Turkish Real Estate & Zoning Glossary

Areas reserved in the zoning plan for public services such as schools, health centres, parks, green space and roads. Created through parcelling under Article 18 of Law 3194.

The mandatory permit issued by the municipality or provincial authority before construction can begin. Regulated under art. 21 of Zoning Law 3194; valid for 5 years.

Population or housing units per unit area in a settlement. Measured as persons/hectare or dwellings/hectare. Not to be confused with KAKS.

Building layout where each structure is built with setbacks on all sides, separated from neighbouring structures. Common in villa and detached housing settlements.

The ratio of total buildable floor area to the parcel area. FAR × parcel m² = total floor area. Turkish regulation calls it KAKS or Emsal.

Alternative name for KAKS (Floor Area Coefficient) in Turkish zoning legislation. Ratio of total floor area to plot area. Often written as E=1.50 in planning documents.

The ratio of a building's ground floor footprint to the parcel area. GCR × parcel m² = ground floor m². Values fall between 0 and 1; most zoning plans use 0.30–0.50.

The process of dividing one parcel into two or more. Defined in the Planned Areas Zoning Regulation art. 4. Requires municipal council or provincial administrative board approval.

A 1:1,000 scale detailed plan prepared in conformity with the master plan. Defines parcel-level construction parameters: FAR, GCR, storey count, setbacks.

A local-scale zoning plan prepared for areas without an existing plan or where the existing plan is insufficient, enabling urgent activation of new development areas.

A 1:5,000 or 1:25,000 scale upper-tier zoning plan that defines land use decisions, transport systems and densities for a settlement in broad terms.

The process of dividing an area into zoning parcels and forming blocks according to a zoning plan. Governed by article 18 of Zoning Law 3194.

The right to cross one parcel to access another. Per the Planned Areas Zoning Regulation, parcels without direct street frontage require a right of way to receive a building permit.

Minimum distance the building must maintain from parcel boundaries (street, neighbours, rear). Front/side/rear setbacks are defined in the zoning plan.

The process of merging multiple parcels into a single zoning parcel. The reverse of ifraz; requires municipal council or provincial administrative board approval.

A scaled plan that defines future development, use decisions and construction conditions for a settlement. Organized in two levels: Master Plan (Nazım) and Implementation Plan (Uygulama).

Official municipal document showing what can be built on a parcel and under what conditions. Issued under Turkey's Zoning Law 3194 and the Planned Areas Zoning Regulation.

Enforcement-office seizure of a debtor's property to satisfy a claim. Governed by Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code arts. 78 ff. Real-estate attachment is noted on the title registry.

A property's unique identifier in the Turkish cadastre. 'Ada' = block (group of parcels in one map sheet); 'Parsel' = specific land parcel within a block. Combined with the map sheet number, it forms a nationwide unique ID.

State-run determination and registration of all properties' boundaries, areas, use types and ownership status. Governed by Cadastre Law 3402.

Full ownership of individual units in a completed building. Governed by Condominium Law 634. Available for buildings with occupancy permit.

Provisional real right established on the land shares of units in an unfinished building. Governed by Condominium Law 634 arts. 2/c, 3 and 14; converts to condominium ownership upon completion.

Limited real right over real estate securing a debt. Governed by Turkish Civil Code arts. 850-881. Arises on registration; if the debt is unpaid, the creditor can have the property sold through enforcement.

The right to use, benefit from and dispose of a thing. Under Turkish Civil Code art. 683, the owner has, within the limits of the legal order, the power to use, enjoy and dispose of the thing as they wish.

Official recording of ownership or real rights over a property in the land registry. Under Turkish Civil Code art. 705, real-estate ownership arises through registration.

Turkish state agency running land registry and cadastre services. Affiliated with the Ministry of Environment, Urbanism and Climate Change. Operates WebTapu, parselsorgu.tkgm.gov.tr and TAKBİS infrastructures.

A limited real right granting full enjoyment of someone else's thing. Governed by Turkish Civil Code arts. 794-822. The holder uses the thing and enjoys its fruits, while title remains with the owner.

A bank's or financial institution's determination of the value of a property offered as collateral for a housing/commercial loan, under BDDK and SPK regulation. Technically the same process as a general appraisal, specific to credit.

Legally mandatory earthquake insurance for building-based properties. Governed by Decree-Law 587. Required for title transactions and utility subscriptions.

Buildings or attachments that physically exist on a property but are not separately titled — e.g. a house built by one co-owner on shared land. Legal status is complex.

A property's designation as pasture, summer grazing or winter grazing land. Protected under Pasture Law 4342; pasture-status land is subject to special restrictions and generally closed to construction.

The state of having factual control over an object. Governed by Turkish Civil Code arts. 973-998; possession is distinct from ownership but can convert into ownership through adverse possession.

Expert determination of a property's market value. Performed by SPK-licensed appraisers; mandatory for bank mortgage approval.

Both a colloquial term for property sold/rented directly by the owner without an agent, and the brand name of Türkiye's largest classified-ads site sahibinden.com. Not a legal status but a market label.

Title deed for property owned jointly by multiple persons. Sale of a share is subject to other co-owners' pre-emption right (Turkish Civil Code arts. 732-735).

A government fee charged on property transfers — a percentage of the sale value collected from both buyer and seller. As of 2024: 2% buyer + 2% seller (4% total).

VAT exemption under VAT Law 3065 art. 13/1-i on the first delivery of housing/workplace to non-resident foreigners or Turkish citizens living abroad for 6+ months. In effect since 01.04.2017.

A mathematical reference frame for geographic positions. Turkish cadastral records use UTM and WGS84.

The height of a point relative to sea level (metres). Zoning plans use kot for base, eaves and total building height.

Software systems that collect, store, analyse and visualize geo-referenced data. Municipal zoning, parcel and infrastructure data are managed in GIS.

A scaled, geometrically corrected aerial photograph. Used in cadastre, zoning planning, and parcel boundary verification; similar to Google Maps satellite view.

A scaled paper or digital fragment of a cadastral or zoning map. Each pafta covers a specific area and contains blocks, parcels and roads.

Retrieving ownership, area, coordinates and designation from TKGM systems using province/district/neighbourhood/block/parcel numbers.

The closed geometry defining parcel boundaries. Stored as GeoJSON, KML, or WKT; viewed in GIS software.

The angle of the land surface with the horizontal; expressed as percentage (%) or degrees (°). Affects construction conditions and whether basements qualify as FAR-exempt.

A projection system dividing the Earth's surface into 60 zones, coordinating each in metres. Turkish cadastral maps and parcel coordinates are stored in UTM.

The global reference ellipsoid used by GPS. Lat-lon values are WGS84-based; systems like Google Maps and TKGM Parcel Query use this datum.

A construction project with a building permit, containing residential units on one or more parcels. Can be a site, residence, apartment building, or villa project.

A use pattern where different functions (housing + retail + office) coexist in the same building or area. Defined in the implementation zoning plan as 'mixed-use area'.

An area designated for temporary relocation of at-risk structures in urban renewal. Designated by the Ministry under Law 6306 on Transformation of Disaster-Risk Areas.

Comprehensive projects where at-risk or aged structures are demolished and rebuilt, with renewed infrastructure and social amenities. Implemented under Law 6306 and its regulations.

Replanning and rebuilding of areas containing aged or at-risk structures. Conducted under Urban Transformation Law 6306.