How to verify apartment and site aidat before buying in Türkiye
Aidat is not simply a monthly number quoted by a seller, concierge or sales office. It is the product of the building or site management system, its operating budget, owners decisions, actual common expenses and the ledger of the independent unit. A useful due-diligence review therefore starts with the documents that create and calculate the charge. In a large residential site there may be ordinary monthly dues, arrears, late-payment compensation and separate assessments for lifts, façades, roofs, waterproofing, structural work, security systems or major facilities. Some assessments may already have been approved even though the payment dates fall after the planned transfer.
1. Understand how common expenses are allocated
Law No. 634 on Condominium Ownership provides default allocation rules. Article 20 distinguishes certain caretaker, heating, gardener and watchman costs that are shared equally from categories such as building insurance premiums, maintenance, protection, strengthening and repair of common areas, manager remuneration and operation of common facilities, which are generally linked to the land share, or arsa payı, unless a valid governing arrangement changes the applicable allocation. The buyer should therefore identify the legal and management basis used for the unit rather than accepting a percentage with no supporting calculation.
2. Non-use is not a general exemption
Article 20 also states that an owner cannot avoid the common expense and advance contribution merely by giving up use of common areas or asserting that the unit does not need a particular shared facility. A seller saying that the apartment never used the pool, lift, garden or security service is therefore not evidence that no charge exists. Any claimed exception should be traced to a valid management rule or legal basis and applied consistently to the unit.
3. Obtain a unit ledger, not only a general no-debt statement
Ask management for a dated statement linked to the exact independent unit. It should show opening balance, recurring dues, extraordinary assessments, claimed late compensation or other items, payments received and the resulting balance. Reconcile the statement to seller receipts or bank transfers. A short note saying borcu yoktur can be useful, but it may not reveal an assessment already approved but not yet due, a disputed item, a credit awaiting posting or a project that will produce instalments after closing. Ask those questions explicitly.
4. Review owners decisions and the operating budget
A zero balance today does not describe the next six months. Review recent owners meeting minutes, management resolutions, the operating project or budget and notices for major works. Common examples include lift replacement, façade or roof work, waterproofing, strengthening, fire-system upgrades, litigation, security contracts and major mechanical equipment. Record the total project amount, allocation method, instalment schedule and expected share for the target unit where available. A special assessment approved before the sale but payable later is a transaction issue that should be allocated in writing between seller and buyer.
5. Verify late-payment compensation rather than estimating it
Article 20 permits action and enforcement for unpaid expense or advance shares and specifies late-payment compensation calculated at five percent per month for days of delay. If the management claims a late amount, obtain the underlying ledger and calculation period. Do not treat a round number sent in a message as a final legal balance. The due date, principal, payment date and calculation method should be reproducible from the records.
6. Separate owner liability from tenant or occupier exposure
Article 22 extends responsibility in specified circumstances to a tenant, holder of a residence right or another person continuously using the independent unit together with the owner for the Article 20 obligations. For a tenant, the statute places a limit connected to rent owed and treats qualifying payment toward those obligations as payment of rent. In a tenanted purchase, review both the management ledger and the lease. A lease clause saying that the tenant pays aidat does not by itself remove every exposure of the registered owner toward management.
7. Check for a statutory mortgage connected with unpaid common expenses
TKGM guidance on condominium ownership explains that Article 22 allows a statutory mortgage to be registered in favour of other condominium owners when the statutory conditions are met for unpaid expense, advance and delay-compensation debt. This means aidat cannot always be treated as a purely internal bookkeeping matter. Obtain a current title review and identify any mortgage or entry connected with common-expense debt. Settlement with management and removal of a formal registered encumbrance are different closing tasks and both must be evidenced if applicable.
8. Do not assume that historic seller debt automatically becomes ordinary buyer debt
The review should identify when each charge arose, which person was owner or user during that period and whether any legal encumbrance exists. The sale contract should separately allocate the economic burden between seller and buyer. If the seller agrees to pay an approved but future special assessment, use a written closing adjustment, payment mechanism or retention from price rather than an informal promise. The goal is to prevent a post-transfer dispute about a charge that was known before closing.
9. Closing-day check
Obtain the freshest practical unit statement immediately before transfer. Confirm the last payment has posted and ask whether any new resolution was adopted after the previous statement. List disputed charges as open exceptions and state who must resolve them, by what evidence and by what date. Preserve the management plan, recent budget and major resolutions because they affect the buyers future cost even where the closing balance is zero.
10. Red flags
- Management refuses to provide a unit-specific ledger.
- Seller receipts do not reconcile with management records.
- A large approved assessment is absent from a simple no-debt letter.
- Non-use of common facilities is presented as an automatic exemption.
- Late compensation is claimed without a reproducible calculation.
- Owners are in an unresolved dispute over a major budget or repair.
- A statutory mortgage or other title entry linked to common expenses remains open.
- The seller promises to pay after transfer but there is no written settlement mechanism.
Frequently asked questions
Is asking the concierge for the monthly aidat enough? No. Review the management plan, budget, decisions and unit ledger.
Can an owner refuse common expenses because a facility is not used? Article 20 generally rejects that argument merely on the basis of non-use.
Should future special assessments be checked even if the account balance is zero? Yes. An already approved decision can create payments after transfer.