Urban transformation has become one of the most important forces affecting real estate ownership and development in Turkey.

For investors, landowners and developers, one of the most significant concepts within this system is the “Reserve Building Area” (Rezerv Yapı Alanı) regulated under Law No. 6306 on the Transformation of Areas Under Disaster Risk.

A parcel’s inclusion within a Reserve Building Area can fundamentally change its legal and commercial position.

Existing zoning rules may be revised. Development rights may change. Parcels may be consolidated or subdivided. New planning decisions may be introduced. Construction and development activities may become subject to the special transformation regime. Owners who disagree with a redevelopment proposal may face statutory share-sale procedures.

Most importantly, since an important legislative amendment in 2023, Reserve Building Areas should no longer be understood merely as empty land outside existing settlements.

Law No. 7471 removed the words “as a new settlement area” from the statutory definition of Reserve Building Area in Article 2 of Law No. 6306. The current definition therefore covers areas determined by the Ministry, either upon the request of TOKİ or the relevant administration or ex officio, for use in implementations carried out under Law No. 6306.

This amendment significantly increased the importance of Reserve Building Area status in Turkish real estate due diligence.

For a landowner, the critical question is no longer simply:

“Is my building risky?”

It may instead be:

“Has my entire neighbourhood or parcel been brought within a Reserve Building Area, and what does that mean for my ownership and development rights?”

1. What Is a Reserve Building Area in Turkey?

Reserve Building Areas form part of the special urban-transformation regime established under Law No. 6306.

Historically, the statutory definition referred to areas intended to be used as new settlement areas for transformation projects.

However, Law No. 7471, adopted on 7 November 2023, removed the expression “new settlement area” from Article 2 of Law No. 6306.

The distinction is legally important.

The concept can no longer be interpreted solely as referring to undeveloped land where residents displaced from risky buildings or risky areas will be relocated.

The transformation mechanism may also operate within already developed urban areas.

Official Ministry explanations following the 2023 earthquakes demonstrate that Reserve Building Areas have in practice been used both for new settlements on public land and for reconstructing existing urban areas where homes and workplaces were damaged.

Therefore, the existence of buildings, private ownership or an established neighbourhood does not, by itself, exclude an area from potentially being designated as a Reserve Building Area.

2. Who Can Determine a Reserve Building Area?

Under Article 2 of Law No. 6306, Reserve Building Areas may be determined by the Ministry upon the request of TOKİ or the relevant administration or may be determined ex officio by the Ministry. The 2023 reforms also established the Urban Transformation Directorate (Kentsel Dönüşüm Başkanlığı), which now performs major functions within the implementation framework of Law No. 6306.

Private individuals and private-law legal entities may also initiate a request concerning property they own.

However, this is not merely a simple application for more favourable zoning.

Following the 2023 amendment, where private individuals or private-law entities request that their own properties be designated as Reserve Building Areas, they must consent to transferring 30% of the developable land area or contributing the equivalent value under the statutory mechanism.

Law No. 7471 also provided that the Transformation Projects Special Account would be closed as of 31 December 2025 and that statutory references to that account would thereafter be treated within the new Directorate framework.

For developers, this means that seeking Reserve Building Area designation may have a substantial economic cost that must be incorporated into the project’s feasibility analysis.

3. Reserve Building Area Status Is Not the Same as “Risky Area”

Three concepts are frequently confused in Turkish urban-transformation practice:

Risky Structure (Riskli Yapı)

Risky Area (Riskli Alan)

Reserve Building Area (Rezerv Yapı Alanı)

They are not legally identical.

A risky structure concerns the condition of a particular building.

A risky area concerns a larger area that meets the statutory requirements associated with disaster risk arising from ground conditions or the existing development.

A Reserve Building Area, by contrast, is an area determined for implementation of projects under Law No. 6306.

Accordingly, a building does not necessarily have to be individually declared a risky structure before its parcel is affected by an area-based Reserve Building Area implementation.

This distinction is particularly important for property owners who believe that:

“My building is structurally sound, therefore Law No. 6306 cannot affect my property.”

That conclusion is not necessarily correct where the property lies within a Reserve Building Area.

4. Why the 2023 Amendment Matters So Much

Before the amendment introduced by Law No. 7471, the reference to “new settlement area” supported a narrower understanding of the Reserve Building Area concept.

The removal of that wording materially broadened its statutory formulation.

For landowners, this means that urban transformation should now be investigated on an area basis, rather than merely by checking whether an individual building has been declared risky.

For developers, it creates both opportunity and risk.

A Reserve Building Area can facilitate comprehensive redevelopment of fragmented urban land.

But it may also bring the project within a special administrative regime involving:

• central planning powers;
• parcel reorganisation;
• majority-based owner decisions;
• compulsory sale procedures affecting dissenting shares;
• valuation;
• public authority participation;
• and special implementation rules.

The designation should therefore never be treated as merely another zoning label.

5. Can Zoning Plans Change After an Area Becomes a Reserve Building Area?

Yes.

Planning is one of the most important consequences of Reserve Building Area status.

Law No. 6306 gives extensive planning powers for transformation areas, and official Ministry practice shows that separate 1/5,000 master development plans and 1/1,000 implementation development plans are frequently prepared or amended for Reserve Building Areas.

For example, official 2026 Ministry announcements show Reserve Building Area projects for which both 1/5,000 and 1/1,000 plans were prepared and approved within the statutory framework.

Therefore, an investor cannot safely assume that the zoning status existing before Reserve Building Area designation will remain unchanged.

A parcel previously classified as residential land may later be affected by new:

• road areas;
• green spaces;
• public facilities;
• commercial functions;
• social infrastructure;
• development densities;
• building heights;
• parcel configurations;
• or other planning decisions.

This can either increase or decrease the economic potential of an individual parcel.

6. Reserve Building Area Does Not Automatically Mean Higher Development Rights

A common investment misconception is that designation as a Reserve Building Area automatically creates higher density.

It does not.

The designation creates a framework within which transformation can take place.

The actual development rights must still be determined by examining the applicable planning documents.

An investor should therefore identify:

• applicable 1/5,000 plan;
• applicable 1/1,000 plan;
• plan notes;
• development ratio;
• building coverage;
• height;
• use;
• road and infrastructure allocations;
• parcel consolidation requirements;
• and any special implementation conditions.

The words “Reserve Building Area” alone do not answer the question:

“How many square metres can I build?”

That requires separate planning analysis.

7. Development and Construction Activities May Be Restricted During Transformation

One of the reasons Reserve Building Area status is commercially significant is that Law No. 6306 contains mechanisms allowing development and construction activities within transformation areas to be controlled during implementation.

Official Ministry guidance on the operation of the legislation notes that zoning and construction activities within Reserve Building Areas may be temporarily restricted where required for implementation of the transformation project.

For developers, this creates an important due-diligence issue.

A valid old building permit or an apparently developable parcel does not necessarily mean that construction can proceed exactly as originally planned after the area enters a transformation process.

Any developer purchasing property inside or close to a Reserve Building Area should therefore investigate:

whether development restrictions have been imposed;

whether a new plan is being prepared;

whether existing permits remain operational;

and

whether the proposed project is compatible with the transformation strategy.

8. Parcel Boundaries May Not Remain the Same

Reserve Building Area projects are often implemented at neighbourhood, block or development-area scale rather than according to the boundaries of each existing cadastral parcel.

Therefore, existing parcels may potentially become subject to transactions such as:

• consolidation (tevhit);
• subdivision (ifraz);
• partition;
• abandonment for public use;
• creation of new land;
• registration;
• parcel reorganisation;
• and development on a block basis.

The transformation framework is specifically designed to allow broader implementation rather than requiring every existing parcel to be developed independently.

Consequently:

the cadastral parcel owned before transformation may not be identical to the development parcel existing after transformation.

This is one of the most important points for landowners to understand.

9. Owners Can Decide on Redevelopment by Simple Majority

One of the most significant reforms introduced by Law No. 7471 concerns the voting threshold among owners.

Previously, many key decisions under Law No. 6306 were based on a two-thirds majority of ownership shares.

The 2023 amendment replaced the two-thirds requirement in key provisions of Article 6 with a simple majority (salt çoğunluk) calculated according to ownership shares.

The 2026 amendment to the Implementing Regulation confirms the continued application of the share-based simple-majority mechanism for implementations in Risky Areas, Reserve Building Areas and risky-building parcels.

This majority can play a decisive role in determining how the property will be redeveloped.

Decisions may concern matters such as reconstruction and the redevelopment model.

For minority landowners, the consequence is significant:

A minority owner does not necessarily have the power to block an entire transformation project.

10. What Happens to an Owner Who Rejects the Majority Decision?

The position of dissenting owners is one of the most sensitive aspects of the Law No. 6306 regime.

Where the statutory majority adopts a redevelopment decision and certain owners refuse to participate, their shares may become subject to the sale procedure established under the legislation and Implementing Regulation.

Current official 2026 sale announcements demonstrate the operation of this system in practice.

In a Reserve Building Area in Istanbul, shares belonging to owners who did not join the simple-majority redevelopment decision were placed into the statutory auction procedure. The official announcement also explains that where the shares cannot be sold to participating co-owners, different acquisition mechanisms may apply depending on who is carrying out the transformation project.

This means that refusing to sign the developer’s proposal does not necessarily preserve the existing ownership indefinitely.

The legality of:

• the majority decision;
• notification;
• valuation;
• auction process;
• and resulting transfer

must therefore be examined carefully.

11. Valuation Becomes Crucial

Where property rights are reorganised, shares are sold or owners receive replacement units, valuation becomes one of the central legal issues.

There may be a substantial difference between:

market value of the existing property;

value attributed by the administration;

value of the owner’s land share;

and

value of the new apartment or commercial unit offered after transformation.

Official Ministry guidance concerning earthquake-area Reserve Building Areas explains that right-holder arrangements may consider the value of the existing property and the value of the replacement property, and that monetary settlement may also be available depending on the applicable project.

Law No. 7471 also expressly provides, within certain accelerated transformation procedures, that entitlement arrangements may be carried out by comparing the value of the existing property with the value of the new residential or commercial unit.

For landowners, valuation evidence should therefore be preserved from the beginning rather than challenged only after the redevelopment is substantially complete.

12. Existing Property Is Not Necessarily Replaced Square Metre for Square Metre

Another common misconception is:

“I own a 150 m² apartment, therefore the government or developer must give me another 150 m² apartment.”

Urban-transformation entitlement does not necessarily operate as a simple square-metre exchange.

Depending on the project, the analysis may involve:

• existing property value;
• land share;
• value of the new unit;
• construction costs;
• project model;
• planning rights;
• number of independent sections;
• and other statutory or contractual considerations.

Official guidance from earthquake transformation areas expressly states that existing property values are taken into account and that replacement units may be allocated under the applicable entitlement process.

Therefore, the economic balance of a transformation project must be examined in value terms as well as physical area.

13. Can the Landowner Become Indebted for the New Property?

Potentially, yes.

Where the value of the new unit exceeds the value or entitlement attributed to the existing property, the owner may be required to make an additional payment depending on the applicable transformation model.

Law No. 7471 expressly regulates certain transformation procedures under which, where the right holder must become indebted, a contract is concluded regarding the debt and title transfer of the new unit may be withheld until the relevant amount has been paid in full.

Accordingly, Reserve Building Area designation does not automatically mean that every owner will receive a newly constructed apartment completely free of charge.

The specific project and entitlement model must be reviewed.

14. What Opportunities Does Reserve Building Area Status Create for Developers?

For professional developers, Reserve Building Areas can create significant opportunities.

Large areas containing fragmented ownership and outdated development may be reorganised within a coordinated planning framework.

A project may allow:

• parcel consolidation;
• block-based development;
• new zoning plans;
• infrastructure restructuring;
• mixed-use development;
• housing production;
• commercial development;
• revenue-sharing structures;
• and cooperation with public authorities.

The system can therefore make redevelopment possible in locations where conventional private negotiations with hundreds of individual owners would otherwise make development extremely difficult.

But these advantages come with substantial regulatory risk.

A developer should not acquire land simply because a seller says:

“This area is under urban transformation, so the development rights will increase.”

The project’s planning, financial and ownership structure must be investigated independently.

15. Private Developer Applications Have a 30% Cost Issue

The 30% requirement introduced into Article 3 of Law No. 6306 is particularly important for developers contemplating an application for Reserve Building Area status.

Where private individuals or private legal entities request Reserve Building Area designation for their own property, the legislation requires consent either to:

transfer ownership of 30% of the developable land area, or

provide the corresponding value under the statutory mechanism.

This can materially alter the project’s economics.

For example, a development site may look highly profitable based on its gross development potential.

But if a significant statutory contribution is required for the Reserve Building Area mechanism, the usable land value and resulting project return may be very different.

Therefore, any developer considering such an application should calculate the effect of Article 3 before acquiring the land.

16. Plans Must Be Monitored During the Public Display Period

Urban-transformation planning does not end with Reserve Building Area designation.

New master and implementation plans may subsequently be approved.

Current official planning announcements show that plans prepared under the 6306 regime are placed on public display for 15 days through official announcement channels and, in relevant cases, the e-Plan system.

This gives landowners and developers a limited but important period in which to identify planning changes affecting their properties.

The plan should be examined together with:

• plan sheet;
• plan notes;
• explanatory report;
• zoning functions;
• density;
• public-use allocations;
• and parcel-specific consequences.

An investor who discovers the new plan months later may have already lost valuable procedural opportunities.

17. Can a Landowner Challenge Reserve Building Area Decisions?

Yes.

Reserve Building Area designation and subsequent planning and implementation decisions are administrative acts and may be subject to judicial review where the legal conditions exist.

Law No. 6306 contains a special litigation rule providing that administrative acts established under the Law may be challenged before the administrative courts within 30 days from notification. Current official Ministry guidance continues to refer to this 30-day period.

Depending on the dispute, the challenge may concern:

• Reserve Building Area designation;
• planning decisions;
• entitlement arrangements;
• valuation;
• majority-sale procedures;
• administrative implementation decisions;
• or related acts.

However, limitation periods and the event that starts the litigation period can differ according to the specific administrative decision.

For this reason, an owner who learns that property has been included in a Reserve Building Area should not wait until demolition or construction begins before seeking legal advice.

18. What Can Be Argued in an Administrative Lawsuit?

An administrative action cannot succeed merely because the owner does not want urban transformation.

The legality of the administrative act must be challenged.

Depending on the facts, legal review may involve issues such as:

• authority;
• form;
• procedure;
• statutory purpose;
• factual basis;
• planning principles;
• public interest;
• proportionality;
• property rights;
• equality;
• valuation;
• consistency with higher-level plans;
• and adequacy of technical analysis.

The Constitutional Court has repeatedly emphasised that interventions affecting property under the urban-transformation regime must be assessed within the constitutional protection of property rights and the requirements imposed on public authorities when restricting ownership.

The specific legal argument must therefore be built from the administrative file and technical planning documents.

19. Why an Expert Planning Report May Be Necessary

Reserve Building Area litigation frequently involves both legal and technical issues.

A lawyer may identify the legal problem, but an urban planner, architect, survey engineer, geological engineer or valuation expert may be required to establish the technical consequences.

For example, a planning expert may determine that:

• development density was distributed disproportionately;
• public facilities were concentrated on one owner’s land;
• planning continuity was disrupted;
• transport infrastructure is inadequate;
• the plan contradicts higher-level decisions;
• or an alternative planning solution exists.

For significant property disputes, legal analysis and technical planning analysis should therefore be coordinated.

20. Due Diligence for Buying Property Inside a Reserve Building Area

Before buying land or a building within a Reserve Building Area, the purchaser should investigate at least:

1. The Designation Decision

When was the area designated?

What are its exact boundaries?

2. Existing Planning

What zoning plan currently applies?

3. Pending Plans

Is a new transformation plan being prepared or publicly displayed?

4. Ownership Structure

How many owners exist?

What percentage of the ownership shares supports the project?

5. Existing Majority Decisions

Has a redevelopment decision already been adopted?

6. Share-Sale Proceedings

Are any statutory auction proceedings pending?

7. Entitlement Position

What will existing owners receive after redevelopment?

8. Financial Obligations

Will owners become indebted?

9. Public Allocations

Will part of the parcel become road, park, school or another public use?

10. Developer Agreements

Has an agreement already been signed with a contractor?

These questions can dramatically change the actual value of the investment.

21. Do Not Value the Property Only According to Its Current Title Deed

For property located within a Reserve Building Area, the current title deed tells only part of the story.

A parcel may currently be registered as:

1,000 m² residential land.

But after transformation:

• parcel boundaries may change;
• public areas may be deducted;
• parcels may be consolidated;
• density may change;
• new construction rights may be created;
• or the owner’s right may effectively become an entitlement to a future independent unit.

Therefore, investment valuation should consider the post-transformation scenario, not merely current cadastral ownership.

22. Foreign Investors Should Treat Reserve Building Area Status as a Major Due-Diligence Issue

Foreign investors purchasing property in Turkish redevelopment locations are particularly vulnerable to misunderstandings.

An estate agent may say:

“The government is transforming the neighbourhood, so your apartment will become much more valuable.”

That may be commercially possible.

But it does not explain:

• whether the existing unit will be demolished;
• what replacement right exists;
• whether an additional payment will be required;
• how long redevelopment will take;
• whether the investor agrees with the majority decision;
• whether a share-sale process exists;
• or whether the new zoning plan decreases the investor’s individual development rights.

Reserve Building Area status should therefore be disclosed and legally analysed before a foreign buyer signs the purchase contract.

Conclusion: Reserve Building Area Status Can Create Value—but It Can Also Fundamentally Restructure Ownership

Reserve Building Areas have become one of the most powerful tools within Turkey’s urban-transformation framework.

The 2023 amendment introduced by Law No. 7471 significantly changed the legal landscape by removing the expression “new settlement area” from the definition. Reserve Building Area status therefore cannot be treated simply as a mechanism for developing empty land outside existing settlements.

For property owners, designation may affect:

planning rights, development possibilities, parcel boundaries, redevelopment decisions, valuation and even continued ownership of dissenting shares.

For developers, it can create opportunities for large-scale redevelopment but also introduces regulatory, planning and financial obligations—including the 30% statutory contribution applicable to private-owner designation requests.

The current transformation regime also gives substantial importance to share-based simple-majority decisions, meaning that minority owners cannot assume that their refusal alone will prevent redevelopment. Current 2026 regulatory practice confirms the continued operation of this mechanism and the statutory share-sale procedure.

The correct legal approach is therefore not to ask only:

“Is the property inside a Reserve Building Area?”

The real questions are:

“Which transformation decision applies, what does the new plan permit, what will happen to the existing ownership, and what economic right will the owner have when the project is completed?”

Those questions should be answered before land is purchased, before a redevelopment agreement is signed and—where an owner intends to challenge the process—before the applicable administrative litigation periods expire.