Turkey Property Law Reinstated! Applications from new foreign buyers now being accepted

Towards the end of 2004, investigations took place into the law governing the purchase of property in Turkey by foreign individuals. There was concern that a loophole in the law permitted foreign entities in the guise of individuals to purchase large plots of land (30,000 hectares, about the size of a medium-sized village) in sensitive areas of the country.

Earlier this year (2005) the Turkish Constitutional Court made a ruling that the law was unconstitutional, and subsequently suspended the law, pending redraft. The initial redraft was rejected, and as a result, new or pending applications for title deeds by foreigners could not be processed until the law was redrafted and ratified.

The new law has now been ratified by the Turkish Government, and yesterday, 14th November 2005, the Land Registry was able to recommence processing deed applications for property by foreigners. This means that all applications by foreigners wishing to purchase holiday homes will be processed as before by the Turkish Land Registry. The only significant change known at the moment is a reduction in the amount of land foreigners can purchase, down now to 10,000 hectares.

As yet, the British Embassy in Ankara has not yet updated the information on its website, but readers should expect to see new information published soon.