|
Housing Cooperatives are legal entities established in line with
Law No. 1163, with the aim
of providing their
members
with residential flats or houses, usually in a
housing estate or complex. This
is one of the most popular methods
of acquiring a property among Turkish citizens
of middle income level.
Relatively cheap loans provided by State
organizations and the facility to pay small
amounts in installments over a number of years
make property ownership a possibility for those
on a moderate income. However,
proper management of a cooperative is
of vital importance.
It is crucial that the Board
of the Co-operative maintain a stable
financial position and
that they employ a
reliable contractor to construct the complex.
The Board should, of
course, be composed of responsible,
well-informed and efficient people,
otherwise serious problems may arise, causing
never-ending delays and even the failure of the enterprise.
Therefore, if you are planning to purchase a flat, house or
villa on a complex, as a part of a cooperative, you are
strongly advised to do
your research thoroughly. You can
hire a professional to do this on your behalf,
but be sure that any Power of Attorney
is sound. The following is
a briefly explanation of how cooperatives
work: A cooperative
must have at least 7 members
(also called partners, or participants). The Articles of Association
(AA) have to be stamped by a notary
public and to be registered with
the Trade Registry. The following
should be clearly stated in
the
AA:
• The name and address of the cooperative
• Purpose and activities of the cooperative
• The conditions under which participants
will forfeit
their partnership
• Shares of participants
• The extent of the rights and
liabilities of participants
• How the cooperative will be represented
• Methods of recording revenue
and expenditure
• Names and addresses of the founders
• How contributions will be made by the participants
• Other issues, where applicable. Cooperatives
have to arrange for ‘partnership notes’
to be written in the name of each
member, these documents have to be signed by
all participants and
representatives of the cooperative. These notes
are then held by each member as
evidence that the note holder has a legal
partnership in the cooperative.
The main decisions
regarding a cooperative’s activities are made by the General
Assembly, composed of the members. General Assembly meetings
should be no more than 3 years
apart. Participants are officially
invited to General Assembly meetings by the the cooperative's
authorised representatives.
These representatives are selected by the General Assembly.
Bringing the partnership to an end is allowable
by Law. In some cases, there may be specific
time restriction clauses in the AA, which may
state, for example, that the partnership
may not be brought to an end within a
period of 5 years following
initiation of the
partnership. If
any force majeure conditions are specified in the AA and a
participant's situation
falls into this category, then he is exempt from such
a time restriction.
Partnership rights can be transferred to others or sold.
According to regulations, any partner is allowed
to ask the Board of a Cooperative to provide him/her with information about the financial status of the cooperative.
A cooperative dissolves if:
• All work outlined by the AA
is manifest and the
properties have been registered in the names of the participants.
• The General Assembly decides that the cooperative will no
longer continue.
• Bankruptcy is declared.
• Relevant Courts have made a decision to dissolve the cooperative.
• Another cooperative takes over or purchases it.
• The General Assembly meeting has not been held for at least 3
years.
• The relevant ministry finds out that the cooperative can no
longer realize the designated targets. 
Costs & Liabilities and Utilities
|
