Draft law for property sales to foreigners at parliament

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

This aerial photo shows Bodrum, a top tourism destinations on the Aegean coast of Turkey. The resort is also a popular town for foreign home buyers. Hürriyet photo

A draft law allowing foreign nationals to obtain real estate and limited real property rights has been submitted to the Turkish parliament after cabinet approval.

The total area of real estate a foreign individual can own cannot exceed 300,000 square-meters, according to the draft law that the Parliament will vote on.

The Environment and Urban Planning and Finance Ministries will determine the nationalities that will take advantage of this new legislation. The ministries may double the square meters where “the country’s interests require.”

Those foreign nationals, of countries which cannot take advantage of the new legislation, who are due to inherit property, will not have any Turkish property liquidated, according to the draft law.

International firms

Commercial companies in foreign countries will only be able to obtain real estate and limited rights within the scope of a special code, the draft law said.

The firms in which foreign nationals, international firms and firms incorporated according to foreign country’s laws, own 50 percent or more share, will have the right to own real estate and limited real property rights. The draft also allows Turkish Land Registry Directorate officials to draw up certificates of inheritance.