Learn how condominium law in Turkey works, including common areas, management plans, apartment owner rights, maintenance charges, board decisions, manager powers, and common disputes.
Introduction
Condominium law in Turkey is one of the most important parts of real estate law because it governs how apartment buildings, mixed-use blocks, and large residential sites are owned, managed, and used in daily life. A title deed for an apartment in Turkey does not give the owner rights only over the interior space of that unit. It also creates a legal relationship with the land share, the common areas, the management plan, the apartment owners’ board, and the cost-sharing system established under the Condominium Law No. 634. The original law recognizes separate ownership over independently usable sections of a completed building, such as flats, offices, shops, storage rooms, and similar spaces.
This is why condominium ownership in Turkey is very different from an isolated ownership model. An apartment owner has strong rights over the independent section, but those rights are always exercised within a broader legal structure that protects the building as a whole. The law regulates common areas, the duty not to disturb neighbors, payment of common expenses, management meetings, voting rules, manager appointment, judicial review of board decisions, and building improvements. In practice, most day-to-day disputes in apartment buildings and sites arise not because owners lack title, but because they misunderstand the balance between individual ownership and collective management.
The practical importance of this area is also reflected in the courts. Recent courthouse activity reports show that disputes arising from condominium law frequently include annulment of apartment owners’ board decisions and claims concerning common expenses, which confirms how central management and cost-sharing issues are in Turkish practice.
This article explains Condominium Law in Turkey: Rights and Obligations of Apartment Owners in a practical, SEO-oriented, and legally grounded way. It focuses on the core issues that matter most for owners, buyers, investors, and managers: what condominium ownership means, what counts as a common area, how owners may use their units, what they must pay, how meetings and voting work, what managers can do, and how disputes are resolved.
What Condominium Ownership Means in Turkey
The Turkish Condominium Law allows separate and independent ownership rights to be created over parts of a completed building that are suitable for separate use. The original statutory text lists examples such as apartments, offices, shops, stores, basements, and warehouses. At the same time, the law treats condominium ownership as a form of ownership tied to the land share and to the common areas of the building. That means condominium ownership is never ownership of a box floating in legal isolation. It is always linked to a larger immovable structure.
This legal design matters in every apartment transaction. When a person buys a flat in Turkey, that person is not only acquiring the right to possess and use the independent section. The buyer is also entering a statutory framework that defines how the common parts of the building are used, how expenses are shared, and how collective decisions are made. This is one of the main reasons why Turkish real estate due diligence for apartments must always include review not only of the title deed, but also of the management plan and the practical operation of the building.
Independent Sections and Common Areas
One of the central distinctions in Turkish condominium law is the difference between the independent section and the common areas. Article 15 confirms that apartment owners enjoy, over their own independent sections, the rights that general property law grants to owners, subject to the specific restrictions of the Condominium Law. But Article 16 immediately adds that apartment owners are also owners of the common parts of the main immovable in proportion to their land shares, under the rules of co-ownership. It further states that owners have a right to use common areas, and that in places such as common coal storage, garages, terraces, laundries, and drying areas, the measure of that use is, unless otherwise agreed, proportionate to the land share of each owner.
What counts as a common area is not left entirely to guesswork. Article 4 states that common areas may be specified by agreement, but it also provides that certain parts are always treated as common areas under the law. These include the foundations, main walls, structural columns and beams, common dividing walls, ceilings and floors, courtyards, main entrances, staircases, elevators, corridors, general toilets and sinks in those areas, janitor’s rooms, general laundry and drying areas, common garages, meter protection spaces outside the independent sections, boiler rooms, wells, water tanks, shelters, roofs, chimneys, roof terraces, rain gutters, and fire escape stairs.
This is one of the most important practical rules in Turkish apartment life. Owners often assume that a terrace, roof edge, storage niche, corridor section, or parking corner belongs exclusively to their unit because they have used it for years. The law does not accept such assumptions automatically. If an area is a statutory common area, the relevant legal analysis starts from that position. Use in practice is not the same as exclusive legal entitlement.
The Rights of Apartment Owners
Turkish condominium law protects the rights of apartment owners in several ways. First, owners have full ownership rights over their own independent sections, subject to the restrictions imposed by the Condominium Law. Second, they are co-owners of the common areas in proportion to their land shares. Third, they have the right to participate in the apartment owners’ board, vote on management issues, review accounts, and challenge unlawful board decisions before the civil peace court. Fourth, they may ask for judicial intervention if other owners, tenants, or long-term occupants fail to comply with their legal obligations.
Article 31 also contains an important voting rule: each apartment owner has one vote, regardless of land share, but an owner with several independent sections has a separate vote for each section. Even so, that owner cannot hold more than one-third of all votes in the building. The same provision also regulates representation where one unit has several owners and permits voting by proxy, while limiting how many proxy votes a single person may exercise.
These rules are designed to balance ownership concentration with collective governance. In practical terms, even a dominant investor in a building cannot automatically monopolize every decision. The law deliberately imposes structure on board participation.
The Basic Obligations of Apartment Owners
The fact that owners have strong property rights does not mean they are free from obligations. Article 18 sets out the core rule: apartment owners must comply with standards of good faith while using their independent sections, annexes, and common areas, and they must not disturb one another, infringe each other’s rights, or violate the management plan. The same article states that these obligations also apply to tenants, usufruct holders, and persons who continuously benefit from the independent sections on another basis; if they fail to comply, they are jointly liable together with the apartment owner.
This is one of the most important parts of Turkish condominium law because it extends building-discipline obligations beyond registered owners. In practice, many building conflicts arise not from the owner’s personal conduct, but from the conduct of tenants or other occupants. Article 18 makes clear that the legal system is aware of that risk and addresses it directly.
Article 19 adds another major obligation. Apartment owners must carefully preserve the building, including its architectural appearance, beauty, and structural safety. One owner cannot carry out construction, repairs, facilities, or even different-colored exterior paint in common areas without the written consent of four-fifths of all apartment owners, unless there is a judicially recognized urgent repair or mandatory strengthening situation. The article also states that an owner may not make repairs or alterations inside the owner’s own independent section if they would damage the main structure, although works in connected areas of neighboring sections may be carried out with mutual consent where the main structure is not harmed. An owner who causes damage through fault is liable to the other owners.
This is why Turkish condominium law is so important in renovation and remodeling cases. Enclosing balconies, changing façades, opening structural walls, installing building-wide lines without approval, or altering common areas without the legally required consent can create serious disputes. The law gives owners strong use rights, but not a right to reshape the building unilaterally.
Common Expenses and the Duty to Contribute
Common expenses are one of the most litigated topics in Turkish apartment management. Article 20 states that, unless the owners have agreed otherwise, each owner must contribute to: janitor, boiler operator, gardener, and guard expenses, and related advances, equally; and to insurance premiums, maintenance, preservation, strengthening, repair of all common areas, manager’s salary, and operating expenses of common facilities, and related advances, in proportion to land share. The same article explicitly states that an owner cannot refuse to pay by arguing that the owner has waived the right to use the relevant common area or that the owner’s unit does not need it.
This is a crucial rule for apartment owners, especially in larger sites where people often argue that they should not pay for a garden, elevator, pool, or other common facility because they personally do not use it. Turkish law is clear: non-use is generally not a defense to payment of the common expense share where the expense falls within Article 20.
Article 20 also states that an owner who does not pay the expense or advance share is exposed to enforcement or court action by the manager or by any other owner, and the nonpaying owner owes a monthly late compensation of 5% for delayed payment. In addition, Article 22 provides that long-term occupants such as tenants are jointly and severally liable for the owner’s common expense debt, although the tenant’s liability is limited to the amount of rent owed and any payment made is deducted from the rent debt. The same article also allows registration of a statutory lien over the defaulting owner’s independent section for unpaid common expenses in the conditions specified by law.
These provisions explain why common-expense litigation is so frequent. They also explain why managers in Turkey often rely on enforcement proceedings rather than waiting passively for compliance.
Use Restrictions and Prohibited Uses
Condominium law in Turkey does not leave all questions of use entirely to owner preference. Article 24 prohibits certain uses outright. It states that hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, polyclinics, and pharmaceutical laboratories cannot be established in an independent section shown in the registry as residential, commercial, or trade space, although medical offices that do not amount to a clinic or polyclinic remain outside that prohibition. The same article also states that where a unit is shown in the registry as residential, entertainment venues and certain food, manufacturing, and commercial businesses may be opened there only with the unanimous decision of the apartment owners’ board.
At the same time, later legislation created some professional exceptions. Official amendment legislation from 2013 states that law offices and certain accountancy offices may operate in sections shown as residential without requiring apartment-owner consent and regardless of contrary management-plan provisions.
This is a good example of why condominium due diligence must include not only the title deed but also the actual and intended use of the independent section. A residential unit cannot automatically be commercialized in any way the owner wants, and some activities require unanimity while some are prohibited or specifically excepted by later legislation.
The Management Plan: The Building’s Internal Constitution
Article 28 is one of the most important provisions in the entire law. It states that the management plan regulates the style of management, the use purposes and methods, the manager’s and auditor’s fees, and other matters relating to administration. It also states that the management plan has the character of a contract binding on all apartment owners. If the management plan contains no rule on a particular issue, disputes are resolved under the Condominium Law and the general rules of law.
The same article further provides that amending the management plan requires the vote of four-fifths of all apartment owners, while preserving the owners’ right to apply to court under Article 33. It also states that the management plan and later amendments bind not only current owners but also their universal and singular successors, as well as the manager and auditors.
In practice, this makes the management plan one of the first documents any buyer or investor should review. It can regulate use restrictions, pet rules, allocation of facilities, meeting procedures, internal administrative structure, and site-specific rules not spelled out in the statute. The management plan is not merely background paperwork; in many condominium disputes it is the first text the judge will read after the law itself.
The Apartment Owners’ Board: Meetings, Voting, and Decisions
Article 27 states that the main immovable is managed by the apartment owners’ board, and that the method of administration is determined by that board, subject to the mandatory provisions of law. Article 29 then provides that the board must meet at least once a year at the time stated in the management plan; if the plan says nothing, the meeting takes place in the first month of each calendar year. In mass developments, the interval may extend to once every two years if the management plan so provides. The same article also permits extraordinary meetings where there is an important reason, upon the request of the manager, auditor, or one-third of the owners, provided that notice is given at least fifteen days in advance.
Article 30 states that the board meets with more than half of the owners in both number and land share and makes decisions by majority. If quorum is not reached at the first meeting, a second meeting may be held within fifteen days, and decisions there are taken by the absolute majority of those present, unless the law requires a different special quorum. Article 32 adds that the building is managed according to decisions taken under the law, the management plan, and the governing agreement, and that all owners, successors, managers, and auditors are obliged to comply with those decisions. The same article requires board decisions to be entered into a notarized decision book and signed by all owners present, while dissenting owners may note the reasons for their opposition.
This framework is one of the main sources of both order and conflict in Turkish apartment living. If the meeting is not called properly, the wrong quorum is used, or the decision is not recorded correctly, later disputes become likely. Good management in Turkey is inseparable from procedural discipline.
Manager Appointment, Powers, and Accountability
Article 34 allows the owners to entrust management to one person or to a three-person board. If the building has eight or more independent sections, appointment of a manager is mandatory. The manager is appointed by majority in both number and land share, normally for one year, and may be reappointed. If the owners cannot agree or fail to appoint a manager, the civil peace court may appoint one upon application by an owner.
Article 35 then sets out the manager’s duties. Unless the management plan provides otherwise, the manager must implement board decisions, take measures for the proper use, preservation, maintenance, and repair of the building, insure the building, collect advances, receive payments, pay management debts, receive notifications affecting the whole building, protect against loss of rights or deadlines, sue and pursue enforcement against owners who fail to fulfill their obligations, open a bank account in the manager’s own name but expressly in the capacity of building manager, and call the board to meeting. Later legislation also added a duty relating to safe operation and periodic inspection of elevators.
The law also requires recordkeeping. Article 36 obliges the manager to record board decisions, warnings, notices, and expenses in the official book and to preserve supporting documents. Article 37 requires preparation of an operating project if one has not already been approved by the board. That project must show estimated annual income and expenses, each owner’s estimated share under Article 20, and the advances to be collected. The project must be served on owners or actual users, who may object within seven days; once finalized, the operating project and board decisions on building expenses count as documents recognized under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law for enforcement purposes. Articles 38 to 41 further provide that the manager is liable like an agent toward the owners, must render accounts, and remains subject to ongoing supervision and replacement by the board.
For owners, this means the manager is neither a purely symbolic coordinator nor an unchecked ruler. The manager is a legally defined fiduciary figure with powers, duties, and accountability.
Building Improvements, Accessibility, and Common-Area Alterations
Article 42 regulates improvements and additions in common areas. It states that owners cannot make changes to common areas on their own initiative. Useful improvements and additions intended to make common areas more convenient or increase their benefit may be carried out only upon a decision taken by majority in both number and land share. An important accessibility rule was added later: where the life of a disabled person makes adaptation necessary, the project modification must be discussed by the owners within three months, and if the meeting is not held or the request is rejected, works may still proceed based on a commission report confirming that building safety is not endangered and upon approval of the competent authority. The costs of such accessibility works are borne by those who benefit from them in proportion to benefit.
This provision is especially relevant in modern apartment practice because disputes often arise over ramps, lifts, façade additions, insulation, security systems, and other upgrades. Turkish law distinguishes between unilateral interference and collectively approved useful improvements, and it also creates a protective accessibility pathway where disability makes adaptation necessary.
Judicial Review and Common Disputes
Article 33 gives owners a direct judicial remedy. An owner who attended the board meeting and voted against the decision may bring an annulment action within one month from the decision date; an owner who did not attend may sue within one month of learning of the decision, and in any event within six months from the decision date. Where the decision is null or absolutely void, those time limits do not apply. The same article also allows owners harmed by the failure of another owner, tenant, or long-term occupant to fulfill legal obligations to apply to the civil peace court for judicial intervention. The judge may order compliance within a short period, and continued noncompliance can lead to an administrative fine under the article.
This judicial mechanism is one of the reasons condominium law disputes are so visible in Turkish court practice. Recent official court activity reports show that disputes over annulment of apartment owners’ board decisions and common-expense enforcement claims are among the recurring types of cases handled by civil peace courts.
In practice, the most common disputes involve unpaid common expenses, misuse of common areas, unlawful alterations, manager accountability, challenge to board decisions, and disagreement over the interpretation of the management plan. All of these are natural consequences of a system in which strong private ownership exists inside a mandatory collective framework.
Mass Housing and Large Sites
The law also contains special provisions for mass developments and large sites. The 2007 amendments added Articles 66 to 72, creating a more detailed regime for block structures, parcel-level boards, island-level boards, and overall site representation. The law states, for example, that block structures within a mass development may be managed by block owners’ boards for block-specific issues, while sitewide common facilities may be managed by broader representative structures. It also states that a single management plan covering the whole development binds all owners in the mass structure, and that common expenses must be allocated according to whether the facility serves one building, several buildings, or the entire development.
This is important because large Turkish residential sites often function very differently from a single apartment block. Their legal management is correspondingly more layered. Buyers in such projects should not assume that the rules of a small building apply identically to a multi-block site with central facilities, shared infrastructure, and representative councils.
Conclusion
Condominium law in Turkey is built on a clear balance: strong ownership rights over the independent section, combined with mandatory obligations toward the building community. Apartment owners have ownership and voting rights, rights to use common areas, and rights to challenge unlawful decisions. At the same time, they must respect neighbors, comply with the management plan, avoid unauthorized structural changes, and contribute to common expenses even if they personally make little use of the relevant facility. Board decisions, manager powers, and court remedies are all regulated in detail, which is why condominium ownership in Turkey is best understood as structured co-living under statutory rules, not as purely isolated apartment ownership.
For apartment owners, investors, and buyers, the practical lesson is simple: do not evaluate a Turkish apartment only by location and title. Also evaluate the building’s common areas, the management plan, the expense structure, the board culture, and the enforceability of existing decisions. In Turkey, those issues often determine whether apartment ownership feels orderly and secure or turns into constant dispute
Yanıt yok