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Foreign nationals and Turkish citizens are no
different in terms of the taxes or levies charged.
What are the additional costs of buying a property?
In addition to the property purchase cost, you are
charged a Real Estate Purchase-and-Acquisition Levy (3%) by the
local Title Deeds Registry Office for the
transaction to be made.
Solicitor
costs are between £150 and £300.
Sworn Translator fee depends on the number of
documents translated, it is generally less than £100.
The buyer and seller must each pay a 3% agent's
commission. These are standard terms offered by all Turkish estate
agents.
What are the liabilities of a
home-owner ?
A building owner is liable for any injury
or damage which results from poor
construction, negligence, or misuse. In order to
reduce the frequency
of such occurrences,
it is obligatory for buildings to be
constructed in
line with earthquake-proofing and construction
supervisory
regulations. It is wise to check that this is
the case with your property and to take out a home
insurance policy.
If the property in question is a
flat, or a house in a building complex or estate,
then the owner has
responsibilities in accordance
with the Flat Ownership Law (Kat Mülkiyeti Kanunu in Turkish). In line with this law, communal
parts of buildings are managed by a Board whose members are
elected for a certain period of time by the
flat-owners in the building
(or home-owners in the complex). A Board’s decisions on
communal issues such as communal heating (if any)
or having the communal parts of the building
painted, refurbished
or repaired; are binding for all flat/house owners
and such costs are shared them. If
you rent your property out, the tenant is to be responsible for
her/his share of the
communal heating costs.
Electricity, gas, water, telephone
and heating
Electricity and natural
gas are provided by local utility companies. Natural gas is not
available in all cities.
Water is supplied by municipalities within the municipal borders.
Water bills are charged on the basis of the amount of water
used.
Electricity, natural gas, telephone and water utilities are billed
monthly, quarterly or semi-annually depending on the supplier.
In cities where natural gas is supplied, gas central heating is the
usual method of heating. In other cities, communal heating
or electric heating is more frequent. In
coastal cities, solar energy heating and hot
water systems are widely in use.
All electricity, natural gas and telecom companies are
regulated by
the relevant Regulatory and Supervisory Authorities.
Subscribers have the
right to complain about their suppliers
under the Consumer Protection Law and the Competition
Law, which protect all
consumers in the country.
It is suggested that you register with
electricity, gas and
water companies in your own name,
as soon as you take over ownership.
All such transfers
can be
completed in a day. If you rent
out your property, make sure that your
tenants register with the utility
suppliers in
their own name.
The total cost of the
utilities described in this section
will probably be somewhere between £50
and £200 per month, depending on the size of the
property and the amount used.
What revenues can be made through property? Are
these gains taxed?
A real estate property can enable
you to make two kinds of income.
Firstly, you can rent it out and earn rental income,
in which case,
you pay a personal income tax. Please see the section
regarding tax for more information.
Secondly, the market value of your asset is
likely to rise and
thus
make a profit. If an
individual sells
a property within
the four-year period following the acquisition date,
they are
subject to personal income tax based on the difference between the
original acquisition price and the
inflation-adjusted selling price.
For sales after the 4-year period following the purchase,
however, no personal income tax is charged on the
profit made.
Inherited real estate is not subject to any personal
income tax.
Companies which are subject to corporate
tax are exempt from any corporate tax relating to real estate-based
gains, real estate sale-and-acquisition levy and VAT, if they sell
a property which they have owned for at least two years.
Can you transfer the money you make through your
property abroad?
The money you make
either through selling or renting out your property
can be transferred out of Turkey freely.
 Taxes and Compulsory Insurance
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