The title deed transfer is the shortest and least reversible step in a Turkish property transaction. The registry appointment itself takes minutes; the problems of people who arrive unprepared take months.
This guide sets out the sequence and makes clear who carries which cost.
Costs: the 2026 figures
The deed fee is 4% of the declared sale price. By law, 2% is paid by the buyer and 2% by the seller.
For a flat transferred at ₺4,000,000:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total deed fee (4%) | ₺160,000 |
| — Buyer's share (2%) | ₺80,000 |
| — Seller's share (2%) | ₺80,000 |
| Revolving-fund charge | ~₺2,534 |
The revolving-fund charge is a fixed item and can vary with a regional coefficient. Confirm the current amount at the Land Registry on the day.
Who pays in practice? The law splits the fee, but it is a common negotiated outcome in the market for the buyer to pay all of it. That is a habit, not a rule — and it is a real line item that belongs on the negotiating table. Settle "who pays the fee" before the contract; raised late, this argument has broken otherwise closed deals.
Beyond these you may also face: the agency's service fee, appraisal and mortgage costs if you are borrowing, compulsory earthquake insurance (DASK) and home insurance, and the municipal assessed-value certificate.
Under-declaring the sale price: why it costs more
The most common and most dangerous habit we meet is declaring a sale price below the real one. It reduces the fee today and produces three problems later.
1. Tax exposure. Where under-declaration is identified, the shortfall is demanded with interest and penalties. That exposure persists for years after the transfer.
2. Capital gains. Understating your purchase price raises the gain you will have to declare when you sell. What you save on the fee today you pay as income tax tomorrow.
3. Proof in a dispute. If a dispute arises after the sale, a low figure in the official record makes it harder to prove what you actually paid.
Which is why we argue for declaring the real figure. A short-term saving is a long-term risk.
The process, step by step
1. Due diligence (before signing). Do not skip this:
- Are there encumbrances on the title — mortgage, attachment, annotation, usufruct?
- Has the occupancy permit (iskan) been issued?
- Are there arrears on service charges or property tax?
- Is it full ownership (kat mülkiyeti) or construction servitude (kat irtifakı)?
2. Promise to sell or preliminary protocol (optional, recommended). If the transfer will not happen immediately, the parties' obligations need to be in writing. A notarised promise-to-sell contract can be annotated on the title and prevents the seller from selling the same property to somebody else.
3. The registry appointment. Booked through the Land Registry and Cadastre system. Documents generally required:
- Identity document
- Passport photograph (for the seller)
- The municipal assessed-value certificate
- Compulsory earthquake insurance (DASK) policy
- A notarised power of attorney if acting by proxy
4. Paying the fee. The fee is paid to the tax office or a contracted bank before the transaction.
5. Signature and registration. The parties sign at the Land Registry and the title is registered in the buyer's name.
6. After the transfer. Regularly forgotten and still necessary:
- Property tax declaration to the municipality
- Transfer of electricity, water and gas accounts
- Notifying the building or estate management
What changes if you use a mortgage
Two steps are added.
Appraisal. The bank has the property valued by an independent firm. If the appraisal comes in below the sale price, the bank sizes the loan to the appraisal — and you cover the difference in cash. This is where buyers are most often caught unprepared.
Mortgage registration. The bank's charge is registered simultaneously with the transfer, so the registry appointment must be coordinated with the bank.
Short checklist
- Encumbrance check done (mortgage, attachment, annotations)
- Occupancy permit confirmed
- Service charge and property tax arrears checked
- DASK policy in place
- Assessed-value certificate obtained
- Who pays the deed fee agreed in writing
- The real sale price will be declared
- (If borrowing) appraisal result and mortgage coordination settled
We run this entire list on every sale in our portfolio. If you are heading to the registry without knowing which item sits with whom, do not go yet.