Do not buy property before registry check
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 29, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - All necessary paperwork should be taken care of at title deed offices, experts are warning. People should undertake a thorough research to determine whether a property, be it a piece of land, a whole building or an apartment, is in a legally approved structure. Investing in problematic estates is not so rare
Real estate prices and housing interest rates continue to drop with the global financial crisis and some experts say this is the best time to invest in housing. But there are a few points to consider before buying a house. Vektör Real Estate Appreciation General Manager Özgün Bekar said all the necessary paperwork should be taken care of at title deed offices and added if people did not pay attention to details they could be in trouble.
As an example Bekar said: "In a village in Şile, there was a retired man who wanted to buy a lot and build a house on it. But he learned later that the lot he bought was in fact allocated for a school construction."
Bekar warned potential apartment buyers: "The lot of an apartment complex may not have a problem and your building may be very beautiful and luxurious but you should undertake thorough research to determine whether the apartment is in a legally approved structure. The number of people who have spent their savings investing in problematic estates is quite high."
Bekar gave the following warnings about illegal buildings: Premises built without a construction permit are considered illegal. As they do not have construction permit, or a residential usage license, buyers cannot own the property.
If legally constructed buildings do not have residential usage license or if a five-year construction period expires, the residence is illegal.
For similar structures, the preparation and approval of a new construction permission certificate is not possible, such as when a construction permission certificate was obtained in 1998 for a five-story building and the construction was completed in five years but the residential usage certificate is missing, the building is considered illegal. In addition to that, if changes in town planning were approved in 2004 and the region was earmarked for building public structures such as schools, mosques or recreational areas and if the said building is in this zone, no further permission is possible. Buildings violating an approved construction plan are illegal. Buildings not having residential usage permission are illegal. Buildings that have permission but that have been renovated or rebuilt without proper documents are also illegal. Applying for a new residential usage certificate for such buildings is also not possible as the structure was once built in violation of the approved plan. For instance, you cannot build a four-story building in the lot earmarked for a two-story building. As the building cannot be rebuilt in accordance with the original plan, no legal arrangement is possible to solve such a problem.
Municipality cannot fine illegal structures
Bekar said Article 42 of the Building Code had been amended and the new article was published in the Official Gazette on Nov. 5, 2008. The Constitutional Court approved the amendment and it will enter into force on March 5, 2009. If there is no further change to the article, Bekar said municipalities after that date would not be able to issue fines for illegally built structures.
According to the previous article, municipalities were entitled to issue fines from 500,000 to 25 million Turkish Liras for illegal buildings. But a court ruled that this was in breach of the Constitution. Therefore, the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement is expected to prepare and issue a new decree to end confusion in the sector. Bekar said a new arrangement would definitely be brought in by March 5 and hoped there would be no loop-holes that could be open to different interpretations.
Bekar, who worked for a decade at the Ministry of Public Works, gave examples of some of the most frequent issues potential buyers face, "There are two main problems: lots and zoning. First of all, a buyer might see a road passing through a lot. But if this road is not registered by the land registry office, it does not mean anything. Secondly, there is a zoning plan. People consider an area suitable for housing but the lot may be allocated for public use. Aside from this, a certain part of the land may be allocated for use as a road. If buyers do not know this, that can cause trouble. So they should check with the Land Registrar and not forget that all areas inside municipality limits are subjected to tax."
As an example Bekar said: "In a village in Şile, there was a retired man who wanted to buy a lot and build a house on it. But he learned later that the lot he bought was in fact allocated for a school construction."
Bekar warned potential apartment buyers: "The lot of an apartment complex may not have a problem and your building may be very beautiful and luxurious but you should undertake thorough research to determine whether the apartment is in a legally approved structure. The number of people who have spent their savings investing in problematic estates is quite high."
Bekar gave the following warnings about illegal buildings: Premises built without a construction permit are considered illegal. As they do not have construction permit, or a residential usage license, buyers cannot own the property.
If legally constructed buildings do not have residential usage license or if a five-year construction period expires, the residence is illegal.
For similar structures, the preparation and approval of a new construction permission certificate is not possible, such as when a construction permission certificate was obtained in 1998 for a five-story building and the construction was completed in five years but the residential usage certificate is missing, the building is considered illegal. In addition to that, if changes in town planning were approved in 2004 and the region was earmarked for building public structures such as schools, mosques or recreational areas and if the said building is in this zone, no further permission is possible. Buildings violating an approved construction plan are illegal. Buildings not having residential usage permission are illegal. Buildings that have permission but that have been renovated or rebuilt without proper documents are also illegal. Applying for a new residential usage certificate for such buildings is also not possible as the structure was once built in violation of the approved plan. For instance, you cannot build a four-story building in the lot earmarked for a two-story building. As the building cannot be rebuilt in accordance with the original plan, no legal arrangement is possible to solve such a problem.
Municipality cannot fine illegal structures
Bekar said Article 42 of the Building Code had been amended and the new article was published in the Official Gazette on Nov. 5, 2008. The Constitutional Court approved the amendment and it will enter into force on March 5, 2009. If there is no further change to the article, Bekar said municipalities after that date would not be able to issue fines for illegally built structures.
According to the previous article, municipalities were entitled to issue fines from 500,000 to 25 million Turkish Liras for illegal buildings. But a court ruled that this was in breach of the Constitution. Therefore, the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement is expected to prepare and issue a new decree to end confusion in the sector. Bekar said a new arrangement would definitely be brought in by March 5 and hoped there would be no loop-holes that could be open to different interpretations.
Bekar, who worked for a decade at the Ministry of Public Works, gave examples of some of the most frequent issues potential buyers face, "There are two main problems: lots and zoning. First of all, a buyer might see a road passing through a lot. But if this road is not registered by the land registry office, it does not mean anything. Secondly, there is a zoning plan. People consider an area suitable for housing but the lot may be allocated for public use. Aside from this, a certain part of the land may be allocated for use as a road. If buyers do not know this, that can cause trouble. So they should check with the Land Registrar and not forget that all areas inside municipality limits are subjected to tax."