Property Disputes in Türkiye for Foreign Buyers

Who this is for and the situation

This page is for foreign buyers and owners whose Türkiye property purchase has gone wrong. Common situations we see:

• An off-plan or under-construction unit that was never delivered, or delivered years late.
• A unit handed over defective — wrong size, poor build, missing what was promised (an ayıplı mal, a defective good).
• A deposit or down-payment (kapora / ön ödeme) the seller is refusing to return after a deal collapsed.
• The title (tapu) never came across to your name even though you paid.
• Signs of title problems or fraud — the same unit sold twice, mortgages or liens you were not told about, or a seller who turns out not to own it.
• A cancelled sale where you are now chasing your money back.

This is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Your route depends on your exact contract and facts.

The legal route and who is liable

Which route fits depends on what you signed and what went wrong.

Promise-to-sell and seeking transfer of the title

A promise-to-sell contract (taşınmaz satış vaadi sözleşmesi) is the standard off-plan instrument. Under the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK art. 237) it is generally only valid if it was made in official form before a Turkish notary; a paper signed at a developer's sales office, on its own, usually does not bind for this purpose. A valid promise-to-sell can be annotated on the title register (a şerh under TMK art. 1009 / Tapu Kanunu art. 26), which can protect your priority. Where the unit exists but the developer will not transfer, the usual route is a title cancellation and registration suit (tapu iptal ve tescil davası), asking the court to cancel the current registration and register the unit in your name.

Refund and compensation

Where the deal is dead or the unit cannot or should not be transferred, the route is instead to terminate and claim your money back plus damages under the Code of Obligations, and to enforce any judgment through enforcement proceedings (icra takibi).

Defects

For a defective unit, the defective-goods (ayıplı mal) rules may support repair, a price reduction, or in serious cases unwinding the sale.

Who is liable

Usually the seller or developer named in your contract. Where there has been fraud — a double sale, a forged document, an undisclosed lien — directors or third parties may also be exposed, and a criminal complaint can sometimes run alongside the civil claim. Naming the right defendant is one of the first things we check.

What you can seek to recover or achieve

Depending on the facts and what the evidence supports, the aims are usually one of the following:

• The unit itself — a court order transferring the title (tapu) into your name.
• Your money back — return of the price, deposit or instalments you paid.
• Damages — losses caused by late or non-delivery or by defects, where these can be shown.
• Statutory interest on sums owed, from the dates the law allows.
• A price reduction or repair where the unit is defective but you want to keep it.

What is wrong has to be recorded before it can be claimed.Defects and non-delivery are proven with inspection, photographs and the contract — not with recollection.

How long you have

Time limits matter, and missing one can end an otherwise good claim. As a general guide only, to be checked against your facts:

• Claims arising from a promise-to-sell contract are commonly treated as subject to a ten-year period, generally running from when performance became due — but the period and its start point should be checked against current case law and your dates.
• An annotation (şerh) of a promise-to-sell on the title register has a limited shelf life: under Tapu Kanunu art. 26 it can be removed by the registry if a sale is not completed within five years of the annotation, so it may need to be renewed or acted on.
• Consumer pre-paid housing rules carry their own deadlines — for example a 14-day withdrawal (cayma) right and a 24-month no-reason rescission (dönme) window, where they apply.
• Defect (ayıplı mal) claims run on separate periods — for housing, the Consumer Protection Law sets a period commonly stated as five years from delivery, which can differ in cases of hidden defect or fault.

These are general periods. The exact deadline for your case must be checked against your specific dates and documents — treat nothing here as a settled ruling on your matter.

The consumer-law overlay (Law 6502)

If you bought the unit as a consumer — broadly, for your own use rather than as a trader or in the course of business — the Consumer Protection Law (No. 6502) and its pre-paid housing rules may add protections on top of the general law:

• A short withdrawal right (cayma), commonly stated as 14 days after signing, exercisable without giving a reason.
• A longer no-reason rescission right (dönme), commonly stated as available up to 24 months from the contract date.
• A statutory maximum delivery period for pre-paid housing, commonly stated as 48 months from the contract.
• A rule that, on rescission, sums must be refunded within a set period (commonly stated as up to 180 days).
• For larger projects above a Ministry-set threshold, a requirement that the developer secure buyers' payments (for example building-completion insurance or another approved guarantee).

Whether you count as a consumer, and which of these apply, depends on your status and the contract — that is one of the first things the avukat verifies, because it can change both the forum and the deadlines.

How it works when you are abroad

You usually do not need to fly to Türkiye to start or run these matters. The typical setup:

• Power of attorney (vekaletname). You sign a power of attorney authorising us to act. It is typically signed before a notary in your country, then apostilled (a one-step legalisation under the Hague Apostille Convention) and accompanied by a sworn translation into Turkish. Where your country is not a party to the Apostille Convention, consular legalisation may be needed instead.
• Documents. Your contract, payment proofs, correspondence and any title documents can be sent digitally first, with certified copies followed up where the court needs them.
• Remote handling. Filings, hearings and enforcement are handled here on your behalf; we update you in English.

Some steps that touch the land registry — for example a foreign purchase or transfer — involve their own formalities, such as an SPK-licensed valuation report. We will tell you which of these apply to your specific step.

How we work and next steps

We are a licensed Turkish lawyer (avukat) acting as your counsel of record — not a claims-buyer, debt-collection agency or lead-reseller. We represent you directly.

The usual first step is a review of your contract, payment records and title position so we can tell you, honestly, what routes are open, what the realistic obstacles are, and what each step involves. Fees are explained clearly at the outset; we typically work on a success-fee basis within the limits Turkish law allows. Under the Attorneys Act (Avukatlık Kanunu art. 164) a success fee may be agreed as a percentage of the value of the case or the sum awarded, capped at 25%, and the law does not permit an agreement giving the lawyer a share of the asset itself.

To start, send us your purchase contract, proof of payments, and any messages with the seller or developer. Get in touch and we will tell you where you stand.

An honest note on enforcement

Property recovery in Türkiye can be slow, and a judgment is only worth what can be enforced — if a developer is insolvent or has stripped its assets, even a clear win may be hard to collect. Early steps such as a precautionary annotation or an interim measure (ihtiyati tedbir / ihtiyati haciz) may help protect your position, but nothing is guaranteed. We would rather tell you a case looks weak, or the counterparty may be judgment-proof, than have you spend money chasing it. Everything on this page is general information to be checked against your exact facts.

📚 Deep Dive: Read our detailed guide on recovering full refunds and monthly rental loss (Emsal Kira) for stalled off-plan real estate.