Real Estate and Construction Law

What we do in this area

Property disputes are among the most document-heavy areas of law. Four separate routes of action may be open on the same facts, and three of them may come back years later on the ground of "lack of legal interest" or "time". That is why the work starts in the same place in every file: examination of the register and the documents.

The minimum documents examined are:

• The title register extract and the deed of conveyance (akit tablosu) (sale price, transaction date, declarations of the parties)
• The cadastral record of the property and its sheet/block/parcel details
• The zoning status certificate obtained from the municipality and any amendments to the zoning plan
• In inheritance-based disputes, the certificate of inheritance and the deceased's history of title transactions
• In construction in return for land share files, the contract, the power of attorney and the building permit

When this examination is complete, the picture that emerges determines the type of action by itself in most files.

Common file types

What is particular to land files

Land disputes differ from disputes over built property in three respects:

Shared title. Land investment is mostly made through shared ownership. As the number of co-owners grows, both sale and use lock up; when one co-owner sells a share to an outsider, the other co-owners acquire a pre-emption right. Before buying into a shared title, it must always be investigated whether there is a written use (division) agreement between the co-owners; where a de facto division exists, the pre-emption right may not be asserted.

The gap between zoning status and actual condition. Land described as "zoned" in sale negotiations often means something different on the plan: agricultural designation, a share ceded for road, a readjustment share (DOP) deduction, a part reserved for public use. A deposit paid before the zoning status certificate and the plan notes are read can turn into a loss that cannot be recovered.

Cadastral and physical boundary disputes. The boundary on the sheet not matching the boundary on the ground, a structure encroaching on the neighbouring parcel and rights of way come up in most land files and make a site inspection and a court-appointed expert examination necessary.

Construction and urban transformation files

Delivery, defect and incomplete work disputes arising from construction in return for land share contracts, permit and plan problems in the land development process, and urban transformation (risky building) procedures under Law No. 6306 form the construction side of this area. Objection to a risky building determination, the share and flat calculation in the transformation agreement, the developer's default and the zoning deductions made when land classified as farmland is converted into a building plot are the headings most often encountered in these files.

Time limits: the right most often lost

Some property actions are not subject to a limitation period; in others a forfeiture period runs, and once it has passed the substance of the right cannot even be discussed.

• Pre-emption right: three months from notification of the sale through a notary, and in any event one year from sales made on or after 25 December 2025. The former two-year limit continues to apply to earlier sales under the transitional rule (TMK Art.733 and provisional Art.1).
• Action against an expropriation act: thirty days from the court notification under Article 10 or the statutory publication where notification cannot be made (Article 14 of Law No.2942); an invitation to purchase negotiations is different.
• Objection to a zoning plan: within the one-month public display period of the plan; sixty days before the administrative court once the objection is rejected.
• Annulment of title deed based on collusive transfer by the deceased or wrongful registration: as a rule not subject to a time limit, but the acquisition of third parties in good faith becomes protected over time; waiting always works against you.

How we proceed

1. Initial consultation. We listen to the facts and the documents you hold; we identify which documents are missing.
2. Register examination. Title, cadastral and zoning records are obtained; the true legal character of the file is determined.
3. Route map. Litigation, mediation or settlement options; the likely duration, costs and risks are shared in writing.
4. Conduct. The petition, evidence, site inspection and court-appointed expert stage; the client is informed at every step.
5. Outcome and follow-up. Judgment, assessment of appeal routes and the enforcement stage.

The page where we describe the process in detail: How we work.