Residents of the Maltepe apartment block that collapsed in Istanbul earlier this month can start collecting keys to new homes from Wednesday, 28 October, Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum announced on Tuesday.
The seven-storey Kardeşler Apartmanı on Doğu Street in Maltepe’s Cevizli neighbourhood partly collapsed on 8 October, killing five people, as we reported at the time. A report later found that the third to sixth floors had been added without a permit, according to Takvim.
Two options for rights holders
In a post on social media, Kurum said rights holders from the building and its surroundings who wish to can collect the keys to flats in the İETT Blocks in Maltepe’s Esenkent neighbourhood from tomorrow. Those who do not want to move there can have their homes rebuilt on the same site through TOKİ, the state housing agency, on favourable payment terms, the minister said. Bigpara/Hürriyet and A Haber carried the announcement.
A Haber reported that sample flats had been shown to residents, with one saying she had seen two-bedroom (2+1) and three-bedroom (3+1) units. Both options come with long-term payment arrangements, the channel said, without giving figures. The ministry had planned to hand over keys to ready homes within 20 days of the collapse.
How the scheme was set up
Shortly after the collapse, the ministry’s Urban Transformation Presidency opened an office in the neighbourhood to meet residents. Deputy Minister Ömer Bulut said at the time that rights holders would be offered alternatives including the "Yarısı Bizden" ("half from us") state support for rebuilding, joining a TOKİ-led transformation of the area, or ready urban-renewal flats in Esenkent, Takvim reported on 12 October. Five neighbouring buildings were evacuated after the collapse, and core samples were to be taken from them.
Istanbul’s urban renewal programme aims to replace ageing and unsafe buildings. We looked at the national figures in our report on urban renewal and TOKİ.
What it means for property owners
Buyers of older flats in Istanbul can check a building’s permit and occupancy documents, its construction year and any unauthorised added floors before buying. A building that is declared risky can be included in urban renewal, which affects all owners in the block. Our guide to buying property in Türkiye as a foreigner explains the checks to make, and our Istanbul guide covers the city’s districts.
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Sources
- Bakan Kurum duyurdu! Maltepe’de çöken binadaki hak sahipleri yeni evlerine kavuşuyor (Bigpara/Hürriyet)
- Maltepe’de çöken Kardeşler Apartmanı’nın hak sahipleri yeni evlerine kavuşuyor: 20 günde hazırlandı (A Haber)
- Maltepe’de çöken Kardeşler Apartmanı için kentsel dönüşüm kararı: TOKİ 3 alternatif sunacak (Takvim)
Photo: Makalesta2 / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
