Contruction Obligation within 2 years

The experienced reader will agree with me. The Turkish legislator keeps on tinkering with the Tapu law. Article 35 of this law changed so many times that we, as a lawyer, must often keep the text of the law itself in hand to ensure the content. Article 35 of the Tapu law regulates the conditions under which a foreigner or a foreign company may buy a property in Turkey. With the latest amendments introduced in May 2012, there are a number of important subjects adjusted. In this article I'm going to talk mainly about the changes relating to the acquisition of undeveloped plots.

Foreign companies 

Before the changes to the Tapu law in May 2012 were carried out, foreign companies could without difficulty purchase detached homes. Buying a house / apartment on behalf of a foreign company was therefore no problem. After the amendments of May 2012, this is no longer possible. With the current change a foreign company may only under special legislation (such as the Petroleum Law, the Energy Act or the Tourism concerns) purchase an uncultivated land under the condition that the company within two years after purchase date has to submit an investment project for the property at the Council of Ministers. The purchase procedure is linked to an authorization procedure by the Council of Ministers.

Foreigner as a natural person 

Buying a house / apartment as property for a foreign person takes no restrictions with it, provided that the house / apartment is located in a restricted area, according to the Ministry of Defense. However, the Council of Ministers reserve the right at all times to special restrictions or impose further conditions on the purchasing procedures. The legislator, with the legislative amendment of 2012 also has imposed the same construction requirement of two years on the foreigner who is purchasing (undeveloped) land or have already purchased.

The consequences

Rightly you'll wonder what happens when the foreigner or the foreign firm fails to comply with the required conditions, namely the submission of an investment project or when there is not started to build in accordance with the investment project within the specified period. The investment project must be filed within two years after the purchase of a vacant plot in the Cabinet.

If one officially establishes that a foreigner or foreign company, in possession of a property, is in violation of the rules of Article 35 of the Tapu law, the foreign owner will be urged to sell the property within one year. If the owner itself did not sell the property within the year, the property will be publicly executed.
The execution amount will, after deducting the necessary fees and taxes, be paid to the owner. Still there are foreigners who purchase undeveloped plots, but in good faith they state the title deeds (Tapu) on name of a Turkish relationship. This situation I experience myself in my practice very often and I discourage this strongly. Any agreements made between you and your relations are not valid. Get yourself some good information and advise before your dream becomes a nightmare.

Travelling with your pet to Turkey

A pet, we all know them, small and large. Many of us see their pet as a part of the family.
Mainly when we talk about a cat or a dog we often name their character traits as if we are talking about a human being. Precisely for this reason it is hard to say ‘’goodbye’’ during a holiday period. If there is a good temporary stay found with family, friends or at a kennel, most of us can do without them for 1 or 2 weeks.  But if the stay abroad is for a longer period of time, it becomes a different story and taking your pet with you to your vacation destiny is the best solution.

But the best solution is not always the simplest solution. Good preparation is half the battle, especially when it concerns traveling with pets. To help you a little bit, we have put the key points for you at a glance:

• First it is important to ensure that your pet is examined by a qualified veterinarian. The vet provides the pet with all necessary vaccinations, health certificates and a pet passport. At the moment it is not necessary for Turkey that you pet has a microchip, but that may well change in the future.
• The veterinarian must have seen / examined the pet up to 96 hours for transport for the last time.
• All papers, passport, health certificates and vaccinations should be seen and stamped by the department of agriculture in the country of departure. 
• Your veterinarian can tell you exactly which vaccinations are needed. Keep in mind that the vaccinations are not older than 6 months before departure and are provided at the latest 15 days before departure.
• Importing ‘’dangerous’’ breeds like Pit-bull Terrier and Japanese Tosa is prohibited.
• It is possible for one person to carry up to one cat, one dog, one bird or 10 aquarium fish, without additional charges. When you want to enter multiple animals it is seen as commercial imports and there are other procedures apply. 
• When the animal is healthy and has the necessary papers, the animal upon arrival in Turkey does not need to be put in quarantine.
• Most airlines have their own animal transport policy. Please ask before you book to avoid disappointment.

Safe flight for you and your loyal friend!

Legislative amendment concerning the usage of foreign- plated vehicles in Turkey

The period that a foreigner could use his or her foreign-plated vehicle in Turkey was limited. For retirees this period consisted of maximal 12 months and for non- retirees 6 months.
The temporarily imported car had to leave the country after the date of import and registration; otherwise the owner of the vehicle could get a penalty because of not obeying the law. After this time the vehicle could be brought into Turkey again, however this was only possible after the vehicle was at least for 185 days outside Turkey.

This temporary import regime satisfied the expectations of the ordinary tourist but not that of expat, the semi permanent retiree or the student living and working in Turkey and planning to use their car for longer than 6/12 months.

The good news is that from 3 October 2015 onwards amendment has been made for the retirees as well non- retirees such as expats / students extending the possibility to use foreign-plated vehicles in Turkey from 6/12 months to 24 months. For both groups, retirees as well the non retirees, the maximal period of 24 months is with the introduction of this amendment applicable. Pay attention to the fact that you need to make a specific request to the customs in this respect.

The main condition of bringing a foreign plated vehicle into Turkey is that only those who are domiciled for 185 days within the last 6 months outside Turkey.

In addition not everyone can make use of this car during his stay in Turkey; only the partner, the children or parents of the one that has imported the car may during this period use the car under condition that the importer of the car is staying himself in Turkey. This means that this amendment does not allow importing a car from abroad so that family and friends can easily make use of it. In other words if the importer of the car does leave Turkey without the vehicle within the 24 months, he must station the car at the Customs or leave a written notary commitment to the Customs that no one will use this vehicle . This amendment is perhaps a bit misleading with regard to import cheap cars to Turkey but brought a real advantage for many expats staying in Turkey for a period longer than six months.

More about this issue could be found on the Turkish Customs (Turkish).