Upcoming discounts on title deed fees in Turkey

Turkey is witnessing a study for legal amendments related to title deed fees, which are expected to reduce property transfer fees to only 2%. These amendments come within the framework of the government's comprehensive economic plan aimed at enhancing transparency and fairness in property valuation.

Expectations of Upcoming Changes in Title Deed Fees in Turkey

According to what was published by the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, those interested in the real estate sector are anticipating changes to property transfer fees, as part of the comprehensive economic law proposal currently being studied by the Turkish government in the National Assembly. The news source indicates that the law proposal includes a suggestion to reduce title deed fees in Turkey.

What are title deed fees? And what is their current rate?

Title deed fees "Tapu harçları" are fees paid at the Land Registry and Cadastre Directorate when transferring the ownership of any property from one person to another, or in other words, they are government fees resulting from the process of transferring property ownership in Turkey.

The value of the title deed fees is calculated as a percentage of the prevailing price or market value of the property. This rate is currently 4% of the property value, paid equally by both the seller and the buyer. The law allows the seller and buyer to agree that one party pays the full fee, provided the agreement is made with the consent of both parties.

Title deed fees exceeded 50 billion Turkish lira so far this year

According to data issued by the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre in Turkey, the number of completed real estate sales transactions at Land Registry offices across the Republic of Turkey during the first eight months of this year reached 1,770,000 real estate sales transactions. The value of title deed fees in Turkey resulting from these transactions amounted to 48 billion Turkish lira.

Moreover, the title deed fees resulting from other transactions completed by the Land Registry offices amounted to 2.5 billion Turkish lira, bringing the total value of title deed fees for all real estate transactions completed during the first eight months to 50 billion and 536 million Turkish lira.

What are the upcoming changes?

The new economic plan of the Turkish government includes the implementation of several measures to ensure a more accurate assessment of the value of sold properties, through a joint evaluation involving several government institutions. This will be achieved by creating a database that continuously displays the value of properties on the market and automatically tracks changes in this value through computer systems. The value of the property will be determined by this system as the basis for sales and purchase transactions and as the basis for expert reports in transactions that require valuation, most notably judicial cases.

This step aims to enhance government oversight of the property valuation process in order to prevent any possible fraud in property valuation, so that the property value is registered in official transactions at the true value calculated fairly.

Could title deed fees decrease with the upcoming amendments?

According to what was reported by Milliyet newspaper from real estate expert Mustafa Hakan Ozlemcikli: "If the title deed fees in real estate sales transactions are reduced to 1 percent for both the seller and the buyer, so the total percentage of title deed fees becomes 2%, and if this is accompanied by an exemption from submitting the property value statement in real estate sales for a certain period, so that value data is submitted after the first sale following the issuance of the expected legal amendments, in this way we will have provided the real estate sector with an effective solution to the issue of determining the true value of the property."

Editing: Imtilak Real Estate©

Source: milliyet.com.tr