Real Estate Law

Antalya Real Estate Law Firm for Foreign Investors

An Antalya real estate law firm is usually called after the deposit is paid. By then the developer has your money and the registry has recorded what it recorded. Check the title deed, the seller and the permits first.

Talk to an Antalya Property Lawyer: +90 530 936 94 64 Book a Legal Consultation

On the lists of lawyers published for their nationals by

British Embassy Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Embassy of Canada

Antalya Bar Association, registration no. 9892

Verifiable on the Bar's own register.

Full land registry record before you pay

Owner, mortgage, attachment and annotations checked at the Land Registry, before any deposit leaves your account.

You never have to fly in for the transfer

A power of attorney from your nearest Turkish consulate lets us complete the title deed transfer without you in the room.

Do foreign buyers in Turkey really need a property lawyer?

Quick answer

Yes, most property problems are fixable, and almost all are preventable. Your lawyer runs the land registry search and reviews the contract. Clean purchases close in two to six weeks; a dispute over an untransferred deed runs one to three years. Cost tracks property value and whether litigation starts.

On This Page

02 Is This You? → 03 What Turkish Law Actually Says → 04 How a Property File Runs → 05 What It Costs → 06 Case Outcomes → 07 Questions Buyers Ask Us →

Is This You?

What these cases have in common

In every one of them the decisive fact was on public record before the money moved. The mortgage was on the registry extract. The developer's enforcement files were registered. The missing occupancy permit sat in the municipality's building file. Nobody requested them.

What an Antalya property lawyer checks before you transfer money:

Who the registered owner is at the Land Registry Directorate not who is sitting in the sales office
Mortgages, attachments and annotations registered against that parcel
Whether the building holds full flat ownership
The zoning status held by the district municipality
The seller's Trade Registry file

People who call us in the first week

"I paid the developer in full. The building is finished, people live in it, my name is still not on the title deed."
"I signed an English contract at a sales office in Konyaaltı. Nobody mentioned the bank's mortgage on the land."
"I bought off-plan in Alanya. The company has changed its name twice and delivery has moved three times."
"The valuation report came back under the threshold."
"There is damp through my ground-floor wall. The developer says his two-year warranty expired."
"I want to let the flat to tourists and the site manager says every owner must agree in writing."

What Turkish Law Actually Says

Three provisions decide almost every foreign property matter in Turkey. Each is public and linked below.

Land Registry Law No. 2644

Article 35: What a Foreigner May Own

Article 35 lets nationals of most countries buy in Turkey; reciprocity was repealed in 2012 by Law No. 6302. Two ceilings survive: no individual may hold over 30 hectares nationwide, and foreign nationals together may not exceed 10% of the privately owned area of any district. Land in a military restricted zone cannot be transferred at all.

Read Article 35 on mevzuat.gov.tr

Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098

Articles 219–231: When the Property Is Defective

If what you received is not what was sold, damp, subsidence, a smaller floor area, Articles 219 to 231 give you four remedies: rescind, reduce the price, demand repair, demand a replacement.

Read Articles 219–231 on mevzuat.gov.tr

Law No. 7464, in force 1 January 2024

Letting Your Flat to Tourists

Letting a residence for fewer than 100 days now requires a permit from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Letting without it carries a fine that can be imposed again for each unpermitted booking.

Read Law No. 7464 on mevzuat.gov.tr

How a Property File Runs

Two routes, depending on whether you are still deciding or already stuck. What we need from you is named at each stage.

Before you pay

Buying a Property in Antalya

Parcel details

Send us the province, district, block and parcel numbers from the title deed or the listing.

Land registry search

We request the full record for that parcel: registered owner, every mortgage, attachment and annotation. You get it before you commit anything.

Building and seller file

We check the zoning at the district municipality and pull the seller's Trade Registry file.

Turkish tax number

We obtain your tax number, from the Tax Office on your passport alone. Every later step is blocked without it: the bank account, the insurance, the tapu appointment.

Foreign currency certificate

Your foreign currency is sold to the Central Bank through a Turkish bank, which issues a Döviz Alım Belgesi in your name. The Land Registry asks for this certificate at the appointment; without it the transfer does not happen.

DASK earthquake cover

Compulsory earthquake insurance under Law No. 6305 must be in force before the Land Registry completes a transfer. We arrange it from the parcel data on file.

Transfer at the Land Registry

The appointment is booked through WEB-TAPU. A sworn interpreter must attend if you do not speak Turkish. Holding your power of attorney, we attend instead.

When it has already gone wrong

Claiming a Title Deed the Seller Will Not Transfer

Evidence and notarial demand

We assemble the contract, payment records and registry extract, then serve notice through a notary.

Injunction on the title deed

We ask the Civil Court of First Instance for an annotation stopping the unit being resold while the case runs. This is the step most often skipped, and the one that saves the asset.

Mediation or filing

Consumer claims go to the Consumer Court or the Consumer Arbitration Committee by value; commercial claims must pass through mandatory mediation first.

Judgment and registration

A judgment ordering transfer is registered at the Land Registry without the seller signing. Court-appointed expert reports set the pace, and each objection adds a hearing.

What It Costs

Official charges are public and fixed by law. Our fee depends on what the file turns out to be, but the structure is set out below.

Official state costs

Title deed transfer fee

4% of the declared value under Law No. 492 — 2% each side by statute

Land Registry

Revolving fund service fee, reset annually by the Land Registry and Cadastre Directorate

Notary, sworn translation, interpreter

Notary tariff plus per-page translation; the court-sworn interpreter is paid at the transfer appointment

How our fee is structured

Purchase and due diligence

Fixed fee, agreed in writing before any work starts

Title deed and defect litigation

Fixed retainer plus a percentage of what is recovered

Percentage ceiling

25% of the disputed value, Law No. 1136 art. 164

The floor beneath all of it

The Minimum Attorney Fee Tariff — no Turkish lawyer may quote below it

What moves the total, ranked

1 · Litigation or not

By far the largest; a file settled on a notarial demand costs a fraction of one that reaches judgment

2 · Value of the property

Filing fees and the minimum fee tariff both scale with the amount claimed

3 · Number of parties

Co-owners, heirs, or a developer already in enforcement each add a front

4 · Expert rounds

Every expert report, and every objection to one, adds a hearing and a fee

The Minimum Attorney Fee Tariff is published in the Official Gazette each year by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations. It sets the minimum a lawyer may quote, and the fee the losing side pays the winner's lawyer, worth weighing before you litigate.

We quote after reading the file, not before

Send the contract. We read them, tell you what the matter is, and give you a figure in writing, with official costs itemised at published amounts.

Get a Fee Quote

Case Outcomes

Anonymised, because our clients are entitled to that. The mechanism in each is as described.

Title Registered Without the Developer's Signature

A buyer had paid in full for a completed flat, but the tapu stayed in the construction company's name. We served notice through a notary, obtained an annotation from the Civil Court of First Instance blocking resale while the case ran, and the court ordered registration. The deed transferred on the judgment alone.

A Purchase Stopped Before the Deposit Moved

The registry extract on the apartment showed a bank mortgage and an attachment lodged by an enforcement office, neither mentioned at the sales office. We reported both in writing, the client withdrew, and the deposit came back under the contract's termination clause.

Damp Defect: Developer Ordered to Pay

Water came through a ground-floor wall in a flat after handover, and the developer refused to repair it. We filed suit. A court-appointed expert inspected the flat and costed the remedial work, and the court ordered the developer to pay.

From Our Legal Guides

Read Before You Sign Anything

Buying

How to Buy Property in Turkey as a Foreigner

Read the buying guide

Due Diligence

Legal Due Diligence in Turkey for Foreign Investors

Read the due diligence guide

Title Deed

What to Do If the Title Deed Is Not Transferred in Turkey

Read the title deed guide

Developer Claims

Defective Property After Purchase: Your Rights Against the Seller

Read the construction defect guide

Tax

Turkey's Real Estate VAT Exemption for Foreign Buyers

Read the VAT exemption guide

Rental Income

How to Get an Airbnb Permit in Turkey

Read the short-let permit guide

Bought a property in Turkey and planning to rent it out?

Check Your Rent Increase

Our Antalya Real Estate Law Firm assists foreign property owners with legal issues arising from property ownership and rental relationships. If you already have a tenant, you can also use our Turkey rent increase calculator to estimate the applicable rent increase for the new rental period.

Questions Buyers Ask Us

The seven we hear most often, answered as we would answer them on the phone.

Can foreigners buy property in Antalya?

Yes. Article 35 of Land Registry Law No. 2644 allows nationals of most countries to buy in Turkey, and reciprocity was repealed in 2012. Two limits apply: no individual may hold over 30 hectares nationwide, and foreign nationals together may not exceed 10% of the private land in any district. Property in a military restricted zone cannot be transferred.

Do I need a lawyer to buy property in Turkey, or is the estate agent enough?

An estate agent is paid on completion, so the agent's interest is that the sale happens. A lawyer's job is to find the reason it should not. The registry extract, occupancy permit, zoning status and the seller's Trade Registry file are all public — but only if somebody requests them before the deposit is paid.

How much is the title deed fee in Turkey?

The tapu harcı is 4% of the declared sale value under Law No. 492. By statute buyer and seller pay 2% each, but in Antalya the whole 4% is routinely pushed onto the buyer. On top come the Land Registry revolving fund charge, compulsory DASK insurance and a sworn interpreter.

Can I buy a property in Antalya without coming to Turkey?

Yes. A power of attorney issued at a Turkish consulate, or before a foreign notary with an apostille and sworn Turkish translation, lets your lawyer complete the transfer without you. It must expressly grant authority to buy, sell and act before the Land Registry. A general power of attorney is refused at the counter.

What happens if the developer never transfers the title deed?

You sue for registration. We serve a notarial demand, apply for a court annotation so the unit cannot be sold to somebody else, then ask the Civil Court of First Instance to order transfer. The judgment is registered without the developer signing. Do not wait the real risks are a second sale and insolvency.

How long does a property purchase take in Antalya?

A clean purchase of a completed flat usually takes two to six weeks. The searches take days.

Can I rent my Antalya apartment out on Airbnb?

Only with a permit. Since 1 January 2024, Law No. 7464 has required an permit from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for any letting shorter than 100 days. Letting without it carries a fine, repeatable for each booking.

Antalya Real Estate Law Firm with a Mediterranean coastal setting and scales of justice

Speak with Our Antalya Real Estate Law Firm

Send the contract and the documents. We read and advice in writing, in English.

Talk to an Antalya Property Lawyer: +90 530 936 94 64 Book a Legal Consultation

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+90 530 936 94 64
[email protected]
Uncalı Mah. 1219 Sk. 3C/10 Konyaaltı/Antalya

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