Lawyer in Turkey: May 2013

Friday, May 31, 2013

Obligatory Books and Records Union Meetings

Probably everybody knows by now that the head of the board of the Homeowners Association is obliged to keep a decision book, but did you know he also needs to keep a cash book and that there is also a book for the auditor?


The cash book and the decision book
Under articles 32 and 36 of the Apartment Law the head of the board is required to keep a decision book and a cash book. All decisions of the general meeting and internal management decisions have to be included in the decision book and all income and expenditure of the association have to be included in a cash book.

All pages of both books must be validated by a notary before they can be used. The head of the board must make sure these books are closed by a notary every year before January 31st.

It is important that the decisions of the Homeowners Association are translated properly into the Turkish language and recorded in the decision book. It is also wise to ensure that the names of the appointed directors or auditors are correctly and fully registered. A notary will not automatically ratify and accept pages written in a foreign language or abbreviated names and nicknames.

Invoices, receipts, quotations and official documentation, such as notices of default, letters of formal notice, agreements and so on should be kept in a folder. I also think it is wise for the head of the board to keep a copy of the management plan of the building. This can be obtained on request at the Tapu office.

The auditor book 
Article 41 of the Apartment Law clearly describes that an auditor must keep an auditor book. Members of the Homeowners Association may choose one person or a committee of three persons from their midst for this function. The auditor must control the cash book of the head of the board within the prescribed time or when no period is known at the end of the financial year and report his findings through an auditor book.

Also the auditor book, just like the other books, must be validated by a notary before it can be used.

Sanctions
If the board does not live up to its obligations it can be penalized with a fine of 250,-TL and can incur to 2000,-TL. The request to impose an administrative sanction can be made by one of the members of the Association. Furthermore he can be prosecuted for improper use of common money. Sanction is imprisonment of 1 year of more.