What a tapu is and what a Turkish property document means for your case

In Türkiye, the word tapu is used for the property register as well as for the deed that comes from it, in full the tapu senedi. The deed states the province, the district, the neighbourhood or village, the block and plot number, the surface area, the type of property, the owner, the method of acquisition and, in the case of co-ownership, the share.

In Türkiye, ownership of real estate arises through registration in the register; a private purchase agreement alone is not sufficient. An extract or a copy of the tapu is therefore a strong document in a Belgian case file: it describes the ownership situation on the date of issue, with plot details, owner, method of acquisition and any co-owners.

Two Turkish concepts come up in many cases.

Hisse is a share in co-ownership. After the death of parents, their real estate passes to the heirs, each for a part. Someone can thus own a share in a plot or a home without ever having concluded a purchase. For the Flemish property ownership condition, a share counted until 30 September 2025; since 1 October 2025 that applies only to full ownership. For the living wage (leefloon), an inherited share remains a resource. See the property ownership condition explained.

Intikal is the transfer of an inheritance into the names of the heirs. As long as that transfer has not taken place, the property is still in the name of the deceased. The heir is nevertheless the owner. We see something similar with real estate in Morocco, where registration in the names of the heirs is often not carried out. In the case of co-ownership or acquisition by inheritance, it may therefore be important to investigate further both the ownership share and the date and method of acquisition. If you know that the parents have died, that is useful information for your request.

Agricultural land and building land are registered separately and, if a valuation is at issue, valued separately. If your case requires a valuation, we discuss the options, conditions and costs in advance.

A pre-check answers one question: are there assets in the name of the person concerned in Türkiye, and what type of assets are they? A pre-check does not include any further investigation. The expected lead time is communicated in advance for each case. The answer contains:

• yes or no, with the date of the findings;
• the type of asset: home, apartment, building land or agricultural land;
• our advice on whether an in-depth investigation is worthwhile.

The pre-check is intended to decide whether a case merits further investigation. A finding of ownership does not in itself mean that fraud is involved. In the event of a negative outcome, we explain the scope of the investigation. A complete and detailed picture, with location, plot, ownership share and any co-owners, substantiated with the tapu extract and the underlying deeds, is provided by the full in-depth investigation. See the country page Türkiye.

Four situations regularly occur in Turkish cases.

• The inherited share in the municipality of origin. The parents have died, the land and the parental home have been transferred or not yet. The person concerned owns a share, often without regarding it as ownership.
• The holiday home on the coast. An apartment in a coastal town, in the name of the person concerned or of the partner, in a different province from the region of origin. Please state all regions you know of in your request.
• Building land for later. One or more plots of building land, bought to build on someday. For the property ownership condition, building land counts in full.
• The transfer shortly before the investigation. Sometimes the property turns out to have been recently transferred to a family member. Earlier ownership, with the date of transfer, may then be visible in the documents. For an OCMW (public centre for social welfare), that is relevant: the proceeds of a sale are also a resource.

A Turkish extract is in Turkish. If your case requires a sworn translation, we discuss the options, conditions and costs in advance. Depending on the document and its intended use, we assess whether a sworn translation, apostille or other formality is needed; Türkiye is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention.

In proceedings before the justice of the peace, the report with the extract and the translation is usually submitted; the court of first instance of Antwerp accepted, on appeal in 2020, evidence collected in this way. The court assesses the evidentiary value of the documents submitted. Read what the Belgian courts say.

Source: Apostille Convention, HCCH.