Property in Turkey · Costs, taxes and fees
The asking price is the part everyone knows. This page names every other cost, at purchase and every year afterwards.
About this
The largest one-off item is the tapu harci, the title deed transfer fee charged at the Land Registry and calculated on the declared value of the property. Alongside it sits a smaller revolving fund charge, the dondurulen sermaye, which the registry levies for processing the transaction itself. Sales to foreign buyers also require a state-regulated valuation report prepared by an appraiser licensed by the Capital Markets Board, and that is commissioned and paid for by the buyer. If you do not speak Turkish, a sworn translator must attend the appointment, and their fee is separate again. Notary work covers the translation of your passport and, where a representative acts for you, the power of attorney. None of these are optional and all of them are quotable in advance.
Independent legal fees are the clearest example. A lawyer who acts for you and is paid by you reads the contract, checks the land registry position on the plot and confirms that what is being sold is what is registered. It is a cost the process does not force on you, and it is the one experienced buyers skip least often. Beyond that come the practical costs of taking possession: connection and subscription deposits for electricity, water and gas, each held by the provider and each requiring the property to carry compulsory DASK earthquake cover before the account can be opened. Then there is furnishing, which is routinely left out of the budget entirely and which, on an unfurnished apartment, is not a small sum.
The aidat service charge is the largest recurring item for most apartment owners. It pays for whatever the complex maintains: pools, a gym, a sauna, a generator, gardens, lifts, gate security and staff. The charge follows the facilities rather than your floor area, and it continues every month of the year whether or not you are in the country. Metered utilities vary enormously with use: the gap between a property used for a fortnight in summer and one lived in with air conditioning in summer and heating in winter is wide. The annual emlak vergisi property tax goes to the local municipality, with rates differing by property type and by whether the area is classified as a metropolitan municipality. DASK is renewed yearly. A villa adds pool servicing, garden work and often a caretaker.
If the property is let, the rental income is taxable in Turkey and declared there, with allowances and deductions an accountant can apply to your circumstances far better than a guide can. Short-term letting also requires a permit, and in an apartment block the other owners have a say, so establish both before counting on the income. On the way out, a gain made on a resale within a defined holding period is treated as taxable income, while a sale after that period is treated differently; the length of the period and the way the gain is calculated are set by law. Every rate, allowance, threshold and holding period named here changes, sometimes yearly. Treat this page as the checklist and confirm each current figure against the official source or with a Turkish accountant.
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Start here
One list is spent once, on the day the tapu changes hands. The other arrives every year for as long as you own the property, and it does not pause while you are at home in another country. The second list is what decides whether a purchase feels comfortable in the years after it.
Where to look
The title deed transfer fee, the valuation report, sworn translation and notary work, any power of attorney, independent legal fees, the land registry revolving fund charge, utility connection deposits, the first DASK policy and furnishing.
The aidat complex service charge, metered electricity, water and gas, the annual municipal property tax, the environmental cleaning tax on the utility bill and the DASK renewal.
Pool servicing and chemicals through the season, garden irrigation and cutting, and, for owners who are away for months at a time, a caretaker to check the property and manage the winter.
Before a reservation
We gather the facts behind a property first, then say plainly what holds up, what needs answering and what is simply unknown at this stage.
What the tapu says, which form of ownership it is, and whether the registry shows anything undisclosed.
Construction date against the building code, whether the iskan is in place, and the state of the block.
Service charge, utilities, property tax and insurance, written out as a yearly figure.
Who the next buyer would be, and how long a sale in this district usually takes.
Your shortlist
Every cost on this page is knowable in advance for a specific property, and most of them have a documented history the seller or the building management can produce. We ask for the real figures rather than describing the categories.
How we work
The first conversation is about how the property will be used, not about what is available this week. Everything after that follows from the answer.
How many months a year you will be there, who else uses it, and what you will not compromise on.
A small number of properties in districts that match, with the trade-off in each spelled out.
Registry, permits, service charge history and the questions to put to the seller in writing.
Tax number, bank account, valuation report and the Land Registry appointment, in order.
Checks before you buy
Title, permits, contract, building age, service charge, season, management and resale. We are not your lawyer; we make sure you arrive at one with the right questions.
The process
Pick a messenger and leave a number. You may have a town in mind, or none at all.
Months of use, budget range, timing, and the things that would rule a property out.
A handful of options that fit, with what to compare and what to check on each.
Viewings, questions to the seller, and the paperwork in the right order.
Questions worth asking out loud
Demand, season length, what is open in winter and what is being built nearby.
Service charge, utilities, tax and insurance, before anyone talks about yield.
Use, letting and resale are worth discussing before a deposit, not after.
A property local buyers also want is a property you can sell.
Read next
FAQ
It is the title deed transfer fee charged by the Land Registry when ownership passes to you, and it is calculated on the declared value of the property rather than on a fixed sum. Custom in the market varies as to whether buyer or seller pays it, or whether it is split, so settle that in writing before the appointment rather than at the counter. Declaring a value below what is actually being paid is a common suggestion and a poor idea: it exposes you later, and the state-regulated valuation report filed with the same application gives an independent figure to compare against. The rate is set by law and changes, so confirm the current one against the official source or with an accountant.
Because it is driven by what the complex maintains, not by the size of your flat. A plain block with a lift and a stairwell to clean sits at one end. A residence with pools, a gym, a sauna, a generator, landscaped gardens, several lifts, gate security and a payroll of staff sits at the other, and two apartments of identical floor area in those buildings carry very different charges. It is set by the building management, it continues every month of the year whether or not you are in Turkey, and it usually rises. Ask for the current figure, last year's figure and the year before, and ask whether any assessment for major works is planned.
Four things, from four different places. The aidat goes to the building management. Metered electricity, water and gas go to the utility providers, and the environmental cleaning tax normally appears as a line on one of those bills rather than as a separate demand. The annual property tax, emlak vergisi, goes to the municipality the property sits in; it is payable in instalments, the rate differs by property type and it is set higher in areas classified as metropolitan municipalities. DASK earthquake insurance is renewed yearly and is compulsory for residential property. All of these rates change, so confirm each against its current official source.
Yes. Citizens of most countries can own residential property in Turkey in their own name. The limits are geographic rather than personal: purchases are restricted inside designated military and security zones, and there is a cap on the share of land in any one district that foreign nationals may hold. Both are checked before a reservation, not after.
Costs, taxes and fees
Leave a number in the messenger you already use. We will ask a few questions first, then send properties worth your time.