delivered to the investor.

It also ensures that the property is registered in the records of the real estate department, thus its location, the number of each section of it, and the primary owner of the property are mentioned in it.

This type of title deed is very common among Arab and foreign investors of real estate in Turkey since buying the property during the early stages of construction guarantees the maximum possible return on investment of the property.

Once the construction is complete and housing approval from the municipality is obtained, the easement deed will convert into a complete title deed.

Second - The full title deed “Kat Mulkiyefi”:

It is a document in which the full ownership of the property is indicated, and it shows the building area, the number of apartments in the building, and the place allocated to the buyer.

It also emphasizes the property number and the floor on which the apartment is located, plus the specifications of the apartment in detail, in addition to the proof of the transfer of ownership from the seller to the buyer.

The complete title deed is considered a fully legal document and the buyer will get it after the building obtains housing approval from the municipality.

The buyer must also pay the real estate tax imposed by Turkish law, which is equivalent to 3.9% of the property's real price.

What is the housing approval of the municipality? And how it can be obtained?

After the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey in 1999, which resulted in massive destruction of buildings and great loss of life, the Turkish government has adopted new foundations and standards for building in Turkey and has imposed new decisions to obtain building constructing permits, to ensure the maximum level of safety in similar disasters.

Among these procedures, construction and contracting companies must abide by a set of measures and standards during the construction of buildings as a prerequisite for obtaining implementation licenses. The most important of these conditions are:

• The building should be earthquake-resistant.
• The presence of a ladder for emergency situations.
• The presence of sufficient fire extinguishers in the building.

If these conditions are applied, housing approval can be obtained from the municipality to prove that the place complies with Turkish standards for housing.

Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that there is housing approval when buying a new property because it is a prerequisite for converting the easement deed into a full title deed.

Third - Transitional Title Deeds (Participation Deed):

This type of deed is given in real estate that is owned by more than one person, and each person has a certain share fixed in the deed, here only one document can be given showing the share of everyone participating in the ownership of this real estate.

Each buyer can also have his own deed where the name of the owner should be written in the owner’s field at the deed emphasizing his share of the property.

In this case, the owner has all the legal rights of selling and renting the section allocated to him in the property.

Transitional title deeds are often related to old buildings that were built before 1999 and that are subjected to forced restoration imposed by the Turkish government to strengthen their foundations. As for buildings built after 1999, Transitional title deeds are not used for their purchasing procedure.