Living and buying in Turkey: tapu, DASK and the pitfalls that Spain content misses

Yes, as a Dutch citizen you can buy a home in Turkey, outside military and special security zones. The tapu office, the land registry office, checks those zones at the transfer.

What to know beforehand:

• The transfer runs through the land registry, not a notary. You need an approved valuation report and an exchange certificate.
• Count on 4% tapu duty, the levy on the transfer of ownership. By law that is 2% for the buyer and 2% for the seller, but in practice it often falls to the buyer. On top come land registry costs, valuation and interpreter.
• Every home carries the compulsory earthquake insurance DASK. Without it there is no transfer and no utility connection. But it covers less than people think.

The pitfall: much Dutch-language information about buying in Turkey is rewritten Spain content, with notary fees and ten per cent buyer's costs that don't exist here.

In your first year you don't buy. You rent, you get to know the neighbourhoods, the construction years, the winter and the real costs, and only then do you decide. Read why that order is fixed. This article sets out the Turkish buying and renting process.

How does the transfer run, and what does it cost?

Ownership passes at the Tapu Dairesi, the land registry. The noter (notary) only plays a role in powers of attorney, translations and rental contracts, not in the transfer of ownership itself. If you don't speak Turkish, a sworn interpreter belongs at the transfer.

Three things are compulsory for foreign buyers:

• A recognised valuation report. Since circular 2019/1 of the land registry every purchase by a foreign natural person (a private individual, not a company) comes with a report from a recognised valuer, requested through the web-tapu system, the land registry's online system. It is the same report that counts for the residence threshold of US$ 200,000.
• The DAB exchange certificate. The purchase price must have been exchanged into lira through a Turkish bank before the transfer. The exchanged amount counts as the basis for the tapu duty.
• The zone check. In prohibited military zones and military security zones you only buy with permission of the General Staff, in special security zones with that of the governor. Per person there is an upper limit of thirty hectares. The tapu office checks that at the transfer.

The costs start with 4% tapu duty. The Harçlar Kanunu, the Turkish law on fees and duties, puts 2% on the buyer and 2% on the seller. That is charged on the declared price and at least the emlak value, the value on which the municipality levies property tax. In practice the buyer often pays it all, so negotiate it. On top come the land-registry administration costs, the valuation report and the interpreter.

Cost item or tax	What applies
Tapu duty (Harçlar Kanunu, tariff 4)	2% buyer and 2% seller, on the declared price and at least the emlak value
Valuation report	compulsory with a foreign buyer, via web-tapu, by a recognised valuer
Exchange certificate (DAB)	purchase price exchanged into lira through a Turkish bank before the transfer
Emlak vergisi on homes	0.1% a year; 0.2% within metropolitan municipalities
DASK	compulsory for every home; without a policy no tapu registration and no water or electricity connection
Residence threshold on the property route	home worth at least US$ 200,000 on the day of acquisition
Citizenship via property	US$ 400,000, no sale for three years

What is the DASK, and what does it cover?

Every home carries the DASK, the earthquake insurance that law 6305 makes compulsory for homes on a tapu, a title deed in the land registry. Without DASK the land registry records no transfer and you get no water or electricity connection. Landlords ask for it with rental contracts too.

Just know what it is: a capped basic cover for damage from earthquake and the fire, explosion, tsunami or landslide that follows it, up to a maximum sum per policy. If the rebuild value is higher, you cover the difference and the contents with a supplementary home policy. And more important than any policy: buy or rent on year of construction, and in case of doubt have a structural engineer look.