Traditionally British people have bought property mainly in European-Mediterranean countries such as Spain , France , Italy and Cyprus as well as famous US destinations like Florida . However, these places have recently become extremely expensive and saturated. Nowadays, the UK citizens have been seeking other alternative overseas destinations.

If you, as a UK citizen, prefer buying a property at a very reasonable price which you can use yourself for regular holidays and that you can also rent out to get some income in a country where the summer is nice and long, stretching from March to November, and there are many tourism attractions, then Turkey is the most appropriate destination for you.

In 2007, more than 23 million tourists visited Turkey and more than 25 million tourists are expected to visit Turkey in 2008. This figure is expected to double within a few years. Moreover, future projects such as creation of much more congress, golf, health tourism centres, having held international sports events such as Formula 1 races, international university Olympics-Universade 05/Izmir and UEFA Champions League Cup Final in 2005; the fact that Turkey started full EU-membership negotiations in October 2005 are all potential factors which will contribute well to property market in Turkey.

Moreover, the facts that;

• The new mortgage law and other relevant laws was enacted in 2007,
• Housing supply in Turkey currently lags behind the demand,
• Average age of houses in Turkey suggests that there is a strong need for new developments,
• The buildings erected after the devastating earthquake in Izmit, a city in the northwest of Turkey, in 1999 are much more preferred by investors since those (newer) buildings have to be pursuant to the earthquake-proof standards which were launched after 1999,
• Significant number of buildings lack the required licenses,

suggest that house prices are highly likely to be rocketed within few years. Thus, there are big prospects for property and construction related businesses.

According to the article 35 of Tittle Deeds Law, foreign nationals (real persons) are able to acquire real estate in Turkey on the conditions of being reciprocal and complying with legal restrictions.

In implementation of the reciprocity principle, it is essential that real estate acquisition rights given by a foreign country to its own citizens and to commercial companies established in foreign countries according to the laws of these countries are also given to the citizens and commercial companies of the Republic of Turkey.

In this context, there exist reciprocity between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Turkey regarding real estate acquisition.

According to the article 35 of Tittle Deeds Law, foreign commercial companies having legal personality established in foreign countries according to the laws of those countries are able to acquire real estate in Turkey provided that they operate pursuant to the special laws such as the Tourism Encouragement Law, the Petroleum Law, the Industrial Zones Law etc.

But, foreign legal entities other than the above mentioned commercial companies, such as foreign charities, foreign foundations and foreign societies, etc. cannot buy property in Turkey.

Legal entities (companies) established or participated in Turkey by foreign investors can acquire real estate or limited rights in rem in Turkey in line with operational purposes set in company’s Articles of Association.

If these properties are acquired by another company established in Turkey by foreign investors or a Turkish company owning a property is acquired by foreign investors, same rule applies.

On the other hand, the acquisition of sites in military forbidden zones, security zones and strategic zones by legal entities (companies) established or participated in Turkey by foreign investors, is subject to consent of the Turkish General Staff or military authorities designated by General Staff. The acquisition of sites in special security zones is subject to consent of the governor of the province where the property is located. The provisions of Military Forbidden Zones and Security Zones Act No. 2565 are reserved.

Foreign nationals (real persons) from countries with which there exist legal and de facto reciprocities in relation to property purchase can buy properties in zones covered by an Implementary Development Plan ("Uygulama Imar Plani" in Turkish) or a Local Development Plan ("Mevzii İmar Plani" in Turkish) for use of residential or commercial purpose .

Foreign nationals and foreign commercial companies are not allowed to buy property in the military, strategic and security zones of Turkey.

In addition, the Council of Ministers is authorised to determine specific zones to be preserved such as lands which are strategically very important in terms of energy, agriculture, mining, history, cultural values, biological flora, and national security. Thus, foreign nationals and foreign commercial companies will not be able to buy property in those specially preserved zones.

In other words, TAPU (Land Registry) offices are supposed to check whether a property that is being purchased by a foreign national is within one of those forbidden zones or not.

Upon your application, the local TAPU office will do a search on behalf of you whether the asset is in a forbidden zone or not. If the information provided by military authorities confirms that the real estate is outside the military and security zones, then your application is accepted.

Please also note that military clearance may take a considerable time and it may be worth checking at what stage the procedure is. Thus, you are advised to gather the contact information of the TAPU office you are using so that you can call the authorities later.

The total area of all lands a foreign national (real person) can own in Turkey cannot exceed 2.5 hectares (25,000 m2). Please note that the Law allows the Council of Ministers to increase this threshold to 30 hectares.

The maximum size of all lands owned by foreign nationals (real persons) in a town cannot exceed 10% of the total area within the Implementary Development Plan ("Uygulama Imar Plani" in Turkish) and Local Development Plan ("Mevzii İmar Plani" in Turkish) of a town. The Council of Ministers can set lower ratio (less than 10%) taking importance of infrastructure, economy, energy, environment, culture, agriculture and security of a town into consideration.

The Constitution, the relevant provisions of the Civil Code, the Title Deeds Act, the Foreign Direct Investment Law and the relevant legislation form the legal framework which enables foreign people or corporate entities to buy real estate in Turkey.

According to the legal framework mentioned above, both Turkish citizens and foreign owners have equal property-ownership rights.