Following the introduction of an additional article to the Regulation on the Amendment of the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles for Conducting Transactions regarding the Properties Registered Outside the Jurisdiction of the Land Registry Offices ("Regulation"), it is no longer required for parties to be present at the same land registry office where a property is located at the same time when sales, donations and property exchange transactions are carried out.

Even if parties are located in separate jurisdictions of different land registry offices or foreign countries, with the introduction of the additional article to the Regulation, they are now able to carry out title deed transactions from different cities or countries.

Before the Regulation entered into force, in order to conduct title deed transaction, both citizens of the Republic of Turkey and foreign parties (or their proxies) had to be ready and present at the same land registry office where a property is located at the same time. With the additional article introduced by the Regulation this is no longer the case for persons residing in different cities or countries. However, it should be noted that parties residing in the same province where a property is located should still apply to the land registry office where it is located.

Although the Regulation published in the Official Gazette on 14.12.2019 entered into force on 01.01.2020 (Please see the regulation via this link -Available only in Turkish), it was only initiated in selected pilot regions. The General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre announced on 07.09.2020 that it will now be effective in all land registry offices as of 15.09.2020.

The aim of this application is to allow parties to carry out title deed transactions without leaving their place of residence, preventing any loss of time and saving parties from travel, accommodation, and similar expenses. The application is also important in terms of preventing the spread of Covid-19 during the pandemic and protecting public health.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.