Urban renewal in Türkiye, step by step

How does the process unfold in eight stages?

The Law is built on agreement, but official periods start to run where agreement fails. The order below is a general frame, and every building may move differently.

• 1. Assessment: the building is checked to see whether it is a risky building.
• 2. Deed note: the result is reported to the land registry and announced.
• 3. Owners' decision: options such as rebuilding or flat-for-land swaps are voted on.
• 4. Agreement or sale of shares: a procedure runs for the shares of those who disagree.
• 5. Evacuation: the building is emptied of people and belongings.
• 6. Demolition: the building is pulled down.
• 7. Construction: the contractor builds the new building.
• 8. Handover: right holders take over their new flats.

Stages 1 and 2: assessment and deed note

Owners order the assessment first, at their own cost, from an institution licensed by the Directorate; the authority may also act on its own. Owners can object within 15 days, and a risky building is reported to the land registry within 10 working days at most.

What you need to do is keep an eye on the report and the announcements and track the objection period. The chapter on risky buildings covers the detail.

Stages 3 and 4: decision, agreement and sale of shares

Owners decide on rebuilding, merging parcels, selling shares, kat karşılığı (flat-for-land) or revenue sharing by a simple majority of shares. The former requirement of at least two thirds was replaced by simple majority in 2023.

Owners who did not agree are told of the decision and offer by notary or by a 15-day announcement at the muhtarlık (neighbourhood headman's office). If the offer is not examined or accepted within 15 days, their shares are sold by auction to the agreeing owners. If no simple-majority agreement is reached within 30 days on an emptied plot, urgent expropriation may come into play.

Your part is to follow the notices and weigh the offer in time. A buyer of shares must give the land registry an electronic notification address; the chapter on agreement between owners goes further.

Stages 5 and 6: evacuation and demolition

In buildings evacuated by agreement, owners, tenants and residents with limited real rights may be offered temporary housing or a workplace, rent aid and construction aid. These can be granted but are not automatic rights; the amounts are not in the Law and they change over time.

Owners get a period of at most 90 days to have the building demolished. If that does not happen, the administration announces it will do so, and if it is still not done the building is emptied of people and belongings and demolished, with costs charged to owners in proportion to their shares. Evacuation can be carried out with police support where it is blocked.

Your part is to plan the move well before the period ends. The chapter on evacuation and demolition suggests a practical timeline.

Stages 7 and 8: construction and handover

Before the building permit, the contractor must take out completion insurance (bina tamamlama sigortası) or provide other security set by the Directorate. The contract should state the delivery date and terms such as flat-for-land or revenue sharing clearly.

The Law gives no construction period; it depends on the contract, the permit and the contractor. If construction has not started within one year, or no crew and equipment have worked for at least six months, owners may decide by simple majority to terminate the contracts.

The Directorate sets the type and size of the new flats, and entitlement follows the value of the old property and of the new flat. A right holder who does not take over the flat within the set period loses the right.

What should you prepare at each stage?

Every stage brings its own papers and notices, and keeping them in one file makes later stages easier. The documents and checklist chapter explains how.

This page is general information and not legal advice. For your own building, ask the Urban Renewal Directorate, the municipality's renewal unit or a lawyer.

Where your belongings wait during construction is part of the same plan, and the storage chapter deals with it.