The sunny weather, the beautiful nature and the relatively low cost of living ensure a good living environment. The real estate sector in Turkey is growing day by day. Houses in Turkey are perfect either for living or for a good investment.  Buying a house in Turkey is a lot cheaper than in the most countries, even if you are looking for a luxurious, large house. When you decide to live in Turkey or buy a property, it is important to prepare well in advance.

One of the most important factors is renting or buying a house. When taking this step, you should consider the tax and legal aspects. Hereby, you can think about real estate tax, property law and the Turkish Rent Act. What rights do tenants and landlords have? Which step should be taken to rent or buy a home? Clients often encounter the procedure when buying a house, because this is arranged differently than in the most European countries. In the Netherlands and most other European countries, registration in the land register is performed by the notary. In Turkey, you already have to arrange a lot through a notary, but the sale of a home does not go through a notary. The registration in the land register is done by an official of the Housing Registration Department.

Before taking these steps, it is advised to get information about your rights and obligations as the owner or tenant of a property in Turkey. What steps to take before buying or renting a home? Get help by drawing up a lease and how to evict a tenant or when the government wants to expropriate your property.

Expropriation

One of the common cases is expropriation, when the government forcibly takes over the ownership of privately owned property. This can be done for example for the construction of a road. What rights does the government have in this regard? What rights do you have and what can you do? The Turkish government can expropriate all real estate, but this cannot be done without compensation. In practice, this can be difficult and lead to conflicts, in particular when the government offers not a proper compensation. In the event that you cannot agree on the sale and the compensation, the government can start an expropriation procedure. The judge will then determine the appropriate compensation.

If the government has expropriated your property for the expansion of a road or something else, they have the obligation to complete this road within 5 years. If the government doesn’t do anything with your property for 5 years, you get the right to reclaim it. It is advised get legal help as soon as you know that the government will expropriate your property.

Real Estate Fraud

Before the house actually becomes your property, there is a whole process beforehand. You may be scammed, like illegal construction. Imagine that you buy a beautiful detached house, but afterwards it turns out that you have only bought a piece of land. If you’re buying a property in Turkey for the first time, you’ve probably never seen a title deed before or you don’t know what parts to include when buying a detached house, apartment or plot of land. You can also see on the title deed whether a permit has been granted for the house.

If you have buyed a contruction without a building permits, it may mean that the municipality can require you to demolish it. In order to prevent ending up empty-handed, it is better to seek for legal advice in advance.

Another example is that in reality people pay a higher price than what you sign when registering. Why does this happen often? The lower the price in the deed, the less capital gains tax and transfer tax the parties have to pay. To avoid a notice from the tax authorities, it is important to pay attention to this.

Assistance of an attorney

In view of the above, it is not unusual in Turkey to be by represented by an attorney. The attorney can conduct research in the Turkish property register, the land registry and can request the land use plan from the municipality. If it turns out that a real estate has been built illegally, it can sometimes be possible to legalize it. One of the conditions for this is that the structure must be built before 31/12/2017. We can lead you by buying a property and investigate for you whether there is a possibility for legalization and guide you through this procedure.