Immovable Property Sales at Notary Offices Commenced as of 04/07/2023.

Through Law No. 7413 published in the Official Gazette dated 28/06/2022, which amends the Judges and Prosecutors Act and Some Laws, an amendment was made to Articles 28, 30, 60, and 61 of Law No. 1512 on Notaries, and Article 61/A was added to the relevant law. The changes planned to take effect on 01/01/2023, as published in the Official Gazette, were extended by Presidential Decree and came into effect on 04/07/2023, enabling immovable property sales within notary offices in accordance with the relevant amendments.

The relevant legal provisions that made immovable property sales possible at notary offices through Law No. 7413, which amends the Judges and Prosecutors Act and Some Laws, as well as Law No. 1512 on Notaries, are as follows:

Article 9 - Article 28 of Law No. 1512 on Notaries, dated 18/1/1972, has been amended as follows:

"Article 28 - The withdrawal requests of applicants who apply for appointment or transfer shall be evaluated in the appointment process within one month from the date of publication made by Article 22, provided that they are physically delivered to the Ministry of Justice or transmitted electronically; otherwise, the withdrawal request shall not be taken into consideration."

Article 11 - The first paragraph of Article 60 of Law No. 1512 is amended as follows:

"3. To make a promise-to-sell agreement for immovable property and register it in the land registry through the land registry information system upon request of one of the parties by paying the fees and expenses, and to make an immovable property sales agreement,"

Article 12 - The following article is added after Article 61 of Law No. 1512:

"Immovable Property Sales Agreement:

Article 61/A - Notaries can also make the immovable property sales agreement.

Notaries prepare the application document upon the application for immovable property sales, take into account all kinds of restrictions on the property, and comply with the limitations and principles stated in other laws regarding immovable property sales.

The General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre shares the land registry extract and other documents with notaries through the land registry information system. In case of any deficiencies in the records and documents related to the property, the missing information is requested from the relevant land registry office through this system, and the defects are rectified by the land registry office and transferred to the system. After determining the rightful owner by notaries and establishing that there is no legal impediment to the sale of the immovable property, an immovable property sales agreement is made.

Once the sales agreement is signed by the parties, the notary obtains a registration number from the land registry information system and records the agreement in the system. The registration of the property in the land registry is ensured by the land registry office after the agreement is registered in the system. The sales agreement and other documents are transferred to the system by notaries and archived physically.

Notaries personally handle the procedures related to the immovable property sales agreement.

If the rightful owner cannot be determined from the land registry extract and other documents or if there is a legal impediment to the sale, the notaries shall not proceed with the sale transaction.

Only the land registry fee is collected by subparagraph (a) of paragraph (20) of the "I-Land Registry Procedures" section of the Schedule attached to Law No. 492 dated 2/7/1964 for immovable property sales agreements made by notaries. The provisions of Law No. 492 regarding land registry fees and the necessary fees are applied, and the provisions of Article 128 of the same Law are applied to notaries who perform transactions without collecting the required fees.

Immovable property sales agreements are exempt from stamp duty and valuable paper fees.

No other than notary fees are charged for the transactions carried out under this article. The notary fee cannot be less than five hundred Turkish liras or exceed four thousand Turkish liras, and it is indicated in the fee schedule. These amounts are increased by the revaluation rate announced by Article 298 (b) of the Tax Procedure Law No. 213 dated 4/1/1961, taking effect from the beginning of the calendar year corresponding to the previous year.

A service fee is collected from the Land Registry and Cadastre General Directorate's revolving fund for immovable property sales transactions, and no shares or dues are paid to notaries for these transactions.

The procedures and principles regarding the implementation of this article shall be regulated by a regulation to be issued by the Ministry of Justice, taking the opinions of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change."

Article 13 - The following paragraph is added after the first paragraph of Article 162 of Law No. 1512, and the phrase "first paragraph" in the existing second paragraph is replaced with "first and second paragraphs":

"Notaries are also liable for the damages arising from the preparation of the immovable property sales agreement. If the State pays for such damages, the State shall seek recourse from the notary who prepared the agreement. Lawsuits against notaries shall be heard in the local court where the land registry is located."

Article 14 - The following temporary article is added to Law No. 1512:

"TEMPORARY ARTICLE 21 - The amended or repealed provisions of Articles 28 and 30 and the announcement and actions related to the appointments and transfers made as of the effective date of this article shall continue to apply.

The amendment made to Article 60 and the addition of Article 61/A shall be applicable from the date of the announcement of the establishment of the information system specified in these articles on the official website of the Ministry of Justice. This information system shall be established by 1/1/2023. The President may extend this period for up to six months."

With the implementation of the official practice allowing immovable property sales at notary offices, many conveniences have been provided to citizens regarding property sales. With the entry into force of the relevant implementation, property sales transactions, which were previously only possible on weekdays at Land Registry Offices, can now be carried out at notary offices on weekends as well."