Buying Property in Türkiye: Foreign Documents

Buying, selling or inheriting property in Türkiye ends at a land registry office. The Land Registry Law and the Land Registry Regulation say which documents the office asks for, and some of them come from abroad.

Representatives and companies

Every request to a land registry office starts with an application form. If the request is made through a representative, the office asks for a power of attorney drawn up under the Turkish Notaries Act that authorises the transactions requested. If it is made on behalf of a legal entity, the office asks for a document of authority and a signature circular from the competent bodies, showing that the entity can carry out the transaction and who represents it. The General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre is empowered to determine which documents foreign nationals and companies founded abroad use in land registry transactions.

If one or more of the parties do not know Turkish, a sworn interpreter is present at the transaction. This concerns the transaction itself, not the translation of documents.

Inheritance and legacies

Under the Land Registry Law, transfers on the death of foreign natural persons are made on the basis of certificates of inheritance issued by Turkish courts, or issued by their own competent authorities and confirmed by Turkish courts as conforming to Turkish rules on inheritance. Where heirs apply, the regulation asks for a certificate of inheritance from the competent authority. Where a legatee applies, it asks for an enforcement decision describing the property and ordering registration, together with a certified copy of the will.

We translate foreign powers of attorney, company documents and court decisions into Turkish in Ankara through translators sworn before a Turkish notary. The land registry office decides which documents it accepts.