Buying real estate in Turkey involves more than just choosing an apartment, villa, or plot of land. One of the key legal factors in the transaction is the TAPU (tapu) type , or title deed .

The status specified in the TAPU determines:

• Is it possible to live in the property?

• Is it possible to obtain a residence permit in Turkey?

• Is it possible to connect utilities?

• Is construction permitted?

• How safe is the investment?

• how easy will it be to sell the property in the future

Therefore, before purchasing an apartment, house, or land plot, it is important to understand the different types of TAPUs available in Turkey and how they differ.

What is TAPU in Turkey?

TAPU (Tapu Senedi) is an official document confirming ownership of real estate in Turkey.

The document is issued by the Turkish Land Registry Office (Tapu ve Kadastro Müdürlüğü) and contains information on:

• property owner

• object type

• cadastral plot

• share of ownership

• purpose of real estate

• area of the object

TAPU is the only document that officially confirms ownership.

Main statuses of real estate in TAPU

In Turkey, you will see three main property statuses on the TAPU (title deed):

• Kat İrtifakı (kat irtifaqi)

• Kat Mülkiyeti

• Devre Mülk

We won't discuss the latter status in detail, as foreign buyers rarely purchase properties with Devre Mülk status, as this is a timeshare (temporary use) model. Our New Level Premium projects offer apartments for sale under the temporary use system. In this case, we issue a tapu (kat irtifaki), which specifies the share of the property (the contract specifies the right of use for a specific period).

Turkish legal terminology in the real estate field does not have exact equivalents in Russian, so below we will try to explain the meaning of these terms as clearly as possible.

Kat İrtifakı – preliminary registration of real estate

Kat İrtifakı (kat irtifakı) is a preliminary registration of real estate in the residential stock.

Conventionally speaking, Kat İrtifakı is a land title deed on which the distribution of the building into floors and apartments is preliminarily indicated.

That is, the object may be at the construction stage, but:

• the apartment is already registered

• she was assigned a number

• it has its own TAPU

• it can be sold legally

Once construction is completed and the Genel İskan (building occupancy certificate) has been received, the property must be transferred to Kat Mülkiyeti status.

Thus:

Kat İrtifakı is a temporary stage that is used until the final registration of the apartment.

What does “bağımsız bölüm” mean?

In TAPU with the status of Kat İrtifakı, the term is often used:

“bağımsız bölüm” - independent part

This means that the apartment:

• pre-registered

• exists in the building design

• can be sold

Kat Mülkiyeti – final ownership

Kat Mülkiyeti (kat mülkiyeti) is the final registration of real estate in the residential fund.

This status is given to apartments in the following buildings:

• where construction is fully completed

• received by Genel İskan

• the facility was put into operation

In this case, the following term appears in TAPU:

"mesken"

What does “mesken” mean?

Mesken means that the apartment:

• registered as residential premises

• entered into the cadastral register

• has the final status of residential real estate

That is:

Should Kat İrtifakı be translated into Kat Mülkiyeti?

According to Turkish law, real estate must be transferred from the status of:

Kat İrtifakı → Kat Mülkiyeti

In fact, this means a transition from:

construction easement (kat irtifak)
in a condominium (kat mülkiyet) .

In TAPU this is displayed as follows:

the cross (“X”) is moved from the Kat İrtifakı column to the Kat Mülkiyeti column.

Why do many apartments have Kat İrtifakı

According to statistics, about 70% of property owners in Turkey have a TAPU with the Kat İrtifakı status.

On November 14, 2007, the Turkish Parliament passed Law No. 5711 on housing, which requires that documents be reissued in such a way that the mark is moved from the column:

Kat İrtifakı → Kat Mülkiyeti

However, in practice this process is slow.

Why developers don't transfer TAPU to Kat Mülkiyeti

Ideally, the developer should transfer the TAPU to Kat Mülkiyeti after receiving Genel İskan.

But in practice, many construction companies do not do this because:

• the procedure requires additional costs

• takes time

• the legislation does not provide for fines

Therefore, the transfer is often carried out by the owners or the management company of the complex themselves.

How Kat İrtifakı Appears

When a construction company starts a project, it:

1️⃣ registers the land plot
2️⃣ submits an architectural project
3️⃣ divides the property into apartments

Thus, apartments that do not yet physically exist appear in the cadastral system.

Based on the project, individual TAPUs with the status of Kat İrtifakı are created, which can then be sold.

Main types of TAPU in Turkey

In addition to statuses, there are also types of property .

The most common are:

Hisseli Tapu

Shared ownership.
Several owners own one property.

Tarla Tapusu

Agricultural land.

On such a land:

• it is forbidden to build residential buildings

• only agriculture is possible

Arsa Tapusu

Land plot for construction.

But construction is only possible with a building permit (imar izni) .

Müstakil Tapu

Individual property.

The property is owned by one owner .

Devremülk

Timeshare is the right to use real estate during a certain period of the year .

İşyeri Tapusu

Commercial real estate:

• shops

• offices

• restaurants

• commercial premises

What information is included in the TAPU?

TAPU contains important information about the property.

Key points of the document:

İl / İlçe

Province and region where the property is located.

Mahalle

Name of the district or quarter.

Ada / Parsel

Cadastral numbers of land plots.

Bağımsız bölüm

The number of a separate apartment or room.

Nitelik

Property type:

• mesken (apartment)

• işyeri (commercial real estate)

• arsa (earth)

Kat / Blok

Floor and block of a building.

Hisse

Share of ownership.

Malik

Name of the property owner.

New and old TAPU samples

There are two formats of title deed in Turkey:

Old TAPU sample

In the old document sample:

• the area of the property was not indicated

• only cadastral data were indicated

• information about the apartment was limited

New TAPU sample

The new TAPU template contains additional information:

• area of the object

• cadastral area

• digital registration of an object

• electronic document number

Why the area in the TAPU may differ from the sales area

The new TAPU specifies the cadastral area of the property .

It may differ from the area indicated during the sale.

The reason lies in the peculiarities of cadastral calculation of area .

The cadastre takes into account:

• only clean living space

• share of common areas

• features of the architectural project

Therefore, the area in the TAPU is often smaller than the advertising area of the property .

For example:

This is normal practice for the Turkish real estate market.

Why is it important to check TAPU before purchasing?

Before purchasing real estate in Turkey, it is essential to check:

• TAPU status

• the presence of İskan

• purpose of land

• restrictions in the cadastral register

• share of ownership

Choosing the wrong type of property can lead to:

• ban on residence

• impossibility of construction

• denial of residence permit

• problems with sales

Conclusion

TAPU is the main legal document for real estate in Turkey.

Understanding its structure and types of ownership allows you to:

• avoid legal risks

• protect investments

• Buy real estate safely

It is especially important to distinguish:

• Kat İrtifakı — pre-registration

• Kat Mülkiyeti — full ownership rights

Before purchasing an apartment, house or land plot, it is always recommended to conduct a legal check of the property .

✅ If you are planning to purchase real estate in Alanya, Antalya or other regions of Turkey , our company specialists will help you:

• check TAPU status

• conduct a legal audit of the property

• accompany the transaction until the certificate of ownership is received.