Posts Tagged ‘Clearance’

Turkish Real Estate Military Clearance Explained

August 5th, 2021

As interest continues to generate for the purchase of Turkish real estate investments, one area of confusion for many first time buyers is often surrounding the necessary military clearance procedures. Military clearance is required by all foreign nationals purchasing real estate in Turkey, prior to the title deeds being transferred into the new owner’s name.

The process of military clearance is simply to ensure that the property being purchased is not located within a restricted zone. Once the clearance has been obtained confirming the property is located within a permitted area, the application to purchase is automatically accepted.

Areas affected by military restrictions include military land and areas of national security, historical areas and land of cultural value, mining and agricultural land, land in ecological and biological sensitive areas, registered forest areas and important areas for energy purposes.

The processes involved in obtaining military clearance include submitting the relevant paperwork for the transfer of the title deeds and personal identification to the Land Registry Office. The Land Registry department will liaise with the local military authorities in order to carry out the relevant searches.

The buyer’s legal representative can assist with obtaining the necessary paperwork for the military clearance procedures. Authorizing power of attorney can ease the follow up and tracking of the process, along with the release of the deeds, especially convenient for buyers residing outside of Turkey.

Currently is can take around 2 to 3 months for the military clearance processes to be completed. A new law is waiting to be bought into effect, enabling the Land Registry office to process the applications directly. Once the law is enabled, the processing time is expected to be greatly reduced.

Although it may at first appear to be a daunting process to have compulsory military clearance when purchasing real estate in Turkey, the entire procedure is very straight forward. Ensuring zones of ecological and cultural significance are protected, assists with avoiding over development and the destruction of areas of natural importance.

The planned modification of the procedures enabling the Land Registry office to carry out the processes in the near future will provide a significant improvement on waiting times, creating an even more attractive environment for foreign real estate investors.