Secure Payment for Property Sales in Turkey: What Changes on 1 December 2026

In short: From 1 December 2026, the cash and bank-transfer part of a property price in Turkey must pass through a state-run secure payment system that releases the money to the seller only when the title deed changes hands.

From 1 December 2026, buying a home in Turkey works differently at the moment that matters most: when the money moves. The cash and bank-transfer part of the price must be paid through a new secure payment system, and the seller receives it only when the title deed (tapu) is registered in the buyer's name.

The rule was added to the Regulation on Real Estate Trade on 29 April 2026 and was due to start on 1 July. It was postponed twice, most recently by an amendment published in the Official Gazette on 1 October 2026, which set the new start date of 1 December 2026. The regulation still lets the Ministry of Trade extend that date by up to three months, and the system may start with a pilot phase.

1. What changes

Until now, buyers and sellers agreed among themselves how and when the money moved: a transfer the day before, a cheque at the land registry office, sometimes cash. From 1 December:

1. The buyer pays into the system, not to the seller.

2. The land registry transfer is completed. The system checks it through the land registry's data infrastructure.

3. The money is released to the seller at the same time as the transfer. If the transfer does not happen, the seller does not receive the price; the regulation leaves the refund procedure to the implementing rules.

The aim is simple: neither side carries the risk of handing over money or a deed without receiving the other in return.

2. Who it covers

The text covers sales by real-estate businesses and by other individuals and companies, so private sales between individuals are included, not only sales through agents. It applies to homes, land, shops and offices.

Two parts sit outside the system:

• The loan-financed part of the price. Money paid by a bank or finance company under a mortgage follows its own route. The buyer's own contribution, such as the down payment, still goes through the system.

• Sales the authorities exclude. These will be listed in a protocol between the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, and the company authorised to run the system. That protocol has not been published yet.

Transfers that are not sales, such as gifts and inheritance, are not affected.

3. Costs

Every transaction carries a usage fee, deducted from the amount paid to the seller. The amount and how it is calculated will be set in the same protocol; no figure has been announced.

4. What is still open

As of 27 October 2026, these points are not yet settled in a published text:

• whether there will be a pilot phase, and where;

• the size of the usage fee;

• the list of excluded sales;

• refund timing if a transfer fails;

• how deposits (kapora) and payments under a promise-to-sell contract are treated;

• whether a land registry office can register a sale made outside the system after 1 December.

For real-estate businesses, breaking the rule can bring an administrative fine under Law No. 6585. For private sellers the regulation does not set a specific penalty.

5. What this means for foreign buyers

The regulation does not set special rules for foreign buyers or for payments in foreign currency. The existing requirements stay in place: a foreign buyer pays through a Turkish bank, which issues a foreign-currency purchase certificate (DAB) for the land registry, and citizenship files also need a TTB certificate based on a valuation report, with bank records proving the payment. Outside citizenship cases, a valuation report is not required for foreign buyers. In practice, plan for the payment to move through a Turkish bank account in your name, and avoid paying large sums in cash or directly to a seller before the deed is transferred.

6. How to prepare

• Check your transfer date. Sales completed before 1 December 2026 follow the old rules.

• Keep deposits small and documented. Pay them by bank transfer with a clear description, and put the terms in writing.

• Ask how the seller's side will pay the fee. It comes out of the seller's proceeds, so it may come up in price talks.

• Allow time. A new system, new bank integrations and a December start date mean the first weeks may be slower at land registry offices.

For buyers applying for citizenship, the payment rules sit alongside the new valuation rules from 28 September. For the costs that follow after you buy, see our guide to annual property taxes in Turkey.

If you are planning a purchase around the December start date, contact our Istanbul office and we will walk you through the timing.

Updated 27 October 2026. Rules and dates can change; check the latest Official Gazette text before you sign.

Sources

The rules in this article are taken from the Regulation on Real Estate Trade (Taşınmaz Ticareti Hakkında Yönetmelik), additional Article 1 and provisional Article 1, as published in the Official Gazette:

• Resmî Gazete 29.04.2026, No. 33238

• Resmî Gazete 01.10.2026, No. 33387

This article is for information only and is not legal advice. · Pergas Yönetim Danışmanlık İnşaat Ticaret Ltd. Şti.