The Overseas Property Investment Forum

TH4S · #1 17-04-2008, 10:04 PM

Qouted from the turkish daily news..17.april 2008

Quote:

Property sales to foreigners have come to a halt, due to inaction in amending relevant laws after a damning Constitutional Court ruling last year. The government had three months to alter legislation, but could not act in time. Experts say not only real estate but construction and even tourism will be hit, noting that foreign currency inflow may decrease

Following a ruling by the Constitutional Court to ban the sale of immovable property to foreigners residing in Turkey, property sales to foreigners came to a halt as of yesterday since the government has not made the necessary amendments to the relevant law.

We prepared the necessary regulations last month and sent them to the Prime Ministry; however, it was late,” said Zeki Adlı, deputy director of the Turkish Land Registry Directorate. “Thus, property sales to foreigners will stop across the country until new regulations are enforced.”

Finance Minister Kemal Unakıtan told reporters that a new regulation to lift the ban is underway. Unakıtan said he has already signed it together with other ministers.

Missed deadline: The decree of annulment regarding two regulations of the Deeds Law, which regulates property sales to foreigners, was first published in the Official Gazette on Jan. 16.

The Constitutional Court rejected revisions to Turkey's Land Registry Law last year after a legal appeal was brought forward by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

The act increases the legal limit – which is 2.5 hectares – 12-fold, thus the law is immoderate enough to liquidate the effectiveness of the limitation,” according to the legal basis of the law.

The government missed a three-month deadline to alter the legislation after the court's ruling was published. The Turkish Land Registry Directorate prepared a new bill and sent it to the government, but the bill could not be enacted before the deadline.

The bill entitled the cabinet to be the authority for property sales between 2.5 and 30 hectares. Now this authority has been annulled. We sent the new regulation to the Prime Ministry on March 3," said Adlı.

Unfortunately, it could not be enacted and the issue was out of their control, Adlı said, "A political enactment will reach a final decision about the property limits set to be sold to the foreigners in every city.”

January data indicates that a total of 60,351 immovable properties on an area of 37,125,330 square meters were sold to 70,336 foreign nationals in Turkey. British citizens topped the list, owning 4,867,676 square meters of land, daily Milliyet reported yesterday.

Foreign companies founded in Turkey and people with dual citizenship will be exempt from the act. The new regulations will assess the building plan, instead of the city area, on the basis of which a certain limit will be determined, the Anatolia News Agency said yesterday.

Johan Vos, partner in Antalya, said he wasn't surprised. "Every year something seems to disturb our business… every year there's something,” We had the same problem two years ago… and only the strong real estate businesses survived.”.

Yogi · #2 18-04-2008, 02:27 AM

In your opinion TH4S what will this do to the property market in Turkey and how temporary is 'temporary'?

TH4S · #3 18-04-2008, 06:58 AM

Yogi Hi,
There is another relevant post here,

Government promises swift end to chaos in foreign property sale

http://www.totallyproperty.com/turke...erty-sale.html

TH4S · #4 18-04-2008, 08:21 AM

18.04.2008 Today’s Zaman

Quote:

Bill on foreign property sale ‘to pass soon’

After a decision by the Constitutional Court went into effect on Wednesday, effectively freezing all property sales to foreigners, the government swiftly completed a new bill regulating such sales, which sources close to the government said yesterday will soon be passed in Parliament.

All sales to foreigners across the country were frozen under the directive issued by the Land Registry General Directorate of the Public Works Ministry since the Constitutional Court ruling went into effect on Wednesday. The Constitutional Court canceled a single article of the law that gave authority to the Cabinet to remove limits on property sales to foreigners -- set at 2.5 hectares -- as long as the total area sold to foreigners does not exceed 30 hectares and is not more than 0.5 percent of the area of a province.
Under the directive, sales to foreign nationals and foreign companies will remain frozen unless a second directive stating otherwise is issued. The directive sent shockwaves through the investment world in Turkey, but the government said the Cabinet had already drafted and opened for signature a new bill on property sales that would swiftly end the chaos.

The new bill proposes taking the area of districts, instead of provinces, as a reference for determining the limit of land sales to foreigners. Later, the Cabinet will still have the right to review and allow purchase of more land in special cases, as long as the total area sold to a foreigner does not exceed this upper limit.

The draft was finished yesterday by the Land Registry General Directorate. Areas that will not be available for sale to foreigners based on their strategic location will be decided by the Cabinet based on proposals and opinions submitted by the relevant agencies. The Cabinet will assess the strategic importance of a location based on infrastructure, economy, energy resources, environmental conditions, cultural properties, security and agriculture.

State Minister for the Treasury Mehmet Şimşek, currently on a visit to New York, had said on Wednesday evening that the government was working on passing a new draft to replace the law annulled by the Constitutional Court. “A new draft in harmony with the ruling of the court is under way, and we hope to pass it in Parliament in the near future,” he said, speaking to the Anatolia news agency.

Those in the real estate sector had warned that the suspension of property sales was a major threat to foreign investment Turkey, calling on the government to fix the problem as quickly as possible.

New Home in Turkey · #5 18-04-2008, 10:29 AM

I've been personally talking with several officials and MP's and, although worried at the beginning, I have to say that after the talks i feel much better.

There is no room for worrying, the new law will be much more efficient.

According to what I understood, i believe the new law will be voted very soon and within a month or maybe 2 things will continue exactly as it was, but this time in better conditions.

What will be the effect of this halt for current buyers?
Well, obviously, a foreigner purchasing a property in Turkey during this halt, will have to wait a little longer to get its title deed (which normally took something around 4 months).

TH4S · #6 18-04-2008, 10:45 AM

Up date posted here on this subject,

http://www.totallyproperty.com/turke...erty-sale.html

Quote:

Those in the real estate sector have stated that the ''suspension of property sales'' must be ended as soon as possible

TH4S · #7 18-04-2008, 11:06 AM

Quote:

New Home in Turkey;What will be the effect of this halt for current buyers?Well, obviously, a foreigner purchasing a property in Turkey during this halt, will have to wait a little longer

İ do beg to differ,
Foreigners 'cannot' buy/purchashe any property in Turkiye until the new laws have been agreed,

Quote:

After a decision by the Constitutional Court went into effect on Wednesday, effectively freezing all property sales to foreigners,Under the directive, sales to foreign nationals and foreign companies will remain frozen unless a second directive stating otherwise is issued.

New Home in Turkey · #8 18-04-2008, 12:05 PM

TH4S, I strongly believe that this siuation will not last for the eternity. Within a very short period of time, the new law will be voted at the parliament, and business will continue upon better structured features.

TH4S · #9 18-04-2008, 04:32 PM

New Home in Turkey,

I posted this Yesterday, 04:13 PM its under the news article,

My message to future buyers,my opinion,there will be NEW buying laws announced very very soon,The ban on foreign people buying is just temporary,Turkiye as had something similar things happen in the past and sorted it out.

My message to some other estate agents,Calm down and take your mogadon,

http://www.totallyproperty.com/turke...erty-sale.html

Yogi · #10 30-04-2008, 06:15 PM

I am just about to complete on an apartment in Akbuk.

I have dealt direct with the Developer and not through an agent. I raised this question with him and he tells me it affects foreign companies only? I am not so sure and (from the article above) believe it affects ALL foreign purchase.

I presume then that this actually means that foreign buyers can not get their Tapus, which from what I have heard takes a couple of Months anyway? By which time a new law will have been introduced? (maybe)

I am going out to Turkey in May (staying in Altinkum). The purpose of the visit as well as a family holiday was to arrange furniture for our new apartment, I am not really sure what will happen now.

Any thoughts/advise would be welcome.

Turkey Property sales to foreigners have come to a halt,

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