Transferring ownership of real property through a representative acting under a power of attorney is a widely used practice in Turkey, particularly among property owners who reside abroad, are unable to attend Land Registry proceedings in person, or wish to delegate the transaction to a trusted person. The legal mechanism is well established and fully recognized within the Turkish property law framework. However, it carries a distinct set of formal requirements, substantive limitations, and practical risks that distinguish it from a direct transaction conducted by the owner in person. When the power of attorney is drafted correctly and the representative acts within the scope of the authority granted, the transfer is as legally effective as one completed personally by the owner. When either of these conditions fails, the consequences can be severe and the resulting title registration may be challenged in court.
Turkish law treats the transfer of real property as an act that requires a special and explicit grant of authority. The general principle of representation under the Turkish Code of Obligations permits a person to act on behalf of another in legal transactions, but not all acts fall within the scope of a general mandate. Transferring, encumbering, or otherwise disposing of real property is an act of exceptional significance, and the law requires that the power of attorney used for such transactions reflect this significance in both form and content.
The Legal Basis for Property Transactions Through a Representative
The foundational rules governing agency relationships and the limits of representative authority in Turkish law are set out in Articles 502 through 514 of the Turkish Code of Obligations. Of these, Article 504 is the most directly relevant to property transactions. This article establishes that unless explicitly authorized, a representative may not transfer real property, encumber it with a lien or mortgage, or create any other real right over it. The disposition of immovable property therefore falls into the category of acts that require a special and express grant of authority, separate from any general mandate that might already exist between the parties.
Article 504 of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098: Unless specifically authorized to do so, the agent may not file a lawsuit, reach a settlement, submit to arbitration, request bankruptcy, make a commercial paper commitment, make a donation, act as a guarantor, transfer real property, or encumber real property with a limited real right.
This provision means that a person holding only a general power of attorney covering everyday matters — such as banking, utility subscriptions, or administrative procedures — cannot use that document to sell or mortgage the principal’s property at the Land Registry. The power of attorney must specifically and unambiguously include the authority to perform the type of transaction involved. If it does not, the Land Registry will refuse to process the transaction.
Form and Content Requirements for the Power of Attorney
Turkish law requires that a power of attorney used for real property transactions be executed before a notary public. This formal requirement is not merely procedural. The notary’s role is to verify the identity of the person granting the authority, to confirm their legal capacity, and to ensure that the document is executed voluntarily and with full understanding of its content. The notary also affixes an official seal and registers the document in the national notarial records system.
In addition to notarial execution, the power of attorney used for property transactions at the Land Registry must include a photograph of the person granting the authority. This photograph requirement was introduced to assist Land Registry officers in verifying that the document genuinely originates from the person whose name appears on it, and to reduce the risk of identity fraud. A power of attorney without a current photograph is not accepted for use in Land Registry proceedings.
The document must clearly identify the type of transaction that the representative is authorized to perform. A power of attorney drafted for a sale transaction should specifically state the authority to sell, the authority to receive the purchase price, and if relevant the authority to deliver possession of the property. A power of attorney intended for mortgage purposes should specify the authority to encumber the property with a lien in favor of a named or determinable creditor. The more precisely the scope of the authority is defined, the less room there is for dispute about whether a particular act was within the agent’s mandate.
While the law does not generally impose a validity period on powers of attorney, the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre recommends that powers of attorney older than ten years be renewed before use, as the passage of time may raise questions about whether the circumstances that led to the grant of authority still exist. However, under the settled position of the General Directorate and consistent with the Court of Cassation’s case law, age alone does not invalidate a power of attorney provided that none of the statutory grounds for termination have occurred.
Authorizing Specific Properties Versus General Authorization
A recurring practical question in property transactions is whether the power of attorney must name the specific property to be transferred or whether a general authorization over all of the principal’s real estate is sufficient. Turkish law permits both approaches, but the more specific the authorization, the clearer the legal basis for the transaction and the lower the risk of subsequent disputes.
A broadly worded power of attorney may authorize the representative to sell or encumber any property owned by the principal within Turkish territory. This approach provides flexibility when the principal is unsure which properties may need to be transferred, or when multiple transactions are anticipated. However, it also creates a wider scope for potential abuse, since the representative is technically authorized to act with respect to all of the principal’s property portfolio. Where only a specific transaction is contemplated, it is preferable to name the particular property by its land registry parcel number, district, and province, thereby confining the agent’s authority to the identified asset.
The power of attorney may also include a sub-delegation clause, known as tevkil yetkisi, which allows the representative to appoint a substitute agent. This is relevant where the representative may be unavailable to attend the Land Registry on the scheduled date and wishes to delegate the execution of the deed to another person. The original power of attorney must explicitly grant this sub-delegation right, as it does not arise automatically from a general mandate. It is worth noting that the Land Registry keeps the original power of attorney on file after the transaction is completed. If the same document needs to be used at multiple registry offices or for multiple transactions, the principal should obtain certified copies of the original from the notary.
Obtaining a Power of Attorney from Abroad
Property owners who reside outside Turkey frequently need to grant someone in Turkey the authority to manage or transfer their property. Turkish law provides two recognized pathways for obtaining a valid power of attorney from abroad. The first is to attend the Turkish Consulate or Embassy in the country of residence. Turkish consular offices are authorized to perform notarial functions for Turkish citizens abroad, and a power of attorney executed at a consulate carries the same legal force within Turkey as one issued by a domestic notary. No further authentication or apostille is required for consular documents.
The second pathway is to execute the document before a notary public in the foreign country. In this case, the document must be certified with an apostille in accordance with the Hague Convention on Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, to which Turkey is a party. Once the apostille is affixed, the document must be translated into Turkish by a sworn translator and the translation must itself be notarized. Only after these steps have been completed will the Land Registry accept the document as a valid basis for the transaction.
Foreign nationals who own property in Turkey and wish to grant a power of attorney to a Turkish representative must follow the same procedure, adapting it to the requirements of their own country’s notarial system. The Turkish Land Registry has issued circulars clarifying the standards that foreign-issued powers of attorney must meet, and the requirements regarding the photograph of the principal and the specificity of the property-related authorization apply equally to documents issued abroad.
The Title Deed Transfer Process at the Land Registry
Once a valid power of attorney has been obtained, the representative attends the Land Registry Directorate serving the district where the property is located and requests the registration of the transfer. The documents required for this procedure include the original power of attorney, the representative’s own identity document, the title deed or parcel information for the property, the municipality’s statement of the property tax value, compulsory earthquake insurance for residential buildings, and in transactions involving foreign buyers, the property valuation report and the foreign exchange purchase certificate.
The Land Registry officer reviews the power of attorney to confirm that it is current, properly executed, includes the required photograph, and grants the specific authority needed for the transaction at hand. If any deficiency is identified, the transaction is suspended until the deficiency is corrected. The officer then processes the deed, and the transfer is registered in the land register. At this point ownership legally passes to the buyer. Turkish law is clear that informal agreements, private contracts, or even notarized preliminary sale agreements do not transfer ownership of real property. Only registration at the Land Registry is legally constitutive of property rights.
Termination and Revocation of the Power of Attorney
A power of attorney for property transactions may come to an end through several events defined in the Turkish Code of Obligations. The death of either the principal or the agent terminates the mandate as a matter of law, unless the document expressly provides that it shall survive the principal’s death. If the principal loses legal capacity through a court decision or medical incapacity, the mandate also terminates. Bankruptcy of either party, resignation by the agent, or revocation by the principal likewise brings the relationship to an end.
Revocation, known as azil, does not require any particular form under Turkish law. The principal may revoke the power of attorney at any time by giving notice to the agent. However, for the revocation to be effective against third parties — including the Land Registry — it is strongly advisable to notify the Land Registry Directorate of the revocation in writing and to obtain confirmation that the notification has been recorded. A revocation that is not communicated to third parties who deal with the agent in good faith may not be enforceable against them, which can leave the principal exposed to transactions they no longer wish to authorize.
Abuse of Authority and Fraudulent Transfers
The risks associated with property transfers through powers of attorney arise primarily from two scenarios: the representative exceeding the scope of the authority granted, and the use of a forged or fraudulently obtained power of attorney by a person who was never actually authorized by the property owner. Both scenarios can result in a property being transferred without the genuine consent of the owner, and both are addressed through specific provisions of Turkish property law.
Article 1023 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721: A third party who acquires ownership or another real right in good faith, relying on the entry in the land register, shall have that acquisition protected.
The protection of good faith third parties under Article 1023 of the Turkish Civil Code is the central tension in cases of fraudulent property transfer. Where a representative acting under a forged power of attorney transfers property to a buyer who had no knowledge of the forgery and no reason to suspect it, the buyer’s acquisition may be protected against cancellation if the buyer acted in good faith and relied on the land register entry. The original owner loses the property and is left with a claim for compensation against the perpetrator of the fraud.
However, this protection does not extend to the immediate recipient of a fraudulent transfer. A person who acquires property directly from a forged or unauthorized power of attorney cannot invoke the good faith protection of Article 1023, because that person is the first link in the fraudulent chain. It is only subsequent buyers, who acquired the property from this person in reliance on the land register and without knowledge of the underlying fraud, who may claim protection.
Where a title registration is challenged on the grounds of a forged power of attorney, the property owner may bring a title cancellation and re-registration lawsuit before the civil court. The court examines the authenticity of the power of attorney, the scope of the authority it purported to grant, and the good faith of any subsequent transferees. Where the forgery is established and the immediate transferee acted in bad faith, the title is cancelled and re-registered in the name of the original owner. The state bears liability for title registry errors under Article 1007 of the Turkish Civil Code, which may also provide a basis for compensation where the Land Registry failed to detect a forged document that should have been identified through proper scrutiny.
Real Estate Lawyer in Istanbul – Attorney Ozan Soylu
Attorney Ozan Soylu is a practicing lawyer based in Istanbul, advising property owners and buyers on power of attorney procedures, Land Registry transactions, and legal remedies in cases of unauthorized or fraudulent property transfers under Turkish law. His practice covers the preparation of legally compliant powers of attorney for domestic and overseas clients, representation in title cancellation and re-registration disputes, and legal support throughout the property acquisition and transfer process in Turkey.
For all legal matters concerning Turkish law, you can reach out to Attorney Ozan Soylu. Legal consultancy and representation services are provided with a dedicated approach for foreign nationals. To submit your questions, contact us.
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