Buying property in Istanbul as a foreigner (2026): residence, earthquake and tapu checks

Istanbul is where most foreign buyers in Türkiye end up signing. The general rules (who may buy, the title deed fee, the secure payment system, the documents at the land registry) are explained in our step-by-step guide for foreign buyers. This page covers only what is specific to Istanbul, based on official sources checked on 24 October 2026. We are a translation office, not an estate agency: we give no prices, no neighbourhood recommendations and no investment advice.

Istanbul in the official figures

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) publishes house sales every month. In its bulletin "Konut ve İş Yeri Satış İstatistikleri, Eylül 2026" (16 October 2026):

• sales of homes to foreigners in Türkiye were 2,167 in September 2026, 9.9 percent more than in September 2025, and 1.5 percent of all home sales;
• from January to September 2026, sales to foreigners fell 4.3 percent to 15,308;
• by nationality, the largest buyer groups in September were citizens of the Russian Federation (388), Iraq (166) and Germany (162);
• by province, Istanbul came first with 817 sales to foreigners in September, ahead of Antalya (664), which is about 38 percent of the national total.

Residence permit: check the address first

This is the point where Istanbul differs most from other cities, and it matters for anyone who wants a residence permit as a property owner.

What Göç İdaresi announced

In 2022 the Presidency of Migration Management (Göç İdaresi) began closing neighbourhoods with a high share of foreign residents to new residence registrations. On 30 June 2022 it announced that the number of closed neighbourhoods across Türkiye would rise to 1,169 from 1 July 2022. On 19 October 2022 it added an Istanbul-specific notice: from 20 October 2022, first residence permit applications giving an address in Avcılar, Bahçelievler, Bağcılar, Başakşehir, Esenler, Esenyurt, Fatih, Küçükçekmece, Sultangazi or Zeytinburnu are not accepted, with exceptions.

The exceptions for property buyers

The October 2022 notice lists, among others, these exceptions:

• foreigners who had a preliminary sale contract (taşınmaz satış vaadi sözleşmesi) for a property in these districts before the restriction date and received the title deed afterwards;
• foreigners who already held a title deed for a home in the district before the restriction date and apply for the first time afterwards, together with their family members, for a property-based permit (Article 31(1)(b) of Law 6458);
• applicants under Article 31(1)(j) (investment purposes, the permit route used before citizenship by investment) and their family members;

In other words, a home bought in one of these ten districts after October 2022 does not by itself open the property-owner residence route while the restriction applies.

Check the address before you buy

The October 2022 notice is still online on goc.gov.tr. Closures can change, so check the exact address before you sign:

• enter the address in the e-İkamet application form: the system tells you if the address cannot be used;
• ask the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Migration Management, or call YİMER 157 (from abroad +90 312 157 11 22), which answers in several languages including Russian, Arabic and Persian.

Earthquake hazard and building age

Istanbul lies in a seismically active region, so the building matters as much as the flat. Official tools you can use before a purchase:

• AFAD's Türkiye Earthquake Hazard Map (TDTH) is an interactive map that shows the earthquake hazard values for a location and the active fault data produced by the General Directorate of Mineral Research (MTA). Access is through an e-Devlet login.
• Building code date. The current Türkiye Building Earthquake Regulation (TBDY 2018) was published on 18 March 2018 and came into force on 1 January 2019. A building designed before then was designed under an earlier code. The construction permit (yapı ruhsatı) and occupancy permit (yapı kullanma izin belgesi) dates, available from the district municipality, show which rules applied.
• Compulsory earthquake insurance (DASK). For sales registered since 5 September 2026, the seller's policy ends on the day of the transfer and the buyer must hold a policy in their own name, which the land registry checks. DASK's site offers an address code query (needed for the policy) and an interactive earthquake map. Costs are explained in our purchase costs guide.

Risky buildings and urban transformation

Law 6306 on the Transformation of Areas under Disaster Risk defines a "risky building" (riskli yapı) as one that has completed its economic life or that, on scientific and technical data, is found to be at risk of collapse or heavy damage. Under Article 3 of the law:

• the assessment is primarily commissioned by the owners or their legal representatives, at their own cost, from institutions licensed by the Urban Transformation Presidency; the Presidency or the administration can also order or carry it out;
• owners or their legal representatives can object to the assessment within fifteen days;
• a risky building is reported to the land registry within ten working days of the assessment, to be noted in the declarations section (beyanlar) of the title register; the owners are also notified through e-Devlet and the assessment is posted on the building and announced at the neighbourhood office (muhtarlık) for fifteen days.

For a buyer this means: read the beyanlar section of the title record. The law also provides for evacuation and demolition of risky buildings (Article 5), so take legal advice before you pay. How to see a title record is explained in checking a title deed online.

Istanbul land registry offices

Each of Istanbul's 39 districts has its own land registry office (tapu müdürlüğü), from Adalar to Zeytinburnu. They come under TKGM's II. Istanbul Regional Directorate, which also covers Kocaeli and Sakarya. Practical points:

• Since 1 January 2020 a sale can be processed at a land registry office other than the one where the property is, so the signing does not have to take place in the property's district.
• You or the seller can start the application online through Web Tapu; the office then sends the fees and the signing time by SMS.
• A party who does not speak Turkish must bring a sworn interpreter on a court's official interpreter list: see sworn translator at the title deed office.

Property tax in Istanbul

Annual property tax (emlak vergisi) is governed by Law No. 1319 and collected by the district municipality. Under Article 8, the building tax rate is 0.1 percent for homes and 0.2 percent for other buildings, but these rates are applied with a 100 percent increase inside the boundaries of metropolitan municipalities under Law 5216, which includes all of Istanbul. That gives:

Property	Normal rate	Istanbul (metropolitan)
Home (mesken)	0.1%	0.2%
Other building (e.g. shop, office)	0.2%	0.4%
Building plot (arsa)	0.3%	0.6%
Land (arazi)	0.1%	0.2%

The rate applies to the property's tax value, not to the price you pay. The tax is paid in two equal instalments: the first in March, April and May, the second in November (Article 30). Homes whose tax value is above 17,711,000 TL in 2026 are also subject to the valuable housing tax (değerli konut vergisi), under the threshold set in Property Tax General Communiqué No. 88. Ask the district municipality how to register as the new owner.

Related guides

For the full order of a purchase, read buying property in Türkiye as a foreigner: step by step. See also costs of buying property, residence permit for property owners, citizenship by property investment, checking a title deed online and how to verify a real-estate agent.

How we can help

Turkey Property Desk helps foreign buyers with exactly these steps: we check which documents you need, arrange sworn translations and notarisation, book the land registry appointment, interpret at the signing and follow residence or citizenship applications. Write to us on WhatsApp in your language. For legal checks on a specific property, please use a lawyer and the land registry.