Iskan in Turkey: Why the Occupancy Permit Is the Most Important Check Before You Buy
Most foreign buyers in Alanya learn the word tapu (title deed) within their first week of looking. Far fewer learn the word iskan — and that gap is where the real problems start. You can hold a perfectly valid title deed in your own name and still own an apartment that cannot legally connect electricity in your name, cannot be licensed for tourist rental, cannot be mortgaged by the next buyer, and may never qualify for full ownership. The single document that separates a finished, fully usable home from that trapped situation is the iskan.
This guide is written for the buyer who has already found a property they like and now needs to know whether it is safe to proceed.
What Is Iskan? (And Why Ruhsat Is Not the Same Thing)
İskan — formally the Yapı Kullanma İzin Belgesi, or building occupancy/habitation certificate — is the official document a municipality (belediye) issues after construction is finished. It confirms the building was actually built in line with its approved project and is fit for use. Concretely, iskan certifies:
- Structural and earthquake-resistance compliance
- Fire-safety conformity
- Conformity to the zoning master plan (imar planı)
- Readiness for permanent utility connection
The critical distinction for buyers is between two permits that sit at opposite ends of the construction timeline:
- Yapı ruhsatı (building/construction permit) — authorises construction to begin.
- İskan / yapı kullanma izni (occupancy permit) — confirms construction finished correctly and the building may be occupied.
A developer waving a ruhsat at you is showing permission to start digging, not proof the building was completed to code. Those are not interchangeable.
There is a second layer most buyers miss. Iskan exists at two levels:
- Bina iskanı (building-level) — for the whole block.
- Ferdi / bağımsız bölüm iskanı (unit-level) — for your individual apartment.
You must verify both. A block can have building-level iskan while your specific unit still lacks its individual certificate, which is enough to block utility subscriptions in your name.
Why Iskan Matters So Much for Foreign Buyers
1. Title that can never be upgraded
Without iskan, a property stays on kat irtifakı (construction-servitude) title and cannot be upgraded to kat mülkiyeti (full condominium ownership), which is governed by the Condominium Ownership Law No. 634. Your tapu and iskan are separate things: a tapu — even a kat irtifakı tapu — can exist without iskan. The tapu proves who owns the unit; only iskan proves the building is legally completed and usable. If iskan is never issued, your kat irtifakı title can never become full ownership.
2. Utilities in your own name
Without unit iskan you cannot open individual electricity, water or gas meter subscriptions in your own name. The only supply available is the developer's temporary construction (şantiye) connection — billed at construction tariffs that can run nearly double residential rates. Worse, those temporary connections are time-limited: if iskan is not obtained within the permitted window, utility providers can legally suspend electricity and water. You could be living in an apartment you own and lose power because a permit upstream of you was never filed.
Note also that every residential utility subscription in Turkey requires a valid DASK compulsory earthquake insurance policy — permanent connection and DASK are linked steps. If you want to understand that insurance requirement in depth, see our guide on DASK in Turkey: The Compulsory Earthquake Insurance Step Every Foreign Owner Must Complete.
3. Rental licensing and the residence-permit context
Turkey's short-term tourist rental permits require both building and unit iskan. A no-iskan unit is effectively ineligible for a licensed short-term rental — a serious problem if rental income was part of your plan. Our breakdown of the rules is here: Turkey's Short-Term Rental Permit Rules: The 100-Day Law. Long-term leases are also harder to register properly without iskan.
4. Resale and mortgage demand
Most Turkish banks will not grant a mortgage on a property lacking unit iskan. That single fact removes every mortgage-financed buyer from your future resale pool, depresses demand, and typically forces a longer sale period or a substantial price discount. You also inherit any unresolved developer defects and may have to fix code deficiencies at your own cost.
Iskan Present vs Missing: Comparison Table
| Category | With Iskan | Without Iskan (kat irtifakı only) |
|---|---|---|
| Title status | Eligible for full kat mülkiyeti (Law No. 634) | Stuck on kat irtifakı; cannot upgrade |
| Electricity / water / gas | Permanent subscription in your own name | Only developer's şantiye connection, up to ~2x residential tariff, can be suspended |
| DASK + utility activation | Permanent connection proceeds normally | Blocked alongside permanent meter subscription |
| Mortgage (for you or next buyer) | Bank financing available | Most banks refuse to lend |
| Short-term rental licence | Eligible (building + unit iskan required) | Effectively ineligible |
| Resale | Full buyer pool, normal pricing | Smaller pool, longer sale, likely discount |
| Hidden risk | Code compliance already certified | You inherit defects / unresolved violations |
How to Verify Iskan Before You Buy — Step by Step
Do this before you sign a sales contract or pay a deposit, not after.
- Ask for the iskan document directly. Request the Yapı Kullanma İzin Belgesi from the seller or developer in writing. Confirm whether it is building-level, unit-level, or both. Vague answers ("it's coming soon") are a red flag, not a yes.
- Check Web-Tapu. Foreign buyers can review title and status through the Web-Tapu platform at `webtapu.tkgm.gov.tr`, which has a dedicated section for foreigners without a Turkish kimlik. This is the official Land Registry (TKGM) channel.
- Use e-Devlet if you have an account. Buyers with a turkiye.gov.tr (e-Devlet) account can cross-check property records there.
- Go to the municipality. The belediye's imar / yapı kontrol (zoning / building control) department holds the definitive record. Your lawyer can confirm the iskan was issued and matches the exact independent section (bağımsız bölüm) number on your tapu.
- Have an independent Turkish lawyer cross-check. Do not rely solely on the agent or developer. A lawyer confirms the iskan exists, covers your specific unit, and is consistent with the title and the approved project.
When you cross-check, match three numbers against one another: the ada/parsel (block/parcel) and bağımsız bölüm (independent section) number on the tapu, the same identifiers on the building's approved project, and the unit referenced on the iskan certificate. A mismatch between the unit you are buying and the unit named on the iskan is just as dangerous as no iskan at all — it means your specific apartment may not be the one that was certified, even if the block as a whole passed inspection. This is also why building-level iskan alone is never sufficient confirmation for a unit purchase.
The connection to physical quality matters here too: iskan is the municipality's certification that earthquake and structural rules were met. It is not a substitute for your own technical due diligence — our guide on Before You Buy: Verifying a Building's Earthquake Code Compliance in Turkey (Not Just Insurance) explains why you should verify code compliance independently rather than assuming a permit covers everything.
What to Do If a Property You Love Lacks Iskan
A missing iskan is not always a dealbreaker — but it changes the terms.
- Ask why it is missing. A new build a few months from completion is a very different situation from a five-year-old block where iskan was never granted because of illegal extra floors or code violations. The latter can permanently block full ownership, financing and resale.
- Get a written iskan timeline. Ask the developer for a specific commitment on when building and unit iskan will be filed and obtained, in writing.
- Insist on a contract clause. Have your lawyer add a clause that ties part of the payment to delivery of unit iskan, or that gives you remedies (price reduction, penalty, or exit) if iskan is not delivered by the agreed date.
- Price the risk in. If you proceed on kat irtifakı title, you are accepting that iskan might never be issued. That risk should be reflected in the price and protected in the contract — never paid in full on trust.
- Walk away if answers are evasive. If no one will confirm a clear iskan path in writing, treat that as the answer.
FAQ
See the structured FAQ section below for quick answers to the questions buyers ask most often about iskan, tapu, utilities and resale.
Sources
See the Sources section below for the references used in this guide.
