A plot's value lies not in its area but in what can be built on it. Two parcels of identical size can differ several times over in value because of their development rights.
This guide sets out the five questions to ask when buying land, and which document answers each.
1. What is the zoning status? (The zoning certificate)
The zoning certificate obtained from the municipality states what the plot may be used for:
- Residential
- Commercial
- Mixed use
- Industrial
- Park, green space, road, school site — that is, reserved for public use
That last line is critical. On land reserved for public use you cannot build. The plot may be awaiting expropriation, and that process runs long. Buying such a parcel as a "building plot" is one of the most expensive mistakes we see in Küçükçekmece.
2. How much building right is there? (FAR and ground coverage)
These are the numbers that set a plot's real value.
TAKS (ground coverage ratio): the footprint of the building as a proportion of the plot. At TAKS 0.30, a 1,000 m² plot can carry a building footprint of at most 300 m².
KAKS / emsal (floor area ratio): total construction area as a proportion of the plot. At FAR 1.50, a 1,000 m² plot allows a total of 1,500 m² of construction.
A simple worked example:
Plot: 1,000 m²
TAKS 0.30 → footprint of at most 300 m²
FAR 1.50 → 1,500 m² total construction
1,500 ÷ 300 = roughly 5 storeys
Value comes from these numbers. A plot at FAR 1.50 carries nearly twice the building right of an identically sized plot at 0.80 — and should be priced accordingly. Two listings both saying "1,000 m² plot" are not the same thing.
3. Setbacks and storey limits
The zoning certificate also states:
- Front, side and rear setbacks — the space to be left to the road and to neighbouring plots
- Maximum storeys / building height
- Building arrangement — detached, semi-detached, terraced
These are decisive on narrow plots. Once setbacks are deducted, the buildable footprint can shrink so far that you cannot use the theoretical FAR at all. On the small parcels in Küçükçekmece's dense neighbourhoods this is a frequent surprise.
4. Is there conservation status or another restriction?
In most of the district this question does not arise. In Yarımburgaz it does.
Yarımburgaz Cave, roughly 400,000 years old, was designated a first-degree archaeological and natural conservation site in 2001. On plots inside the conservation area, building requires conservation-board approval — a process both longer and less predictable than ordinary planning.
Conservation boundaries are defined plot by plot; the whole neighbourhood is not covered. Which is why in Yarımburgaz a conservation search is as necessary as a zoning search.
Other special restrictions to check: lakeside and shoreline legislation, military restricted zones, forest boundaries, watercourses and flood zones.
5. What type of title, and is it shared?
The class recorded on the title determines what you are buying:
- Building plot (arsa) — inside a zoning plan, suitable for development.
- Farmland (tarla / arazi) — outside a zoning plan. It must be brought inside one before development, and that is an uncertain process.
Shared title is common in the district's northern part and is where buyers struggle most:
- The other co-owners hold pre-emption rights — priority on a sale.
- You cannot take a development decision on your own.
- Any de facto division (each party using a section) does not appear on the title and is open to dispute.
Before buying a share, investigate whether subdivision is possible. A share that cannot be subdivided means the same difficulty will meet you when you sell.
How to run the searches
Get the block and parcel numbers. From the title deed or a parcel-lookup service.
Apply to the municipality. The zoning certificate comes from the relevant planning directorate — Küçükçekmece Municipality for plots here, İBB for metropolitan-scale plans.
Obtain the title record. Encumbrances, share position, class, annotations.
Check on e-Devlet. For title information and parcel searches.
Checklist
- Zoning certificate obtained (permitted use clear)
- FAR (KAKS) and ground coverage (TAKS) established
- Setbacks and storey limits identified
- Buildable area calculated (achievable, not theoretical, floor area)
- Conservation search run
- Military zone / forest / watercourse checks
- Title class confirmed (building plot or farmland)
- Share position and subdivision possibility investigated
- Road and utility connections (power, water, drainage) verified
- Encumbrance check completed
No price conversation happens before these ten arrive on documents. We run them for every plot entering our portfolio, and we build no development scenario for a parcel we have not searched.