Tapu Turkey and Iskan: the title deed and occupancy permit explained

The Tapu is the title deed from the Turkish land register, the Iskan the occupancy permit issued by the municipality. With the entry in the Tapu the property is yours, and with the Iskan you may live in it and get electricity and water in the normal way. We check both before you reserve, and we explain both here so that you can read the papers yourself.

An afternoon in the land registry office in Alanya. The official slides a blue sheet across the counter, your name on it, along with the district, plot, floor and apartment number. That is the Tapu. It looks unremarkable and is the most important piece of paper in your property purchase in Turkey.

Tapu Turkey: what is in the title deed extract

The Tapu states the province and district, the neighbourhood, the block and plot numbers, the area of the plot, your share of it, the floor and number of the apartment, the type of use and the owner. There is also a field for charges: mortgages, attachments, pre-emption rights, usufruct. That field is the first one we read.

The land register in Turkey is run by the state, and the extract can be requested at any time at the office or online. We get it up to date on the day of the check, and again on the day of the transfer. That way we know nothing was registered between the preliminary contract and the appointment.

Kat Mülkiyeti and Kat İrtifakı: two kinds of apartment Tapu

For apartments there are two forms of Tapu, and this difference comes up in every conversation. Kat İrtifakı translates as floor easement, a right to a future floor: the building is approved and planned, the apartment is allocated to you in the land register, but the municipality has not yet signed off the finished building. Kat Mülkiyeti translates as floor ownership: the Iskan has been issued, the building has been signed off, and the Tapu has been converted into its final form.

Both are real ownership. With a new build from a developer you almost always buy with Kat İrtifakı and receive the Kat Mülkiyeti after completion and the Iskan. If a completed property that has been lived in for years still has only Kat İrtifakı, we ask why. You do not need to remember more than that about the two terms.

The Iskan: why there is no electricity without an occupancy permit

The municipality issues the Iskan when a building is finished and has been built as the building permit provides. Only with the Iskan do the electricity and water suppliers connect the apartment in your name in the normal way. Without an Iskan, electricity and water often run through a construction connection held by the developer, at higher tariffs and without a contract in your name. On top of that, a bank will not accept such a property as security, and resale becomes harder.

That is why the Iskan is a must-have for us. For completed properties it is in place, or we know why not and whether it can be obtained later. For new builds, the preliminary contract states that the developer will obtain the Iskan and by when.

What we check in the Tapu before you pay

First: is the seller really the owner? We compare the name in the Tapu with the passport. For companies we check the authority to represent them, and for jointly inherited property whether all heirs agree.

Second: are there charges? Mortgages, attachments or pre-emption rights must be deleted before the transfer, otherwise you buy them along with the property. If the seller pays off the mortgage from the purchase price, we arrange that simultaneously at the appointment.

Third: does the Tapu match the property? Plot, floor and apartment number must match the apartment you saw. That sounds trivial, but in large complexes with many identical layouts it is a real check point.

Fourth: is the use correct? The Tapu states whether it is an apartment, a shop or a plot. A unit registered as an office cannot simply be used as a home.

Building permit, Iskan and what we ask the developer

With new builds we look at the building permit, the stage of completion and the developer’s previous projects. Did their last complexes get the Iskan, and how long did that take? That tells you more about a developer than any glossy brochure. Alpa Abi has known the developers in Antalya and Alanya for years, and for Mersin and the Aegean we ask the people on the ground whom we trust.

The day of the transfer

When the Tapu extract, valuation report, DASK (compulsory earthquake insurance), tax number and passport photos are in place, the land registry office sets the appointment. There buyer and seller sign with a sworn interpreter, the purchase price is paid, and you are handed the new Tapu in your name. With complete documents it is done in one day. You walk out with a sheet of paper that tells you: this is yours now.