TÜRKIYE Law and Practice Contributed by: Serkan Gül, Nazım O Kurt and Türkay Avanaş, Hergüner Bilgen Üçer Attorney Partnership
2.7 Soil Pollution or Environmental Contamination The obligation to comply with environmental regulations is generally imposed on owners of real property rather than the property itself. As such, a buyer of real property is in principle not responsible for any contamination that took place prior to their taking ownership. However, contamination may carry with it the presumption that the current occupant caused the contami - nation, and in such an event, the occupant may need to defeat that presumption by proving that it was an earlier occupant who caused the con - tamination. This is one area where due diligence findings may prove useful. 2.8 Permitted Uses of Real Estate Under Zoning or Planning Law A buyer can ascertain the permitted uses of a parcel of real estate by consulting the zoning plans, the plan notes for the plot concerned, and zoning legislation. The zoning plans concerning each locality contain specific instructions on how each parcel may be developed or used; these instructions both reveal the general plan for the use of land in the locality and indicate how each parcel fits into the whole. It is generally not possible to alter zoning restric - tions for particular parcels on a project basis through agreements with local zoning authori - ties, especially after an amendment introduced to the Zoning Law in 2020 which specifically prohibits zoning plan amendments for particu - lar parcels that increase the population, building density, number of storeys or building height. 2.9 Condemnation, Expropriation or Compulsory Purchase Turkish law permits the government to take land if there is a public need. The transfer can take place voluntarily, or the government can file suit
to condemn a piece of private property and, in due course, assume ownership. Voluntary trans - fers can be in exchange for cash or for another piece of government-held property. If the parties cannot come to an agreement on the consideration for a voluntary exchange, the government can file suit to establish the value of the land to be condemned. In a condemnation suit, the court appoints an expert to establish the value of the land to be condemned, and the par - ties can contest the expert’s valuation in open court. The court then establishes the value of the land and, upon payment of this sum, orders the registration of the land in the name of the condemning agency. The condemnation com - pensation may be split into instalments, and, if this is ordered, registration may begin after the payment of the first instalment. In practice, developed land is rarely condemned. 2.10 Taxes Applicable to a Transaction Transfers of real estate through asset deals are subject to title deed registration fees, VAT and income/corporate income tax. Share sales are subject to VAT and capital gains tax. However, VAT, income tax and capital gains tax are subject to exemptions that are relatively easy to satisfy. Title Registration Fees Title registration fees of 4% of the value of the asset are assessed on sales of real estate by asset sale. These fees are generally split equally between the buyer and seller (ie, assuming only one buyer, and thus half each). VAT If the seller is a legal entity, VAT is assessed on the transferred property at 20% for office space and commercial property and at 1%, 10% or 20% for residential property, depending on the
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