TAPU is a certificate of ownership issued to both local and foreign citizens when buying real estate in the territory of the Republic of Turkey.
 The right of ownership can be issued to both individuals and legal entities. There are no age restrictions on the right to own property: both adults and children are included in the Tapu. 

The property is registered both for one person and for several. According to Turkish law, each owner registered in the Tapu, subject to the consent of all other owners of the property, has the right to sell his share. 

Types of TAPU in Turkey
The registration sheet is issued on the basis of a signed deed of purchase and sale of real estate and a full settlement between the seller and the buyer. 
There are 2 types of TAPU in Turkey, each of which is issued depending on the type of real estate being purchased.     For allotments with a ready-made building, a Tapu is provided in red, for a plot without any building – blue. 

The red TAP contains information such as:
- address of the property;
- coordinates and condition of the land plot;
- type and characteristics of real estate;
- cadastral value of the object;
- information about the previous owners and the new owner;
- the area of the purchased land;
- date of issue and registration data of TAPU;
- the seal and signature of the authorized person of the Cadastre Department and other important information.

The information in the blue Tapu is filled in the same, but with regard to the land plot. 
    It is important to announce that since 2018, a new TAPU sample has appeared in Turkey. At the moment, new and old forms of the title page are used in the republic, because not all cadastral offices managed to quickly put the updated samples into use.

Who issues the TAPU
 All documents related to the acquisition of real estate in the Republic of Turkey must be drawn up in the Cadastral Office, a state body that guarantees their legality and validity.

Important! A TAPU document is issued in Turkish, therefore, the procedure for issuing a document to a foreign citizen is carried out in the presence of a sworn translator. The signature of the state translator certifies the legitimacy of the procedure.
The representative of the cadastral committee enters the buyer into the cadastral book, after which he issues a document on the state letterhead.

How much does it cost to make a TAPU?
The cost of TAPU registration in Turkey for 2022 is approximately from €1,000 to €2,000, depending on the type of property being purchased (apartment, mansion, land, commercial premises, etc.). 

The total amount is set by the state services, taking into account:
- stamp duty;
- one-time real estate tax, which is 4% of the value prescribed in the TAPU;
- annual and monthly property tax rates, the amount of which is insignificant.

The procedure for obtaining a TAPU by a foreigner 
Before receiving the certificate, the buyer must close all issues with the purchase of real estate: choose an object, conduct an independent valuation, arrange insurance, sign a purchase agreement and transfer money to the seller. 
Only after that, an application for TAPU is submitted, for which the buyer and seller must come together to the cadastral authorities and sign documents confirming the absence of claims. 
Let's take a step-by-step look at how to apply for a TAPA in Turkey.

Step 1: Choose a property
First, the buyer selects the property taking into account the restrictions for foreigners: 

Foreigners may own no more than 10% of the area of a privately owned area (the boundaries of the districts are determined by the State);
on the territory of administrative entities, it is allowed to purchase land plots with an area of no more than 2.5 hectares, for foreign individuals to purchase real estate with a total area of more than 30 hectares in Turkey, permission from the Cabinet of Ministers is required. 
The exception is real estate obtained by inheritance. 
Foreigners are not allowed to buy real estate in military closed areas and security zones;

Step 2: Checking and buying a property
Suitable real estate objects according to the selection criteria should be checked for the presence of encumbrances: judicial arrest, collateral obligations, priority right of redemption or right of residence. 
It is worth paying attention to the type of registration specified in the TAPU. 
Marking Kat Irtifakı in TAPU means pre-registration according to the approved plan of the project under construction and the developer has yet to make the second stage of registration. 
If it is marked Kat Mülkiyeti, then the apartment is finally registered in the housing stock.
Sometimes buyers are offered apartments in a newly built house with Kat irtifakı. This may mean that deviations from the project have been made and the facility has not yet received an operating permit from the municipality. Even if the discrepancies with the project are insignificant, the registration of ownership of such an object may be delayed, since the developer must first eliminate the comments on the state expertise. 
To avoid unpleasant surprises, we recommend checking the project documentation and all types of encumbrances before the transaction. 
If all the documents are in order and the buyer is satisfied with everything, he opens an account in a Turkish bank, signs a purchase agreement, pays for the purchase and receives a Turkish TIN

Step 3: Make an assessment of the value of the property
To obtain a TAPU in Turkey, an assessment of the market value of real estate is required, which is carried out according to international standards. This procedure is designed to protect the interests of investors who will be able to find out the real value of real estate and not become a victim of fraudsters. 

The TAPU certificate indicates the valuation value (cadastral value), even if the actual transaction price was higher. This can be beneficial for the owner, because taxes and fees for registration of the TAPU certificate are calculated from the estimated value.

Step 4: Insure the property
To obtain a TAPU, you will also need a compulsory insurance policy against damage after earthquakes and other natural disasters — DASK. 
The cost depends on many parameters: the area of the property, the type of building and seismic activity in the area. For example, insurance for a new apartment of 100 m2 in Istanbul will cost about 18 euros per year, in Alanya, where seismic activity is lower — about 7 euros.

Step 5: Apply for a TAPU
To apply for a TAPU in Turkey, you need to prepare the following documents:
- a foreign passport, which expires no earlier than six months after the application is submitted;
- 4 3x4 photos;
- Turkish INN;
- information about the Turkish bank account;
- real estate valuation report;
- DASK insurance;
- a power of attorney for a legal representative if the owner cannot be present in person.
You can apply for a certificate of ownership in person or through a trusted person at the Cadastral Office of Turkey. After accepting the documents, the Management will send an SMS message with the scheduled date of the visit for signing the documents. 

Step 6: Pay duties and taxes
After accepting the documents, the owner needs to pay the tax on the transfer of ownership, which is 4% of the cadastral value of the property.

Step 7: Sign the documents for receipt
On the appointed day, the buyer and seller, or their authorized representatives, come to the cadastral office at the location of the property. If one of the parties to the transaction does not speak Turkish, then a government translator must be present at the meeting.
At the meeting, the buyer and seller inform about the absence of claims against each other, after which information about the new owner is entered into the state register of real estate registration. The buyer becomes the rightful owner of the property.
TAPU will be ready in a few days. On average, the registration process lasts up to three weeks.