Buying land in Turkey: how to read the zoning plan before you pay

An apartment can be seen and touched, but the value of land lies on a piece of paper: the zoning plan. Two neighbouring plots can differ tenfold in price because of a single line in the municipality’s document. This guide teaches you to read that line.

Zoned plot or field?

• Zoned land (İmarlı Arsa): within a zoning plan that sets what can be built on it and how much.
• Agricultural field (Tarla): outside the zoning plan or reserved for farming; building on it is prohibited or heavily restricted.
• Other types: orchard (Bahçe) or vineyard (Bağ), which have their own restrictions too.

The type of plot is shown on the title deed. See the guide to tapu (title deed) types.

The zoning status document (İmar Durumu)

It is issued by the municipality, and many municipalities provide it online. In it you read:

1. Use: residential, commercial, tourism, industrial or public facilities.
2. Floor area ratio (Emsal / KAKS): the total floor area allowed relative to the plot area.
3. Site coverage (TAKS): the part of the plot covered by the building.
4. Height or number of floors.
5. Setbacks from the road and the neighbours.

Zoning deductions

When zoning is applied to an area, the municipality may take a large share of the land, up to 45%, for roads, parks and public facilities. A “1,000 m²” plot may become much smaller once it is applied. Ask: has zoning been applied to this plot?

Shared title deeds

Selling shares of a large plot among many owners is common on the edges of cities. Your share does not mean a specific piece of land, and building or subdividing requires the co-owners’ agreement. See the guide to land in Arnavutköy.

Special areas

• The coast: the Coastal Law prohibits building on the shoreline strip and restricts what lies behind it.
• Forests: forest land has a special status and cannot be built on.
• Protected sites: archaeological and natural sites, with strict restrictions. See the guide to buying in Uzungöl and the highlands.

Conditions for foreigners

• A project within two years: a foreigner submits a land-use project to the ministry within two years of the purchase; otherwise the state has the right to liquidate the land.
• Security clearance in some locations. See the guide to security clearance.
• Area limits per person and per region. See the guide to property ownership by foreigners.

Checklist before the deposit

1. A recent zoning status document.
2. The land registry record: type, owners and restrictions. See the guide to mortgages, seizures and annotations.
3. The plot map and its actual boundaries.
4. An official road leading to it, plus electricity and water.
5. An independent valuation report. See the guide to the valuation report.
6. A realistic idea of the project and its cost.

Summary

Don’t buy land; buy what the zoning allows you to build on it. Read the zoning status document, check that the title deed is separate and that there is an official road, factor in the zoning deductions, and get your project ready before the two-year period starts.

Contact us and we will check any plot of land for you, or browse land available in Trabzon.