Urban Regeneration

• Review of the land registry record, land shares, condominium ownership or servitude of floor ownership (kat irtifakı) status and authority to apply before the risky building determination
• Monitoring the process by which the determination is carried out by an institution or organization licensed by the Presidency of Urban Transformation (Kentsel Dönüşüm Başkanlığı)
• Organizing the legal and technical review of the risky building determination report
• Checking the building ID number, report, notification to the land registry and risky building notation
• Determining the routes of application against risky building determinations considered to be contrary to the facts or the legislation
• Assessment of claims of inadequate inspection, samples, load-bearing system, data or calculations together with technical experts

A risky building determination is made by the competent organizations according to the technical principles in force, not on the basis of a legal opinion. Attorney services cover authority, notification, time limits, the legal consequences of the report, preparation of the technical objection and, where the dispute must be brought before the administrative courts, the conduct of the judicial process.

• Review of the neighborhood head’s office announcement, the e-Devlet notification, the record posted on the building and other notifications
• Preparing the technical objection to the risky building determination within the time limit and submitting it to the competent authority
• Identifying the legal and technical deficiencies on which the technical panel review is based
• Assessment of the conditions for an annulment action against the rejection of the objection or against acts that become final directly
• Preparing a request for a stay of execution for the specific case where there is a likelihood of damage that is difficult to remedy
• Conduct of appeal proceedings and, once the conditions are met, proceedings before the Court of Cassation

A technical objection to a risky building determination can be made within fifteen days from the last day of the announcement made at the relevant neighborhood head’s office. As the time limit for bringing an action regarding administrative acts established under Law No. 6306 may be thirty days, unlike the general time limit, the date of notification or announcement must be determined separately for each act.

• Review of eviction and demolition notices for procedure and time limits
• Determining the legal position of the building’s owners, tenants and actual users
• Monitoring the demolition permit, the eviction of the building and the shutdown of services such as electricity, water and natural gas
• Legal applications concerning eviction or demolition acts to be carried out by the administration
• Disputes concerning the charging of demolition costs to the owners and their collection as a public receivable
• Delivery and recording procedures for common areas, independent units and movable property
• Preservation of evidence before demolition, recording the existing building and independent units

After a risky building determination becomes final, the owners may be given a period for eviction and demolition. Failure to demolish within the period may lead to the discontinuation of utility services, the eviction and demolition of the building by the administration, and the collection of the costs from the owners in proportion to their shares.

• Ensuring that experts examine whether the building is technically suitable for strengthening
• Assessment of the strengthening project, permit and implementation conditions
• Review of disputes among condominium owners concerning the strengthening decision
• Determination and court proceedings concerning the necessity or feasibility of strengthening
• Preparation of the work contract, technical specification, security and supervision provisions for the strengthening work
• Procedures for removing the risky building notation from the land registry record after strengthening is completed

The strengthening option should not be determined by cost comparison alone. The technical condition of the building, development rights, the decision requirements under condominium ownership law, the possibility of obtaining a permit, loss of use and long-term safety must be assessed together.

• Verifying the list of owners and land shares against land registry records
• Meeting call, agenda, sharing of offers and preparation of the meeting minutes
• Legal review of owner decisions on contractor selection, new implementation, project and contract
• Calculating the decision quorum on the basis of land shares
• Proper notification of the decision and the terms of the agreement to the owners who do not take part in the decision
• Resolving disputes over defective calls, inadequate information, unauthorized representation, powers of attorney, signatures and majorities
• Lawsuits and defenses concerning the validity of owner decisions

In the re-evaluation decision under Law No. 6306, the will of the co-owners representing more than half of the shares in the relevant property is the basis. Attempting unanimity first is not accepted as a mandatory preliminary stage. The call to the meeting, the meeting quorum, the signed minutes and the notification of the offer to those who do not take part in the decision are completed separately.

• Identifying the owners who do not take part in the absolute majority decision and their share ratios
• Notification of the decision and the terms of the agreement by notary, neighborhood head’s office announcement and other statutory methods
• Preparing the share sale application file or conducting a legal review against the application
• Subjecting the market value determined by the Value Determination Commission (Bedel Tespiti Komisyonu) to expert review
• Monitoring the auction, participation, security, payment and registration at the land registry
• Assessment of the conditions for an annulment action against the sale or the administrative acts preceding the sale
• Review of claims concerning the right of ownership, defective notification, true value and proportionality

The sale of a share does not happen automatically. The invitation documents to the meeting and the minutes, the majority calculation, the notification of the decision and the offer, the acceptance period, the valuation and the auction file are reviewed together. The participant and announcement conditions of the first sale and subsequent sales differ; the sale procedures for the risky building and for the area-based implementation are not confused.

• Preparing construction-in-return-for-land-share, work, turnkey construction and project development contracts
• Review of the form required for the validity of the contract and of the owners’ authority of representation
• Checking that land shares, independent units and allocation schedules are consistent with the contract
• Binding the architectural project, technical specification, room schedule and material standards to the contract
• Regulating responsibilities for the construction permit, project approval, demolition, construction site and occupancy permit
• Determining the start of construction, staged delivery, final delivery and delay provisions
• Structuring bank letter of guarantee, mortgage, suretyship, insurance and other safeguard models
• Tying the transfer of land shares to the construction level and limiting the risk of an uncontrolled advance transfer
• Regulating additional costs, tax, fees, rent assistance, temporary housing, dues and common expenses
• Preparing provisions on defects, incomplete work, delay, contractual penalty, termination, liquidation and dispute resolution

In an urban transformation contract, it is not enough to write only the allocation of independent units. The possibility that the project cannot be completed, the contractor’s financial structure, whether the securities can be converted into cash, the level of progress at which the title transfer will be made, and responsibility for the permit and the occupancy permit must be clearly regulated in the contract.

• Review of the contractor’s trade registry, authority of representation, shareholding and capital structure
• Assessment of the authorization certificate, ongoing projects and publicly available legal records
• Comparing offers in terms of independent units, square meters, materials, time, cost and security
• Assessment of the contractor’s use of subcontractors, project financing and liability structure
• Preparing a legal risk report before the contract
• Representing the owners or the contractor in the meeting, negotiation and contract signing process

A contractor review does not give a “guarantee of success”; however, by making the company’s legal structure, authority of representation, commitments and proposed safeguards visible before the contract is made, foreseeable risks can be reduced.

• Reviewing whether the land shares in the land registry are consistent with the location and value of the existing independent units
• Ensuring that experts determine the existing values before the transformation
• Comparing the independent units to be given in the new project in terms of location, facade, floor, area and appurtenances
• Regulating location premium, value difference, equalization payment and additional payment methods
• Resolving disputes over incorrect land shares and distribution of independent units
• Assessing the differences between land registry records, the architectural project and actual use
• Examining the effect of mortgages, attachments, usufruct, family residence, injunctions and other encumbrances on the transformation process

Equal square meters do not always mean equal value. In the distribution of independent units, value elements such as floor, facade, view, type of use, appurtenances, access and location within the project must be considered together.

• Review of the effect of risk area or reserve building area decisions on the property
• Monitoring the processes of rights-holder status, valuation, eviction, demolition, settlement and allocation
• Assessment of zoning plans, parcellation, the new ownership structure and the allocation of independent units
• Advice in area-based absolute majority and share sale processes
• Review of contracts made with the administration, consent letters, debt obligations (borçlandırma) and delivery documents
• Administrative applications and court routes against risk area or reserve building area decisions and implementation acts
• Assessment of expropriation, urgent expropriation and other interferences with the right of ownership

A risky building, a risk area and a reserve building area are not the same legal status. The authority making the decision, the method to be applied, the owners’ decision process, planning authority and the possibilities of judicial application may vary according to the specific status.

• Assessment of application conditions for owners, tenants and holders of limited real rights
• Comparing rent assistance and interest-subsidized loan options
• Preparing and following up eviction or relocation support applications
• Applications concerning rejection of the application, incomplete payment or disputes over rights-holder status
• Assessment of the tax, fee and charge exemptions provided by law according to the act
• Following up exemption documents in land registry, notary, municipality and financing transactions
• Review of the current conditions of periodic or regional support programs

Because support amounts and program conditions may change over time, no transaction should be made on the basis of old figures found online. Whether rent assistance and interest support can be used together by the same person, the application date and the eviction conditions must be checked according to the current regulation.

• Assessment of the tenant’s eviction notice and relocation and support rights
• Determining how the lease will be affected by the risky building and demolition process
• Disputes concerning security deposit, advance rent, fixtures and delivery of the property
• The effect of usufruct, right of habitation and other limited real rights on the transformation process
• Assessment of business interruption, eviction and contractual relationships of commercial tenants
• Establishing delivery, recording and documentation before eviction

Being a tenant or the holder of a limited real right does not give a vote in the reconstruction decision taken by the owners as an owner; however, it may give rise to rights that must be separately protected in terms of eviction, contract, support and use relationships.

• Review of the relationship between parcel, cadastral block (ada), building block and large-scale development
• Determining for which building or block the risky building determination has consequences
• Assessment of the management plan, common areas, land shares and owner decisions
• Resolving problems of phased transformation, shared infrastructure and project integrity
• Legal coordination of more than one contractor or different implementation proposals
• Separating the authorities and responsibilities of the site management and the owners’ assemblies

In sites with more than one block, taking a decision without jointly reviewing the technical status of each building, the ownership structure of the parcel and the management plan may give rise to disputes over the calculation of the majority and the area of implementation.

• Legal follow-up of the demolition permit and new construction permit procedures
• Assessment of the effect of zoning status, plan notes and project conditions on the transformation contract
• Comparing the architectural project with the allocation of independent units in the contract
• Land registry transactions required by parcel consolidation, subdivision and implementation
• Registration procedures for servitude of floor ownership, condominium ownership and independent units
• Obtaining the occupancy permit and delivery procedures
• Review of the effect of mortgages, attachments, annotations and other records in the land registry on the new title deeds

Before the permit application, it is checked whether the decision and the offer have been properly notified to the owners who do not take part in the decision, and in which cases an application for a share sale must be made. Implementing Regulation Article 15/4 requires the sale application at this stage; this is not the same as the sale having been completed. General zoning disputes are handled together with the relevant zoning law practice area.

• Determining the construction level and conformity with the contract with technical experts
• Assessment of claims of delay, incomplete work, defective work and deviation from the project
• Formal notice of default, contractual penalty, loss of rent and compensation claims
• Enforcement of letters of guarantee, mortgage, suretyship and other safeguards
• Review of the legal status of land share transfers made to the contractor
• Termination or liquidation of the contract, and options for continuing with a new contractor
• Actions arising from title annulment and registration, receivables, compensation and the work contract
• Assessment of the effect of the contractor’s composition with creditors (konkordato) or bankruptcy on the project

In disputes arising after construction has started, preservation of evidence without delay, review of land registry movements and protection of existing securities are important. Comprehensive contract and construction disputes with the contractor are handled separately under the Construction Law practice area.

• Representation of owners living outside Türkiye in meetings, contracts, land registry and court proceedings
• Checking powers of attorney, apostilles, certification and translation procedures made abroad
• Following the notification and service processes to foreign owners
• Coordination of multilingual contracts and legal information processes
• Assessing foreign currency, payment, tax and land registry transactions together with the relevant experts
• Conducting communication between the foreign owner and the management in Türkiye, the other owners and the contractor on a legal footing

Güneş & Güneş Law Firm serves in Turkish, English, German and Russian and follows the urban transformation procedures of owners located in Türkiye or abroad.