Buying property in Turkey as a foreigner: the legal rules

Buying property in Turkey as a foreigner is allowed. As a buyer from the UK or Europe you may buy a house, a flat or a plot, and the Tapu (title deed) is issued in your name. You have the same ownership rights as a Turkish buyer. Military zones and sensitive areas are excluded, and for land there are caps on the total area. You are the owner once you are entered in the land registry, not once you sign the contract.

The land registry office in Antalya has its own counter for buyers from abroad. On an ordinary Tuesday you find people from London, Dublin and Vienna there, and next to them families from Manchester who are investing in their parents‘ homeland. What happens there is routine. You only need to know which rules apply, and we make sure they are followed for you.

Buying property in Turkey as a foreigner: what you may do

Turkey allows citizens of many countries to buy property, and buyers from the UK and Europe are among them. You can buy a flat in Turkey, a house, a villa with a pool or a plot, as an individual, as a couple or with several people. The property can be inherited and can be sold or let freely.

For land there are two caps: a foreigner may own at most 30 hectares nationwide, and foreigners together may hold at most 10 per cent of the area of a municipality. For a flat in Alanya or a building plot in Side this does not matter. It only becomes relevant if you want to buy farmland on a larger scale.

Military zones and sensitive areas

Foreigners may not buy in military zones, security zones and areas classed as strategic. In the past the land registry office had to send an enquiry to the military authority for every purchase, which took weeks. Today the zones are mapped, and the land registry office checks the location when the application is made. In the coastal towns where we work, from Konyaaltı to Side to Mahmutlar, this is done within a few days.

We clarify this for you before you reserve. If a plot lies in such a zone, you hear it from us and not from the authority.

Ownership arises in the Tapu, not in the contract

The most important sentence in Turkish property law: ownership arises with the entry in the Tapu, the land registry. A sales contract, a preliminary contract, a deposit or a receipt does not make you the owner. That is why you only pay the purchase price at the appointment at the land registry office, in exchange for the entry. With complete documents the transfer itself is done in a day.

A notarised sales contract is not part of the transfer in Turkey. The preliminary contract sets out what applies until the appointment, and we have it translated. The actual transfer takes place directly at the land registry office with a sworn interpreter.

Buying by power of attorney

You do not have to be in Turkey in person to buy. With a power of attorney, someone from our team can sign for you at the land registry office, apply for a tax number and an account, and register the utilities. The power of attorney is certified by a notary in Turkey or at the Turkish consulate in your home country, with a translated passport and passport photos.

The power of attorney states exactly what the representative may do: which property, what price, which dealings with the authorities. We word it as narrowly as necessary. The Tapu is issued in your name in every case.

Residence permit through property

If you want to move to Turkey or stay longer than is allowed without a visa, you need a residence permit. Owning a property can be the basis for it. The minimum values and the list of districts where no new residence permits are currently issued to foreigners change. That is why we check this for your specific property before the purchase and not afterwards.

If residence matters to you, tell us in the first conversation. Then we search from the start in the districts that are open for it.

Citizenship by investment: 400,000 US dollars

Turkey grants citizenship to buyers who acquire property worth at least 400,000 US dollars and hold it for three years. The amount can be spread across several properties, the purchase price must go through the bank, and a ban on sale is entered in the Tapu for the three years. The procedure runs through the land registry office and the immigration authority. If that is your goal, we plan the purchase around it from the start.

Inheriting, letting, selling

You can leave your property in Turkey to your heirs, let it and sell it again at any time. Letting is governed by Turkish tenancy law, and for holiday lets you need a licence. On a sale, the transfer again runs through the land registry office. We stay at your side for this too.

For all of this you do not need a lawyer who scares you. You need someone who reads the documents, knows the authorities and tells you how things stand.