As is the case with many laws, Turkish law before the legal amendments that took place in 2012 applied the principle of reciprocity in dealing with foreigners wishing to buy real estate in Turkey, but after the many legal amendments made by the Turkish legislator in this regard, the situation has changed a lot, especially And Article 35 of the amended Constitution of the Republic of Turkey issued in 1982 stipulates that “everyone has the right to own and inherit property. This right may not be restricted except by law and for the purposes of the public interest. The right to property may not be exercised in contradiction with the public interest.”
Based on the foregoing, the Turkish Real Estate Registration Law No. 2644 issued on 12/22/1934 limited the possibility of foreigners owning real estate. However, this situation changed after the amendment of Article 35 of the law according to Amendment Law No. 6302 dated 3/5/2012. Despite this, the legislator kept many restrictions, as in the prohibition provided for under the Military and Security Prohibited Zones Law No. 2565. Article 2 of it stipulated that prohibited military zones may be established by a decision of the President of the Republic. Military restricted areas are divided into military prohibited areas of the first and second degree. Article 1 defines the aforementioned areas as military installations, areas and borders of vital importance for the defense of the homeland within its perimeter, on its shores and in its airspace, to ensure its security and privacy. These areas also include areas of military exclusion from sea and air. In the same context, Article 7/1 stipulates that the following principles shall be applied in the land areas that are prohibited militarily in the first degree:
a) real estate within the area is confiscated,
b) – (1) Allowing family members of the officials here to enter and reside in the area,
(2) Turkish citizens can benefit from the water resources in the region,
(3) Passage through the roads to be specified within the area, while clause text
c) On the possibility of temporary entry and residence of foreigners in the region by permission of the authority of the General Staff.
Thus, we find that despite the change that occurred in the Turkish law to allow foreigners to own real estate in Turkey, some restrictions remained in terms of places of ownership and some foreign nationalities as well.
