Unofficial English translation for information only. In case of discrepancy, the Turkish text prevails. This translation is not legal advice.
Turkish source: Law No. 2644, Official Gazette 29/12/1934, No. 2892. Turkish text as published on mevzuat.gov.tr, checked on 26 October 2026: https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=2644&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5
Article 35
(Rearranged: 29/12/2005-5444/1 art.; Amended: 3/5/2012-6302/1 art.)
Provided that legal restrictions are complied with, natural persons who are foreign nationals holding citizenship of countries designated by the President of the Republic in light of international bilateral relations and where the interests of the country so require may acquire immovable property and limited real rights in Türkiye. The total area of immovable property and limited real rights of an independent and permanent nature acquired by natural persons who are foreign nationals may not exceed ten percent of the area of land subject to private ownership in the district, and acquisitions by any one person may not exceed thirty hectares across the country. The President of the Republic is authorised to increase up to twofold the amount that may be acquired per person across the country.[4]
Commercial companies with legal personality established in foreign countries under the laws of their own countries may acquire immovable property and limited real rights only within the framework of the provisions of special laws. Foreign entities other than these commercial companies may not acquire immovable property, and limited real rights may not be established in their favour. The restrictions set out in this Article shall not apply to the establishment of a mortgage over immovable property in favour of these commercial companies or natural persons who are foreign nationals.
Where required by the interests of the country, the President of the Republic may determine, restrict, partially or entirely suspend, or prohibit the acquisition of immovable property and limited real rights by natural persons who are foreign nationals and commercial companies with legal personality established in foreign countries under the laws of their own countries, in terms of country, person, geographical region, duration, number, ratio, type, quality, surface area and amount.[5]
Natural persons who are foreign nationals and commercial companies with legal personality established in foreign countries under the laws of their own countries must submit, for approval by the relevant Ministry, within two years, the project they will develop on the unbuilt immovable property they have purchased. The project, approved by the relevant Ministry with a specified commencement and completion period, shall be sent to the land registry directorate where the immovable property is located for registration in the declarations section of the land register. The relevant Ministry shall monitor whether the approved project is carried out within the prescribed period.
Maps and coordinate values relating to military prohibited zones, military security zones and strategic zones shall be provided by the Ministry of National Defence to the Ministry to which the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre is affiliated within at most one year from the date this Law enters into force; maps and coordinate values relating to decisions amending these locations shall be provided within one month from the date the amendments are made; and maps and coordinate values relating to special security zones and decisions amending them shall be provided by the Ministry of the Interior within the same period. One year after the date this Law enters into force, land registry transactions shall be carried out in accordance with the documents and information submitted pursuant to this paragraph.
Immovable properties and limited real rights acquired contrary to the provisions of this Article, found by the relevant Ministry and administrations to have been used contrary to the purpose of acquisition, for which no application is made to the relevant Ministry within the prescribed period, or for which projects are not carried out within the prescribed period, as well as immovable properties and limited real rights acquired through succession outside the restrictions under the first paragraph of this Article, shall be liquidated and converted into cash, and the proceeds shall be paid to the right holder, unless liquidated by their owner within a period not exceeding one year to be granted by the Ministry of Finance.
Article 36
(Rearranged: 3/7/2008-5782/2 art.; Amended: 3/5/2012-6302/2 art.)
Companies with legal personality established in Türkiye in which foreign natural persons (excluding persons within the scope of Article 28 of the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901 dated 29/5/2009), legal persons established under the laws of foreign countries or international organisations own fifty percent or more of the shares or have the authority to appoint or dismiss a majority of the persons holding management rights may acquire and use ownership of immovable property or limited real rights in order to carry out the fields of activity specified in their articles of association.
If the companies referred to in the first paragraph directly or indirectly become shareholders in another company established in Türkiye, the same principles shall apply where the foreign investor’s final shareholding ratio in the company in which it holds shares is fifty percent or more; and where foreign investors directly or indirectly acquire fifty percent or more of the shares in domestically capitalised companies owning immovable property, and where the shareholding ratio of foreign investors in existing foreign-capitalised companies owning immovable property reaches fifty percent or more as a result of a share transfer.
Provided that the provisions of the Law on Military Prohibited Zones and Security Zones No. 2565 dated 18/12/1981 are reserved, the acquisition by these companies of ownership of immovable property in military prohibited zones, military security zones and zones determined within the framework of Article 28 of the same Law shall be subject to the permission of the General Staff or commands it authorises; and the acquisition of ownership of immovable property in special security zones shall be subject to the permission of the governorship where the immovable property is located. In assessments made under this paragraph, the suitability of the acquisition for national security shall be taken as the basis.
Foreign-capitalised companies falling outside the scope of the above paragraphs may acquire and use ownership of immovable property and limited real rights within the framework of the provisions applicable to domestically capitalised companies.
The provisions of this Article shall not apply to the establishment of security rights over immovable property; acquisitions of ownership through the realisation of such security rights; transfers of ownership of immovable property and limited real rights arising from company mergers and demergers; acquisitions of ownership of immovable property and limited real rights in special investment zones such as organised industrial zones, industrial zones, technology development zones and free zones; and immovable properties acquired by banks, provided that the obligation to dispose of them within a specified period under the relevant legislation continues, due to transactions deemed loans under the Banking Law No. 5411 dated 19/10/2005 or for the purpose of collecting their receivables.
The use of immovable properties acquired under this Article shall be monitored by the governorships at specified intervals on the basis of land registry records.
Immovable properties and limited real rights found to have been acquired or used contrary to the provisions of this Article shall be liquidated and converted into cash, and the proceeds shall be paid to the right holder, unless liquidated by their owner within the period granted by the Ministry of Finance.
The procedures and principles relating to the implementation of this Article shall be regulated by a regulation issued by the Ministry of Economy following receipt of the opinions of the relevant institutions and organisations.
Article 37
Succession transactions of foreign natural persons shall be carried out on the basis of certificates of succession issued by courts of the Republic of Türkiye or issued by their own competent authorities and certified by Turkish courts as being in accordance with the provisions of Turkish laws concerning succession procedure.
Article 38
The provisions of the Land Registry Regulation dated 8 cemaziyelevvel 1275 and its supplements, the Immovable Property Regulation dated 28 receb 1291, the regulatory provisions concerning land dated 7 muharrem 1293, the instruction concerning land title deeds issued by decree on 8 receb 1276, the tariff issued by decree on 28 receb 1276, the Provisional Law dated 3 mart 1329 concerning the disposition of immovable assets, the Regulation dated 17 temmuz 1323 on the organisation and reorganisation of land registry administrations and its supplements, and the Law dated 30 kanunusani 1926 concerning the affixing of photographs of interested parties to land title deeds and records in transactions relating to the disposition of immovable assets, which have not been repealed by the Civil Code, the Law on the Implementation of the Civil Code or the Code of Obligations, as well as provisions of other laws inconsistent with this Law, are repealed.
Additional Article 1
(Added: 3/5/2012-6302/3 art.)
If the inheritance transfer is not completed in the land register within two years at the latest from the date of death, the land registry directorate may apply to the judiciary for a certificate of inheritance to be issued. The land registry directorate shall update the land register records by registering them as joint ownership in accordance with the certificate of inheritance. Applications made by the land registry directorate within the scope of this authority shall be exempt from all expenses, taxes, duties and charges.
Additional Article 2 – Recourse claim
(Added: 10/9/2014-6552/84 art.)
Recourse claims against negligent personnel in respect of payments made on account of the State’s strict liability in connection with land registry and cadastre transactions shall be time-barred upon the expiry of two years from the payment date and, in any event, ten years from the date of the transaction giving rise to the damage. The provisions of Article 73 of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 dated 11/1/2011 are reserved for personnel whose liability is based on gross fault.
Additional Article 3 – Correction of share errors in the land registry record
(Added:4/7/2019-7181/2 art.)
A notification shall be served on the owners of shares adversely affected by an error arising from cadastral determination or transactions carried out in the land register, and on beneficiaries of rights in rem and personal rights, indicating the reasons for the error and the share status that will result after correction.
A notation shall be made in the declarations section of the land registry record concerning the transaction to be carried out, and this notation shall be retained until the correction transaction becomes final.
If the interested parties give their consent within thirty days from the date of service, the correction transaction shall be carried out. If consent is not given within this period, the land registry directorate shall correct the erroneous record ex officio and notify the relevant person, together with the result of the transaction, that an action may be brought before the civil court of first instance against the correction transaction within sixty days from service.
Additional Article 4
(Added:7/5/2026-7579/1 art.)
Valuation reports prepared pursuant to housing finance and capital markets legislation by valuation institutions authorised by the Capital Markets Board and the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency must be sent electronically and free of charge to the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre, on the date the report is prepared, by the public institutions and organisations, banks and other financial institutions that commissioned the report. The procedures and principles relating to the electronic transmission of data shall be determined by the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre after obtaining the opinions of the relevant institutions and organisations.
Provisional Article 1
(This is an unnumbered Provisional Article of Law No. 2644 and has been numbered for continuity.)
The provisions of Article 6 of this Law shall also apply to land that was opened up and made into fields or vineyards and gardens before this Law entered into force, but for which the transaction had not yet been completed.
Provisional Article 2
(Added: 29/12/2005-5444/2 art.)
All maps and coordinate values relating to decisions concerning military prohibited zones, military and special security zones, and strategic zones existing on the date this Law enters into force shall be sent by the Ministry of National Defence to the Ministry to which the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre is affiliated within at most three months.
Until the maps and coordinate values relating to decisions concerning the above-mentioned zones are sent to the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre, transferred to digital format and forwarded to its provincial units, land registry transactions shall be carried out by consulting the authorised military authorities; after those operations are completed, they shall be carried out in accordance with the documents and information sent.
Provisional Article 3
(Added: 3/7/2008-5782/3 art.)
Within at most three months from the date this Article enters into force, the relevant institutions and organisations shall notify the commission, pursuant to the seventh paragraph of Article 35 of this Law, of the surface areas of zones in which natural persons who are foreign nationals and commercial companies with legal personality established in foreign countries under the laws of their own countries may not acquire immovable property and limited real rights, and the governorships shall notify the commission of the total surface areas falling within the boundaries of the implementation zoning plans and local zoning plans of the districts specified in that paragraph.
Provisional Article 4
(Annulled second paragraph: By the Constitutional Court’s Decision No. E.: 2008/79, K.: 2011/74 dated 12/5/2011.)
(Added:4/7/2019-7181/3 art.)
For fixed-term mortgages whose term had expired before the date on which the second paragraph of Article 883 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 dated 22/11/2001 entered into force but which had not been cancelled, the thirty-day period specified in that paragraph shall commence on the date this Article enters into force.
Article 39
The provisions of this Law shall enter into force as of the date of its publication.
Article 40
The Ministers of Justice, Interior and Finance shall implement the provisions of this Law.
PROVISIONAL ARTICLE NOT INCORPORATED INTO THE MAIN LAW DATED 22/12/1934 AND NUMBERED 2644:
1 - Provisional Article introduced by Law No. 3000 dated 26/4/1984:
Provisional Article – The authority to issue Decree-Laws granted to the Council of Ministers by the Authorization Law No. 2977 dated 2/2/1984 on the Reorganisation of Administrative Procedures and Transactions shall remain in force for the Land Registry Law No. 2644 dated 22/12/1934 until the expiry of the period granted by the aforementioned Law.
Notes
[4] By Article 9 of Decree-Law No. 698 dated 2/7/2018, the phrases “Council of Ministers” in this paragraph were changed to “President of the Republic.”
[5] By Article 9 of Decree-Law No. 698 dated 2/7/2018, the phrase “Council of Ministers” in this paragraph was changed to “President of the Republic.”