Selling property in Istanbul: documents, fees, tax and power of attorney.

01

How a sale works: steps and documents

In Turkey a home sale completes at the land registry the same day, with the signatures of the parties or their agents. The work before that is proving the property can be sold: the title record must be free of mortgages, liens and annotations, and dues and tax debts must be settled. A sale cannot go through on an encumbered title.

The usual order: setting the price, listing and viewings, agreement with the buyer (often a deposit at a notary or under a written preliminary agreement), the municipal value letter, an appraisal report where needed, the land-registry application (e-Devlet / Web-Tapu), payment of fees and signature at the registry.

• —Title deed (or a current extract of the record) and ID; the original power of attorney if an agent signs
• —Municipal letter of assessed value and a certificate that no property tax is owed
• —Compulsory earthquake insurance (DASK) policy; a letter confirming no utility or dues debt
• —If condominium ownership is not established: occupancy permit and construction-servitude status; the management plan
• —For a foreign buyer: a licensed appraisal report and a foreign-exchange purchase document; a sworn translator if a party does not speak Turkish

02

Title-deed fee and capital gains tax

The title-deed fee, under Tariff (4) annexed to the Fees Law No. 492, is charged on the sale price declared at the registry at 2 percent from the buyer and 2 percent from the seller, 4 percent in total. If the declared price is below the real value, the shortfall is collected with a penalty. A land-registry revolving-fund charge is paid in addition.

The gain on a sale made less than five full years after acquisition is taxed as capital gains income (Income Tax Law No. 193, repeated Art. 80). A sale after five years gives rise to no tax. In computing the gain, the purchase price is indexed by the change in the producer price index between the months of purchase and sale; if the difference between the indexed price and the sale price exceeds the exemption for that year, it is declared in March of the following year. The exemption is revalued every year; for sales in 2026 it is 150,000 TL.

The five years run from the date of registration; homes acquired by inheritance are outside capital gains. A seller living abroad (limited taxpayer) is subject to the same rule.

03

The legal ceiling on the brokerage fee

Real estate brokerage is governed by the Regulation on Real Estate Trade. In a sale the service fee may not exceed 4 percent of the sale price excluding VAT; even where separate authorization agreements are signed with buyer and seller, only one service fee is charged and the ceiling cannot be exceeded. In practice the fee is usually shared between the two sides.

The fee must rest on a written brokerage (authorization) agreement; demands without an agreement or above the ceiling are invalid. The broker must hold a real estate trade authorization certificate. The fee is paid when the sale completes; no sale, no fee.

04

Selling from abroad by power of attorney

To sell without coming to Turkey, an agent carries out the registry transaction. A power of attorney issued at the Turkish consulate in your country is directly valid in Turkey; where there is no consulate, it is executed at a local notary, apostilled under the 1961 Hague Convention, and its sworn translation is certified by a notary in Turkey.

Land registries look for two things in a power of attorney for sale: a photograph, and the authority to sell stated expressly (“to sell, to receive the price, to sign at the registry”). A general power “to follow up my affairs” is not enough for a sale. Having the text prepared for the registry where the transaction will take place removes the risk of rejection.

The duration and scope of the power can be limited; it is revoked once the sale completes. The agreement records that the sale price is paid directly to the seller’s account, not the agent’s.

05

Selling to a foreign buyer

A sale to a buyer who is not a Turkish citizen has three extra conditions. First, a foreign-exchange purchase document showing that the price was brought into Turkey in foreign currency and converted to lira at a bank; the land registry requires it. Second, a report from an appraisal company licensed by the Capital Markets Board. Third, a sworn translator at the registry if the buyer does not speak Turkish.

Additional restrictions apply to nationals of certain countries and to military zones; the land registry checks before the transaction. These conditions do not lengthen the process, but if not planned in advance they postpone the registry appointment.

06

Sending the proceeds abroad

The sale price is paid in Turkish lira into a bank account in Turkey. A seller living abroad may convert it and send it to an account abroad; Decree No. 32 on the Protection of the Value of Turkish Currency leaves the transfer free. The bank asks for the title deed and the sale agreement to document the source of funds, and records the conversion with a foreign-exchange purchase document.

Exchange rate and bank charges are the seller’s; a single transfer costs less than several. Proceeds from a foreign buyer are already documented in foreign currency, so this step is shorter.

07

Selling a tenanted property and the new owner’s rights

When a rented home is sold the lease does not end; the new owner becomes party to the tenancy and the lease continues on the same terms (Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, Art. 310). The deposit passes to the new owner too. The tenant cannot be evicted because of the sale.

If the new owner must use the home for themselves, their spouse, descendants, ascendants or dependants, they may end the lease by an action filed six months after a written notice given to the tenant within one month of acquisition; alternatively they may file within one month after the end of the lease term (Art. 351). Outside this route the lease runs for its term.

For an investment buyer a tenanted property is an asset producing income from day one; the lease, collection history and the tenant’s payment record become part of the sale file. Viewings take place with the tenant’s consent at an agreed time.

08

Pre-sale checklist

• —Pull a current title record: mortgage, lien, annotation, share status
• —Settle dues, property tax and utility debts; obtain the certificates
• —Renew the DASK policy; confirm condominium and occupancy status
• —Work out whether five years have passed since acquisition
• —If abroad, have the power of attorney drafted with authority to sell and a photograph
• —If the buyer is foreign, plan the appraisal report and the foreign-exchange purchase document
• —If there is a tenant, disclose the lease, the deposit and viewing times to the buyer from the start