In 2026, property sale transactions are taking place across Turkey’s title deed offices (tapu müdürlüğü) at a rate of hundreds of thousands per month, and in a significant share of these deals buyers sign without adequately examining the legal history of the property in question. Law No. 7579 on Amendments to the Title Deed Law and Certain Other Laws, which entered into force in May 2026 (Official Gazette: 22 May 2026, No. 33261), introduced wide-ranging changes in the areas of title deeds, zoning and cadastre, while fraud methods such as forged powers of attorney and multiple sales remain among the most common causes of disputes. Against this backdrop, a handful of checks at the title deed office before buying an apartment can prevent litigation that might otherwise drag on for years.
Why Public Access to the Title Deed Registry Matters
The provisions of the Turkish Civil Code governing the title deed registry are built on the principle that registry records are open to inspection by anyone, and that third parties acting in good faith may rely on those records. This principle of “publicity” gives the buyer an important right: rather than trusting the seller’s word, the buyer has the right to view and verify the title deed record personally.
Suppose Ayşe Hanım, who wants to buy an apartment in Istanbul, relies on an old photocopy of the title deed shown by the person advertising the property and never checks whether the record has since changed. Yet a current title deed record may reveal a lien or mortgage placed within the past few months, information the old photocopy will not reflect. This is why every review should start with an up-to-date record obtained as close as possible to the transaction date.
Verifying the Owner’s Identity and the Power of Attorney
A significant share of real estate disputes in Turkey stem from a sale being carried out under a forged or misused power of attorney instead of by the true owner. The method usually works as follows: the fraudster obtains the real owner’s identity information, has a power of attorney drawn up at a notary using forged documents, and sells the property to a third party.
The most concrete precaution here is that, if the transaction is being carried out through a representative, the power of attorney should be verified against the notary’s records and, where possible, confirmed by contacting the owner directly. For example, if a representative is selling on behalf of a foreign investor living abroad, the validity period of the power of attorney, its scope (whether it specifically authorizes a sale) and the notary that issued it must all be checked. Speaking with the owner face to face or by video call is a simple step that costs nothing yet is highly effective.
Selling the same property to more than one buyer is a similar risk category; for this reason, the consistency between the date of the last transaction on the title deed record and the date of the sales promise agreement should also be reviewed.
How to Check for Mortgages, Liens and Annotations
Through TAKBİS, the electronic infrastructure of the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre, an owner can query mortgage, lien and annotation records relating to their property free of charge via the e-Devlet (e-Government) portal. Since this query can only be carried out directly by the owner, however, the practical route available to a buyer is to request a current WebTapu document from the seller; this document can be verified via a QR code and is generally expected to have been obtained within the last 24 hours.
Consider a concrete example: a buyer interested in an apartment in Kadıköy who sees a bank mortgage annotation on the WebTapu document obtained from the seller should have the contract clearly specify whether that mortgage will be offset against the sale price, and at what stage the discharge will be recorded at the title deed office. In transfers carried out without the mortgage being discharged, the buyer may later find themselves facing the bank’s enforcement rights.
Lien annotations should be assessed in the same way: if the property is subject to a lien arising from enforcement proceedings, a sale carried out without that record being removed carries serious legal risk for the buyer.
Checking the Zoning Status and Building Documents
A clean-looking title deed record is not enough on its own; the property’s zoning status, occupancy permit and, if applicable, its building registration certificate must also be examined separately. The zoning status document obtained from the municipality shows whether the building was constructed in accordance with its permit and whether it has been converted to condominium ownership or floor easement status.
For instance, an investor examining an apartment chosen for its sea view may discover that the building’s rooftop floor was added later without a permit, a situation that could later expose the property to a demolition order from the municipality. For foreign buyers, it is also mandatory for the title deed office to check whether the property falls within a military restricted zone or security zone; more detail on this process can be found in our article on the military zone clearance and valuation report requirement.
The 2026 Debate: Should a Lawyer Be Mandatory in Title Deed Transactions?
In March 2026 the Ministry of Justice announced that it was considering making legal representation mandatory for parties in title deed transactions above a certain value. This proposal has not yet been enacted into law, but the debate itself points to the importance of the issue.
Some argue that such a requirement would increase transaction costs; others believe that, particularly for foreign investors and high-value transactions, given that the title deed officer only carries out a formal review and does not assess legal risk, such a requirement would reduce fraud cases. In our view the second position is the more accurate one, especially given how frequently forged powers of attorney and multiple sales occur: the title deed officer’s review is limited to the formal compliance of the records and does not evaluate the risks in the contractual relationship between the parties. Even if the requirement does not become law, voluntarily requesting a preliminary review from a lawyer in high-value transactions is already a practical measure, one whose cost is low compared with the risk of fraud.
Alongside this debate, some of the cadastre and zoning changes introduced by Law No. 7579 took effect on its publication date, while others will enter into force on 31 December 2026; it is therefore advisable to obtain up-to-date information from the title deed office, within the current legal framework, close to the transaction date.
Conclusion: The Order of Checks Before Buying
The checks to be made at the title deed office during an apartment purchase are more effective when followed in a specific order rather than at random. First, ownership information and any mortgage, lien or annotation records should be confirmed through a current WebTapu document; then, if the transaction is being carried out through a representative, the notarial record and scope of the power of attorney should be verified.
After these steps, the zoning status and building documents should be requested from the municipality, and for foreign buyers, whether the military restricted zone check has been completed should be confirmed. The general framework covered in our earlier article on points foreign buyers should watch for when purchasing a title deed complements this order of checks. In high-value transactions or those carried out through a representative, requesting a preliminary review from a lawyer before the sale is one of the most practical ways to avoid the common mistakes made in real estate investment; our earlier article on this topic may also be worth reviewing.
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