Foreign nationals who sell or rent out property in Türkiye are facing closer scrutiny under updated rules being rolled out by the Ministry of Trade, Türkiye Today reported on Sept. 24, citing a report in the daily Hürriyet.
The ministry says the aim is to remove fake listings from online portals, curb price manipulation and crack down on unlicensed estate agents, as part of broader efforts against inflation.
Verification before advertising
Under the Electronic Listing Verification System, a property can only be advertised for sale or rent on online platforms after the owner's identity and title deed details have been verified. Listings that fail the check are blocked.
The system has so far worked mainly for Turkish citizens through the e-Devlet government portal. According to the report, foreign property owners will no longer be exempt and will need to complete the same verification before their homes can appear online.
The rules on estate agents are also changing. Digital authorization of an agent through e-Devlet will no longer be sufficient on its own. Agents and foreign owners will also have to sign a formal written brokerage agreement, and an agent without both the physical contract and the digital registration will not be able to market the property.
Fines and inspections
Authorities have stepped up street and online inspections targeting unregistered brokers, particularly in neighborhoods with large expatriate populations. According to the report, inspections have so far resulted in administrative fines of more than 105 million liras imposed on 1,800 individuals and agencies found to be in breach of the rules.
Officials have urged foreigners to work only with licensed agents who hold an official Certificate of Authorization, known in Turkish as the "Yetki Belgesi," and said spot checks will continue.
The report also noted that the planned Secure Payment System for property sales, under which buyers' money is released to sellers only after the land registry confirms the title transfer, had been postponed to give banks and title deed offices time to prepare. The ministry has since set Dec. 1, 2026, as the new start date.
Possible reductions in title deed transfer fees are also being discussed, the report said, but any change would need approval from the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. No decision has been announced.
Sources
- Expats beware: Türkiye's new property rules target foreign buyers and sellers
- Güvenli Ödeme Sistemi yine ertelendi (NTV)
Photo: Alet123 / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
