Ballot blows roof off illegal homes
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Enis Tayman - Referans
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 19, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL -The excitement stirred by the upcoming local elections has whipped residents into a fervor - a building fervor, that is. In these pre-election weeks, the municipality’s tolerance is increasing as the parties look to gain voter support, leaving many owners of illegal houses to take the opportunity and construct unauthorized additions to their homes.
As election fever grips the nation, many parts of the country are also gripped by building fever, in which extra floors are being built atop existing shanty houses.
The Sultanbeyli neighborhood in Istanbul is one such place that currently looks more like a construction site than a residential area. Many people here have decided to illegally add extra floors to their homes on the eve of local elections scheduled for March 29, hoping to escape municipal supervision.
One local, going by only Z.C., said his one-floor house would soon have two stories. He said he spent 30,000 Turkish Liras to add the extra floor and would spend a further 10,000 liras. "I built the house on strong foundations. It can carry many more floors," he said.
When asked if he feared the municipality demolishing the extra level, Z.C. said: "Everybody does it. We give each other moral support." In order to escape municipal wrecking crews, he said he had made a 2,000 Turkish-lira payment. "I even have my receipt," he said.
A man from the Battal Gazi neighborhood, who identified himself only as Ö, said he paid 4,000 liras to the municipality in order to build a new floor. Ö also has his receipt.
N.Ç., also from Sultanbeyli, came to Istanbul from the Black Sea province of Samsun in 1986. He owns a two-story house and is now adding an extra floor. He said he would be voting for the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in the coming local elections, and said he added the second floor to his house just before the 2004 elections.
The Küçükçekmece district of Istanbul provides a different example for the same problem. Most buildings in the Güvencintepe neighborhood were illegally built. Some locals said the municipalities ignored buildings that were illegally built before their term but did not tolerate any extra floors on existing buildings.
A.M., who originally came to Istanbul from Adıyaman in eastern Anatolia, said his extra floor was demolished by the municipality. "I don’t know why they did it. All the buildings in the area are illegal," he said. According Sadık Baydar, who is the Güvercintepeneighborhood’s muhtar, or neighborhood administrator, if the municipality ever tried to demolish the 6,000-unit neighborhood, there would be war.
Contacted municipalities refused to answer any questions about the matter. Istanbul Chamber of City Planners President Erhan Demirdizen described the pre-election period as the most unfortunate time for Turkish cities. While municipalities demolish illegally built houses from time to time, a permanent solution to the problem has not yet been found, he said. "People build their illegal houses somewhere else. People should be given the opportunity to move into legally built houses," he said.
He also said the 2B law, while not an amnesty for illegally built houses, had boosted the expectations of the people. 2B law refers to the law waiting for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s approval that gives title deeds to owners of houses illegally built in lands registered as forests in exchange for certain payment. Some former forestry lands have been urban centers for decades but due to their illegality, most homeowners in the areas do not have deeds.
According to the Audit’s Office figures, 40 percent of buildings in Ankara are illegally built, while the figure is 60 percent in İzmir and as high as 70 percent in Istanbul. Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş said last year that of the 1.2 million buildings in Istanbul, 57 percent violated building codes and were illegal. This is in a region seen as very susceptible to earthquakes.
Mücella Yapıcı from the Istanbul Chamber of Architects said municipalities spent most of their working hours legitimizing illegally built houses, adding that the only solution governments had found to address the problem was to grant amnesties and hand out deeds to owners. Governments since 1948 have passed 19 laws that are generally considered amnesties for houses built illegally on state properties. And most of these laws were passed just before elections. The opposition Republican People’s Party mayoral candidate for Sultanbeyli said the state of affairs in his district was "worse than Afghanistan." He said the AKP municipality was promising deeds for money.
The Sultanbeyli neighborhood in Istanbul is one such place that currently looks more like a construction site than a residential area. Many people here have decided to illegally add extra floors to their homes on the eve of local elections scheduled for March 29, hoping to escape municipal supervision.
One local, going by only Z.C., said his one-floor house would soon have two stories. He said he spent 30,000 Turkish Liras to add the extra floor and would spend a further 10,000 liras. "I built the house on strong foundations. It can carry many more floors," he said.
When asked if he feared the municipality demolishing the extra level, Z.C. said: "Everybody does it. We give each other moral support." In order to escape municipal wrecking crews, he said he had made a 2,000 Turkish-lira payment. "I even have my receipt," he said.
A man from the Battal Gazi neighborhood, who identified himself only as Ö, said he paid 4,000 liras to the municipality in order to build a new floor. Ö also has his receipt.
N.Ç., also from Sultanbeyli, came to Istanbul from the Black Sea province of Samsun in 1986. He owns a two-story house and is now adding an extra floor. He said he would be voting for the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in the coming local elections, and said he added the second floor to his house just before the 2004 elections.
The Küçükçekmece district of Istanbul provides a different example for the same problem. Most buildings in the Güvencintepe neighborhood were illegally built. Some locals said the municipalities ignored buildings that were illegally built before their term but did not tolerate any extra floors on existing buildings.
A.M., who originally came to Istanbul from Adıyaman in eastern Anatolia, said his extra floor was demolished by the municipality. "I don’t know why they did it. All the buildings in the area are illegal," he said. According Sadık Baydar, who is the Güvercintepeneighborhood’s muhtar, or neighborhood administrator, if the municipality ever tried to demolish the 6,000-unit neighborhood, there would be war.
Contacted municipalities refused to answer any questions about the matter. Istanbul Chamber of City Planners President Erhan Demirdizen described the pre-election period as the most unfortunate time for Turkish cities. While municipalities demolish illegally built houses from time to time, a permanent solution to the problem has not yet been found, he said. "People build their illegal houses somewhere else. People should be given the opportunity to move into legally built houses," he said.
He also said the 2B law, while not an amnesty for illegally built houses, had boosted the expectations of the people. 2B law refers to the law waiting for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s approval that gives title deeds to owners of houses illegally built in lands registered as forests in exchange for certain payment. Some former forestry lands have been urban centers for decades but due to their illegality, most homeowners in the areas do not have deeds.
According to the Audit’s Office figures, 40 percent of buildings in Ankara are illegally built, while the figure is 60 percent in İzmir and as high as 70 percent in Istanbul. Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş said last year that of the 1.2 million buildings in Istanbul, 57 percent violated building codes and were illegal. This is in a region seen as very susceptible to earthquakes.
Mücella Yapıcı from the Istanbul Chamber of Architects said municipalities spent most of their working hours legitimizing illegally built houses, adding that the only solution governments had found to address the problem was to grant amnesties and hand out deeds to owners. Governments since 1948 have passed 19 laws that are generally considered amnesties for houses built illegally on state properties. And most of these laws were passed just before elections. The opposition Republican People’s Party mayoral candidate for Sultanbeyli said the state of affairs in his district was "worse than Afghanistan." He said the AKP municipality was promising deeds for money.