Is it possible to convert commercial property to residential, and vice versa in Turkey

In some cases, real estate owners may want to convert their residential real estate into commercial real estate, or vice versa, and what is meant here with the commercial real estate is the real estate that is used as the headquarters of a business or company, although this is relatively easy but we must pay attention to some things that may cause problems in the future.

Changing the type of real estate registry can be done by the owners who want to convert the type of commercial real estate to residential, and this process can take a long time because the owner must convince all the owners of the apartments in the building, but on the other hand the formal procedures will not take a long time.

The documents required to transfer the type of real estate registry:

- Title deed of the property “Tapu” who wants to change its type in the real estate registry.

- A copy of the identity card of the property owner.

- A personal photo of the property owner, or his representative, according to a certified official agency.

- A permit statement issued by both the municipality and the state concerned with the property, to demonstrate that there is no obstacle to changing the type of this property.

Owners approval within the building itself, In addition to complete all the necessarypapers and documents to start the formal procedures for transferring the type of the property record.

The owner of the property can convert its property from a commercial property to a residential property with the same conditions mentioned previously ...

Real estate registry restrictions:

To find out if the property is on restrictions such as seizure, mortgage, or confiscation, the owner should check in the real estate Registry Department, as it is not indicated in the title deed.

The real estate contract is based on the real estate registry data, so if the real estate registry or the electronic system of the real estate survey does not contain this registration, the real estate contract is valueless even if it was notarized, therefore as a real estate buyer you must check the validity or nullity of the property record before buying.

It is common for sale and purchase contracts that are made in notary departments depend on the real estate bond, therefore, the bond must be validated in the real estate government departments before signing the contract and paying for the property because the seller is not obligated to hand over the old bond to the real estate Registry Department after selling the property even if it was notarized.
So the bond may be forged and illegal, and it may be original but the property owner sold the property to several people before.

Facilities for transferring ownership procedures:

The real estate sector is one of the best sectors that generate profit in short time, with guarantees of high reliability in Turkey, due to the big local and international demand for buying real estate, therefore, the procedures for transferring property and real estate reservations that are placed during the transfer of real estate ownership are very important, and it was difficult for investors due to the routine procedures that the investor faces in the real estate registry departments (TAPU).

That’s why the Turkish government has applied many facilities and updates to the procedures for transferring property, starting from the strategy of the "single-window" which is a governmental website to access real estate records information quickly and reliably, and check the validity of the information recorded in the restrictions automatically using this website.

Also concluding an agreement between the General Directorate of Real Estate Records and the Turkish Ziraat Bank, where it became possible to perform procedures for placing real estate reservations on property, and reservations related to real estate records through all Ziraat Bank branches.