Property in Turkey: TAPU, military clearance and a mandatory valuation

Turkey is one of the most open markets in the region for a foreigner, and simultaneously one of the most procedural. Nationals of most countries can buy, but every transaction passes through several filters that a buyer usually learns about at the moment one of them trips.

What TAPU is

TAPU is the title deed issued by the Land Registry. The right arises from the register entry, not from signing a contract with a developer or an agency. Everything before that is obligations between parties; you become an owner in the register.

The restrictions checked before a transaction

• An area limit per foreigner — up to 30 hectares in total across the country.
• The share of foreign ownership in a district. Foreigners cannot hold more than a set proportion of the private land in a given district; in popular coastal districts that limit is reached and sales there are restricted.
• Military and restricted zones. The property is checked against security zones by the Land Registry, and a negative answer means refusal of registration regardless of how ready the parties are.
• Reciprocity and country lists. The set of states whose nationals may buy is determined separately and changes.

The mandatory valuation

Since 2019 a transaction with a foreign buyer requires a valuation report from a licensed valuer. The Land Registry needs the report, and it also protects the buyer: it is at that stage that a divergence between the asking price and the market price surfaces. Understating the value in the contract "for tax" does not work here — the valuation is independent.

The currency rule

Property transactions in Turkey are settled in lira: currency arriving from abroad is converted through a bank and a confirming document is issued. It is needed for registration, and especially for anyone counting on the citizenship-by-investment programme: without a correct currency trail the application fails.

What is checked in the property itself

• The type of TAPU. A land title and a title to a completed unit are different documents; a property under construction often has only the former until completion.
• The occupancy permit (iskan). Without it a building is not legally commissioned, and connecting utilities and later resale become complicated.
• Encumbrances and debts. A previous owner's mortgage, utility and tax arrears are visible in the extract.
• Earthquake insurance (DASK) — compulsory; utilities are not connected without a policy.
• Seismic resilience of the building. After the earthquakes of recent years construction requirements were tightened, and the year of construction matters more here than the state of the finishes.

The practical conclusion

The register makes you an owner. Before the TAPU entry you have a contract, not an apartment. The checks are not a formality: a military zone or a district limit stops transactions at the final stage, and it is better to learn about them before the deposit. And the valuation protects you — a rare case where bureaucracy works for the buyer.