What happened in 2023?

Up to now, for anyone wanting to purchase or sell real estate in Turkey, the only way to do this was for both parties, the buyer and the seller, go together to the local Land Registry Office, and in front of the Title Deed Officer sign and officially register their deal. If, for some reason, someone was hampered, then his lawyer, with a Power of Attorney in his hands, could represent him.

All that is about to change. In 2022 an amendment to the Notaries Law was passed which was published in the Official Gazette on June 28 2022. This amendment allows notaries for the first time to make contracts for the purchase and sale of real estate and to register annotations in the Land Registry records. The law becomes effective on July 4 2023.

What was the reason for the change?

For many years the Turkish state tried to make all official transactions concerning real estate as simple as possible for its citizens, and foreigners as well. In most cases, after the necessary documents had been prepared and submitted to the relevant authority, all that was needed was for the buyer and seller to make an appointment with the local Land Registry Office to sign the papers and to have the transaction officially registered.

This worked well for many years. But, as the volume of transactions increased, the workload in the Land Registry Offices started causing delays. So, it became obvious that changes would have to be made to reduce the workload on the system.

What new rights were given to notaries?

As of July 4 2023, all notaries in Turkey were authorised to make contracts for the purchase and sale of real estate and to register the transactions in the Land Registry records. Those involved now have two choices: they can still go to Land Registry Office as before, or they can choose to go to their own notary to make the contract.

What are the requirements for a property sale in Turkey at a notary?

The amendment is new and, at this moment in June 2023, its provisions have not yet been tried out in practice. Below, we will try to explain what is known about the process and how it will work.

• It all starts will an “Application for the Sale of Property in Turkey”, which must be made through the “e-appointment/application” system of the Turkish Notaries Union in the e-Government system.
• The property to be selected must be registered on the Turkish Notaries Union Information System.
• Then, the ID numbers (where applicable), the addresses, and the contact information of the parties must be entered into the system.
• The real estate tax for the property and the actual sale price are then entered into the electronic form.
• Also, before the appointment with the notary takes place, all necessary documents must be submitted to the system, such as the valid power of attorney for the lawyers representing the seller and/or the buyer (if applicable), the existing title deed of the property, the valuation report for the property from the local municipality or from a valuation company, the DASK earthquake insurance policy for the property, the foreign exchange purchase certificate (if the buyer is a foreign citizen), etc.
• The originals of the uploaded documents must be presented to the notary at the time of the appointment.
• During the appointment, the notary will carry out all the transactions related to the contract and, after determining that there is no legal impediment preventing the sale, the parties will be asked to sign the contract and the title deed will be given to the new owner.

Will the notary charge an extra fee for his services?

A set fee will be charged, which cannot be less than 500 TRY or more than 4,000 TRY, depending on the value of the real estate. The fee is revised annually. If, on the other hand the parties prefer that the transaction is made at the Land Registry Office, then, there will be no extra cost.

Can the transaction be made during the weekend?

Yes. In the new amendment, it has been foreseen to make the process as flexible and fast as possible, and it is even allowed  to make the transaction at a notary’s office during the weekend.