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

Much Dutch-language information about buying in Turkey is rewritten Spain content: notary fees, ten per cent buyer's costs, a reservation at the notary. In Turkey little of that is right — the chain is different, the risks sit in different places, and one insurance is compulsory there that Spain doesn't know. This article sets out the Turkish buying and renting process.

The transfer: land registry, not notary

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. A sworn interpreter belongs at the transfer if you don't speak Turkish.

Three things are compulsory for foreign buyers. A recognised valuation report (from a valuer certified by the regulator) — 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. And the zone check: the general military permission was abolished in 2019, but in military and special security zones acquisition remains prohibited or subject to a permit — the tapu office checks that at the transfer.

The costs: 4% transfer tax (by law half each, in practice often entirely for the buyer — negotiate it), the land-registry administration costs, the valuation report and the interpreter. Together count on around five to seven per cent on top of the purchase price.

DASK: compulsory, and less than you think

Every home carries the DASK — the legally compulsory earthquake insurance. Without DASK no transfer at the land registry and no utility connections, and landlords ask for it with rental contracts too. The rate is state-regulated and affordable.

Just know what it is: a capped basic cover for structural damage from earthquake, with a legal ceiling that can lie far below the rebuild value of a spacious home. The contents and the difference up to the real rebuild value you cover with a supplementary home policy. And more important than any policy: buy or rent on year of construction — after 2000 is the lower limit, after the tightened building code of 2018 the preference — and in case of doubt have a structural engineer look.

The running costs

The annual property tax (emlak vergisi) is low: 0.1% for homes, doubled to 0.2% in the metropolitan municipalities that the coastal cities fall under. For very expensive homes there is a separate villa tax with a high exemption threshold. Whoever rents out their Turkish home: residential rent has an annual exemption, above that progressive taxation with a return in March.

Renting: the contract, the indexation and the neighbourhood

The rental market on the coast is ample and furnished, and the notarised rental contract is more than a formality there: it is the proof of address for your residence application. Check the neighbourhood in e-ikamet before signing — a closed neighbourhood means a refused first application — and count on the annual indexation, which moves with inflation and raises your rent in lira considerably every year.

The order that works is the same as everywhere on this site: first rent for a year, only then buy. In that year you get to know the neighbourhoods, the construction years, the winter and the real costs — and whoever is aiming at a residence permit via the property route then knows whether a home meets the valuation threshold before any money has been transferred.