A law published in the Official Gazette No. 31880 dated June 28, 2022 makes significant amendments to Law No. 1512 “On Notaries” and authorizes notaries to execute real estate purchase and sale agreements in Turkey.
No later than January 1, 2023 will enter into force a long-discussed provision authorizing the notarization of contracts for the sale of real estate in Turkey, which is considered an opportunity to simplify and expedite the registration of transactions for the sale of real estate, following the example of other countries.
According to the regulation, after completing the exchange of documents, notaries check the ownership records and documents related to the real estate with the land registry authorities through the land registry information system. Based on the results of this check, if there are no legal obstacles to the sale of the property, the notaries will prepare an agreement for the sale of real estate and transfer it to the land registry information system.
After registering the agreement in the information system, the land registry department registers the agreement in the respective land registry records. In this regard, the right to change entries in the land registry is not granted to notaries, but remains with the land cadastre authorities.
The financial side of the real estate purchase and sale transaction to be executed by notaries will not differ much from that in the cadastre. In accordance with the Law, real estate contracts executed by notaries will be exempt from stamp duty, and the documents issued in connection with these transactions will also be exempt from securities fees. The following fees will be charged for notarized real estate transactions:
The fee for the document of title as provided in subparagraph (a) of paragraph (20) of the section “Transactions on the document of title” of Tariff No. (4) attached to Act No. 492 on Fees.
The notary fee specified in the table of fees, provided that it is not less than 500 Turkish Liras and not more than 4000 Turkish Liras depending on the value of the property.
The fee shall be registered as income in the Working Capital Department of the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre.
