Title deed (Tabu) in Turkey

Questions are increasing by investors and those interested in owning real estate with the increase in the volume of real estate sales about the title deed (Tabu) in Turkey, together we will learn about what is the title deed? And what is its importance? From where is it extracted? What are the types of Tapu in Turkey? What is the meaning of real estate easement?

Tabu :

Tabu, which means “title deed”: It is the document that regulates a specific property, and proves ownership of the property for the person mentioned in the document, in which information about the property and real estate survey numbers are mentioned, and in which the location of the property is determined, and this document is regulated by the Directorate of Registry Real estate affiliated to the Ministry of Environment and Turkish Cities, known in some countries as the real estate registry. The real estate title deed (Tabu) is only given to the owner of the real estate, the legal owner of the real estate, but if the real estate is owned by more than one person, only one deed is given, through which each person’s share of the owners in the property is separated.

The title deed is extracted through the administration of the title deed and Turkish lands only because Turkish law does not recognize the contracts documented by the Turkish notary as a title deed.

Types of Tapu in Turkey : 

There are many types of title deed in Turkey, depending on the type of property, the most important of which are the following:

• Field real estate or agricultural land bonds :

These are the lands whose owner has the right to carry out any agricultural work or the like, such as raising poultry or livestock within the owned land allocated for this project. House - villa - office) or even the lands included in the city's organizational chart.

• Real estate easement bonds :

It is the title deed that records each section of the property separately, so that a suitable project is planned to be built on a plot of land, then construction approval is taken, and then the project is divided into many independent sections such as apartments within the architecture. The type of real estate in such bonds is mentioned as construction land, because the construction of the project has not been completed, and after the completion of construction and the issuance of housing approval, the title deeds are allocated to the property.

• Full title deeds :

They are documents that record the ownership of real estate after the completion of its establishment completely, and the designation of the independent sections in them with approval to use each section separately, and each section is organized for its own full title deed, proving the ownership of the owner of the bond over the independent section in the mentioned building.

• Housing approval :

It is the approval issued by the municipality for buildings that are built according to specific standards imposed by the state, where it is proven that the allocated building was built according to what was mentioned in the approved construction project.

• Transitional Title Deeds (Transitional Tapu) :

It is the right of ownership in the property for a specific period of the year, where the transitional ownership of the property is determined at a specific period of the year, and the owner has all the rights of ownership from selling, leasing and assigning his right to other people, but all of that during the specified period.

• Commercial real estate registry (commercial title deed) :

It is the record or title deed that must be obtained, if the property is intended for events or commercial activities. Real estate of this type includes: offices, shops, stores, and similar real estate of commercial use.

Floor easement is among the title deed documents in Turkey, where it is necessary to obtain a record of the floor ownership of one of the title deed documents to protect the rights of the property owner.

Tapu extraction procedures :

The procedures for extracting the title deed are started after completing the purchase process, writing the contract, signing both parties and paying the advance. The title deed procedures are summarized by submitting a request to transfer ownership to the title deed administration and the Turkish lands, accompanied by the following documents :

• The contract through which the buying and selling process took place.
• A copy of the identity card for both the seller and the buyer.
• A copy of the original title deed of the thing sold by the seller.
• Seller's clearance papers obtained from the municipality.
• Three personal photos of the buyer.