How can foreigners own a house in Turkey?

Foreign nationals who want to buy a house in Turkey can apply to the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre to find out which country's citizens can own a house in Turkey, or they can get this information from an institution specialized in this field. Some security conditions, such as whether the house to be purchased is within the borders of the military security zone, should also be checked before foreigners buy a house, because it is not allowed to purchase a house within these limits. In line with this information, if there is no obstacle, foreign nationals can easily own a house in Turkey.

What is the housing purchase process for foreigners?

First of all, an appointment is made through the title deed appointment system of the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre for the title deed transaction.

Deed of the residence
ID or passport
Real estate market certificate obtained from the municipality
DASK (insurance) policy
Real estate valuation report
Here, it should be noted that unlike Turkish citizens, a real estate valuation report is also required. Valuation reports are valid for a maximum of 3 months from the date of the report. Regarding the purchase, the real estate valuation report of the sale period of the house must be processed into the Land Registry and Cadastre Information System (TAKBİS).

If the transaction is to be made with a power of attorney, the original and a copy of the power of attorney are required. If the person who will buy a house does not know Turkish, the transaction must be done with a sworn translator.

What should foreign nationals pay attention to when buying a residence in Turkey?

Foreign nationals who want to buy a house in Turkey should check whether there are any restrictions such as mortgages, liens, annotations on the house to be purchased, either by themselves or through their consultants. For this reason, information must be obtained from the Land Registry and Cadastre Directorate before purchasing. At this stage, working with real estate consultants can provide convenience in terms of transaction security and speed.

It is not enough to sign a real estate sales promise contract in order to own a house in Turkey. The transaction becomes official only at the deed. In other words, the purchase-sale transaction must be carried out at the land registry office. As in the transaction made by the citizens of the Republic of Turkey, if the transaction is to be made with the promise of sale contract, the contract must be signed at the notary public and then annotated in the title deed.

In case of acquiring real estate in Turkey, foreign nationals are first granted a residence permit and then the right to citizenship. For this, the value of the real estate acquired must be at least 250,000 USD. If real estate is purchased for the purpose of obtaining citizenship, this purpose should be stated at the deed transaction stage. In this case, the foreign national who buys real estate must declare that he will not sell the real estate for three years, but will keep it in the declaration form to be signed in the title deed.