Land Purchase in Turkey

How can you Buy Land in Turkey?

Land purchase in Turkey is one of the most profitable types of property investment as long as you do your due diligence properly. There is no doubt that property is one of the most popular investment tools all around the world, and Turkey is no exception to that rule. Land investment is not a profitable tool only for contractors, builders, and developers, but also for private investors and cooperatives.

At the end of the day, a completed residential or commercial property can be profitable as well and maybe a safer haven in some cases, especially for the end-users but development always promises more.

Ultimately, developers themselves are buying the land, handling the construction costs, and then sell it to the end-user with their profit margin included in the price. There is no doubt that real estate has always and will always be a promising investment tool in Turkey, except for some exceptional, short-temporary periods and land has been one of the most popular property investment types of all times.

If you require legal consultancy, don’t hesitate to contact us to receive aid from an experienced law firm in Turkey.

Land Purchase in Turkey: A Promise or a Honey Trap?

Every land has its feature of building permits. Eventually, the state has to protect its urban plans and can’t allow a building permit for a fifty-story skyscraper on farming land or such an inconvenient area.

There is no doubt that urban planning may change according to the zeitgeist and need of the city or town, but such elevations are usually done on grand neighborhoods and existing buildings instead of individual lands. Thus, land purchase in Turkey may be a promising investment tool for both foreign and domestic investors and developers.

Surely there can always be exceptions to the rule but these are usually lands that require huge amounts of investment and are supported by local or national authority, similar to what happens all around the world. To sum up, don’t be a big dreamer for your humble land investment’s return without checking on it in detail.

Land Types in Turkey: What Can Be Built on Which Land Types?

There are several types of building permits for the types of developments that can be built on the bought lands. It can be residential, commercial, tourism, health, agricultural land, or industrial. Residential buildings may include retail shops on the entrance floor but this must also be approved by the local municipality before starting the construction.

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) permits in residential lands may or may not be limited to the height of the neighboring buildings, which is also a feature that needs to be checked before buying land in Turkey.

Land Purchase in Turkey – Commercial Lands

Commercial lands usually offer office buildings which are called “plazas” in Turkey, which is a misused word on its own, but it has landed on the language. These buildings also offer retail areas on one or more floors. Therefore, retail use is always permitted but offices need to be checked.

Land Purchase in Turkey – Residential Lands

There is another type of land which is a hybrid of residential and comer lands, which offer both offices and residential units, some even shopping centers.

Land Purchase in Turkey – Tourism Lands

Tourism lands offer the development of hotels, resorts, or sometimes more humble hospitality options. Those can be both in city centers or holiday areas, as can be expected. Just keep in mind that all shores of all seas in Turkey are open to the public and to put this in practice; there must be a minimum of 50 meters between your construction and the seashore.

Even that area of the land can only be used to be built for leisure units such as; restaurants, gym, spa, etc., then your hotel or resort needs to be further back from the shoreline.

Some tourism lands can be divided into two if a project to be developed includes a residential segment as well. But unlike mix-use lands in residential & commercial, those need to stay as two different lands because the tourism building permit is almost three times residential. Therefore, if residential units are to be built according to tourism permits, those can never have proper ownership status.

No reason to mention the fact that health lands are reserved for hospitals; but there is a small catch, commercial lands can be taken into consideration for the development of health centers.

Land Purchase in Turkey – Agricultural Land

Agricultural lands are reserved for agriculture and stock raising, as defined by its name. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t build anything on the land. Warehouses and other types of buildings to be used for production are naturally allowed within limitations, but also, who can say no to a cute farmhouse?

Therefore, a small portion of agricultural land is available for residential development purposes too.

Land Purchase in Turkey – Industrial Lands

Industrial lands are reserved for production plants such as factories or smaller workshops or storage units. Some and larger of these are reserved for Organised Industrial Zones which provide some advantages to their occupiers. Partial purchase of lands in organized industrial zones is also possible.

Can Foreigners Buy Land in Turkey? How can a Foreigner Buy Land in Turkey?

Yes. Lands of all types and sizes can be bought, developed, or leased by foreigners, as they can buy other real estate forms like flats, residences, houses, offices, buildings, and retail stores. However, they should be aware of some limitations during the purchase.

Some locations are restricted from foreigners’ purchases. Those are usually around major military or such governmental facilities. Therefore you will need to wait for a minimum of one month period for such security checks. Don’t get us wrong, it’s not you being checked, it’s; “if the property is available for being sold to a foreigner.” This check can take longer for inland applications due to bureaucracy.

• Necessary permits should be obtained before the transaction. Because authorities would like to be sure that certain percentages aren’t exceeded by foreigners,
• The buyer should declare an undertaking that such land shall not be sold in three years starting from the date of transfer in the land registry if a purchase is being done for citizenship purposes. However, this is a must not only for land buyers but for all potential buyers who would like to apply for Turkish citizenship,
• In the case of agricultural land, the buyer is obliged to cultivate the land and should not leave it blank or empty. This cultivation may either be directly or indirectly via leasing it to third parties,
• In the case of urban land, the buyer should start to construction of a building no later than 2 years from the date of transfer of the title and ownership,

Provided that all the above are met, foreigners are free to buy land in Turkey as well as other forms of real estate investments.