Tapu

In plain words

A tapu is the Turkish document confirming ownership of real estate. Put simply: until the tapu is registered in your name in the land registry, you are not the owner, however detailed your contract with the seller. It is the entry in the state register, not a paper from the developer, that creates the right.

The document states the property, its characteristics, the owner and the share of ownership. The type of title matters here too: it shows exactly what belongs to you — a completed property, a share in a land plot or a unit under construction. The difference is fundamental, and buyers often find out about it only after signing the contract.

A separate subject is encumbrances and restrictions: the previous owner’s mortgage, seizures, litigation, a discrepancy between the actual property and what is recorded in the register. All of this is checked before payment, through an extract from the land registry, not on the word of the seller or agent. The check costs incomparably less than the disputes that may follow.

When you will encounter a tapu

What is checked in a tapu

How registration works

1. 01Checking the property and seller
2. 02A land registry extract
3. 03Signing and settlement
4. 04Registration in the land registry
5. 05Receiving the tapu in your name

What you need to know

• The right arises from the entry in the land registry, not from the contract
• The type of title determines exactly what you own
• Encumbrances are visible only in the official extract
• The property’s data must match its actual state
• Investment programmes have separate requirements for the property

Common mistakes

• ✕Relying on the seller’s word instead of a land registry extract
• ✕Not checking the type of title before paying
• ✕Paying before encumbrances are checked
• ✕Not checking the actual property against the cadastral data
• ✕Buying without an independent lawyer, only through the seller’s agent

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