Real Estate & Property Law

Buying property in Türkiye as a foreigner is legally straightforward and practically full of traps. Ownership passes on registration at the Land Registry, not on signature and not on payment — a signed contract, a deposit and a set of keys transfer nothing until the title deed changes hands. That single rule explains most of the disputes foreign buyers end up in.

Before a transfer completes, several checks matter more than the price. What the register actually says about the seller and the parcel. Whether mortgages, injunctions, attachments or annotations sit against it. Whether the physical property matches its legal description. Whether the parcel falls inside a military or special security zone. And, for off-plan purchases, whether the developer holds the permits the project depends on.

Costs are the other surprise. Beyond the purchase price there is the transfer fee, a mandatory licensed valuation report, revolving-fund and notary charges, sworn translation, compulsory earthquake insurance and legal fees. Buyers who budget only for the price are routinely caught short at the registry.

The guides below work through due diligence, the transfer itself, ownership limits that apply to foreign buyers, and the tax side. Where a purchase has already gone wrong, see real estate litigation. For the commercial framing of buying through a company, see corporate and commercial law.