The law behind urban transformation
The framework is Law No. 6306 on the Transformation of Areas Under Disaster Risk, in force since 2012 and significantly reshaped by amendments in November 2023. Its Implementation Regulation was then substantially amended on 4 February 2026, tightening the rules on how risky buildings are identified, how owners are notified and object, how decisions are taken, and what happens to the title after demolition. The programme is run by the Urban Transformation Presidency under the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change. The Law is a special regime: once it applies, it overrides ordinary condominium-law decision rules and gives the administration powers it does not otherwise have. If you are still at the acquisition stage, our guide to buying property in Turkey covers the due diligence — including the title-deed check where a risk annotation would appear.
What a "risky building" finding is — and who can trigger it
A risky building, in the Law's terms, is one that has reached the end of its economic life or that scientific and technical analysis shows is at risk of collapse or heavy damage. The finding is made by licensed organisations authorised by the Presidency, and it can be initiated by the application of just one owner — the consent of the other owners is not required, a point confirmed in settled practice. The Ministry can also order an assessment on its own initiative. Once a finding is made, it is annotated in the declarations section of the title deed, so it travels with the property and is visible to any buyer.
Objecting: the fifteen- and thirty-day clocks
If you disagree with a risk finding, the time to act is short. An owner or their legal representative can object within fifteen days by petition to the relevant directorate, where a technical board reviews it. If the objection is rejected and the finding becomes final, the finding is an administrative act that can be challenged before the administrative courts within thirty days under the Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577. One feature of the Law is critical to understand: in these cases the court cannot order a stay of execution, so litigation does not, by itself, freeze the demolition timetable. For an owner abroad, the practical danger is that these clocks start running from notification, and a missed notice is a missed deadline.
Decisions your neighbours can make without you
This is where urban transformation surprises many owners. Once a risk finding is final, the key decisions — how to rebuild, which contractor to appoint, the terms of the deal — are no longer taken unanimously. Under the Law they are taken by a majority of the owners calculated by their shares, not by everyone agreeing. The 4 February 2026 amendment formalised the meeting procedure: at the request of at least one owner, all owners must be called to a meeting using a prescribed form, announced or served by notary with a fifteen-day notice. If you are not reachable, the process can proceed around you.
What happens if you don't agree
An owner who does not join the majority decision does not simply keep the status quo. Under the Law, the share of an owner who declines the agreed proposal can be sold to the consenting owners by auction, at no less than a value assessed for the purpose; if no owner buys it, the Presidency, the administration or TOKİ can acquire it. In other words, holding out does not stop the transformation — it can end with your share being sold. This is one of the strongest reasons for a foreign owner to engage early rather than ignore the notices, because the alternative is losing the flat at an assessed value rather than shaping the outcome.
Demolition, eviction and what happens to your title
Once a finding is final, owners are given a period — not exceeding ninety days — to demolish; if they do not, the administration demolishes the building. Utilities such as electricity, water and natural gas can be cut to speed evacuation, and where evacuation is resisted it can be carried out with official support. If the building is tenanted, the works interact with tenancy law, and the position of a tenant during transformation is a distinct question from the ordinary rules on how a landlord can evict a tenant. On demolition, the condominium ownership or easement over the building ends automatically and the property becomes land; the owners' rights continue as shared ownership in proportion to their land shares, and existing annotations and rights carry over onto those shares. Your ownership is not extinguished — it changes form, from a flat to a share of the plot that will be rebuilt.
The contractor agreement is where owners lose money
The single most important private document in this process is the agreement with the construction contractor (müteahhit), and it is where owners most often suffer losses. It sets out what you receive in the new building — which unit, what size, on what timetable, with what guarantees — and a poorly drafted agreement can leave you with far less than your share is worth. Because the majority can bind the minority on the choice of contractor and the broad terms, understanding and negotiating this agreement before signing, rather than after, is the point at which legal advice pays for itself.
Supports, tax and fee reliefs
The programme is not only about obligations. Owners whose risky buildings are demolished may benefit from rent assistance or interest support for financing, subject to limits and to not combining certain supports. There are also tax and fee reliefs: the Law exempts a range of transactions from various charges, and municipalities do not levy certain fees on new construction area up to one and a half times the existing area. Tenants who have used the building for at least a year are also recognised in parts of the process. The reliefs are real, but they are conditional, and claiming them correctly is part of getting the process right — and they sit alongside the ordinary taxes foreign owners pay on Turkish property.
Doing this from abroad
Every deadline in this process runs on Turkish time and through Turkish-language notices, which is exactly the problem for an owner who lives elsewhere. A power of attorney lets a representative receive notifications, lodge objections within the fifteen-day window, attend and vote at owners' meetings, review and negotiate the contractor agreement, and bring an administrative case if needed — with the notices, technical reports and agreements prepared to sworn-translation standard. The risk for a foreign owner is almost never the Law itself; it is not seeing a notice in time. Handling the legal steps and the certified translation through one point of contact is what prevents a missed deadline from becoming a lost flat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one neighbour have the whole building declared risky? Yes. A risk finding can be initiated by a single owner's application; the other owners' consent is not required.
How do I object to a risk finding? By petition to the relevant directorate within fifteen days. If rejected and the finding becomes final, you can bring an administrative court case within thirty days.
Does going to court stop the demolition? Not automatically. In these cases the court cannot order a stay of execution, so litigation does not freeze the timetable on its own.
Do all owners have to agree to rebuild? No. Once a risk finding is final, decisions are taken by a majority of the owners by shares, not unanimously.
What if I refuse the majority's decision? Your share can be sold to the consenting owners by auction at an assessed value, and if unsold acquired by the authorities. Holding out does not preserve the status quo.
Do I lose my ownership when the building is demolished? No, it changes form. Condominium ownership becomes a share of the land in proportion to your prior share, and your rights carry over to that share.
How long do I have to demolish? Owners are given a period not exceeding ninety days once the finding is final; otherwise the administration demolishes the building.
Can they cut off the utilities? Yes. Electricity, water and gas can be suspended to speed evacuation of a risky building.
Is there any financial help? There may be rent assistance or interest support, plus tax and fee reliefs, subject to conditions and limits.
What is the biggest risk in the process? The contractor agreement. It determines what you get in the new building, and a weak agreement is where owners lose value.
I live abroad. Can I handle this remotely? Yes, through a power of attorney covering notifications, objections, owners' meetings, the contractor agreement and any court case, with sworn translations of the documents.
What changed on 4 February 2026? The Implementation Regulation was substantially amended, tightening identification, notification and objection procedures, the owners' meeting process, share-sale rules and post-demolition title steps.
Does a risk finding show on the title? Yes. It is annotated in the declarations section of the title deed, so it is visible to any prospective buyer.
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Received a "risky building" notice?
If your building has been found risky or your neighbours are moving toward transformation, we can review the notice and deadlines, protect your position at the owners' meetings, and check the contractor agreement before you sign — with translations handled in one place. Get in touch to discuss your situation.
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