Construction Servitude Status: Red Flags
Kat irtifakı is a legitimate registered right, so its presence should not be treated as a defect by itself. The red flags arise when the registered status does not fit the actual building, the independent unit cannot be matched reliably to the approved project, or the seller uses the term to imply documents or legal consequences that it does not prove. A buyer should distinguish a normal construction-stage registration from an unexplained or misrepresented continuing status.
A completed, occupied building with no documented occupancy position
If a building has been complete and occupied for a long period but the unit remains under kat irtifakı, ask why. The status alone does not establish wrongdoing, but the absence of a verifiable Yapı Kullanma İzin Belgesi or a documented explanation for the lack of conversion deserves investigation. The seller should not close the question merely by saying that “everyone in the building has the same title.”
The seller describes kat irtifakı as identical to kat mülkiyeti
TKGM guidance treats them as different legal registration states. Marketing language that erases that distinction is a warning sign because it can hide the need to check construction completion, occupancy permission and the conversion path. The buyer should insist that the contract and due-diligence file use the actual registered status.
The independent unit cannot be matched to the approved project
A commercial apartment number, door number or site-management label is not enough if it cannot be tied to the official independent-unit number. An unexplained mismatch in block, floor, number, registered use or approved-project location is a serious red flag. Similar size or view does not prove that the legal right corresponds to the apartment shown to the buyer.
Missing or contradictory approved-project material
Kat irtifakı is established in connection with project-defined independent sections. If the seller cannot produce reliable approved-project information, or different project copies show material differences, the buyer should not assume that the latest physical arrangement is approved. Obtain confirmation from the competent authority before treating the discrepancy as harmless.
Unexplained land-share discrepancies
The land share is linked to the independent unit and travels with it. If the fraction in the registry differs from the contract, sales material or project record, identify which document controls and why. A seller’s estimate of “percentage ownership” is not a substitute for the registered share. A discrepancy is especially important if the contract promises a particular share or common-area entitlement.
Visible alterations that do not fit the project
Enclosed balconies, combined units, changed entrances, converted common areas, added mezzanines or annexes used differently from the plan may indicate a separate compliance issue. Kat irtifakı does not legalize a later physical alteration. The buyer should identify whether the difference is approved, capable of approval, or unresolved.
A vague promise of automatic conversion
Statements such as “kat mülkiyeti will happen automatically next month” should be supported by the actual official stage of the process. Ask whether the occupancy permit exists, whether the competent authority has completed or transmitted the necessary information, and whether any project discrepancy remains open. A legal route to conversion is not the same as a guarantee that a specific file is complete.
Old title copies used to avoid a fresh check
If the seller resists obtaining current registry information and relies on a scan from months or years earlier, treat that as a warning. The buyer needs the current status of the exact independent unit. A stale copy can fail to show a conversion, ownership change or other development relevant to the decision.
The contract promises kat mülkiyeti but the closing documents do not
If the price or purchase decision was based on a promise that the unit would be transferred as kat mülkiyeti, but the final documents still show kat irtifakı, do not treat the difference as a technicality. Determine whether the buyer will accept the current status, whether a price retention or written condition is needed, or whether closing should wait until the promised status is documented.
The physical building stage contradicts the seller’s explanation
For a genuine project under construction, kat irtifakı can be entirely consistent with the stage of development. A red flag appears when the seller’s narrative, the physical stage, municipal records and title status do not tell the same story. Resolve the contradiction at the competent authority rather than selecting the version that makes the transaction easiest.
How to respond to a red flag
A red flag is a trigger for a specific verification step, not automatic proof that the property is unbuyable. Identify the exact contradiction, obtain the authoritative record that can resolve it, document the answer, and decide whether the remaining issue changes legal use, transferability, financing, price or the contractual promise. If the identity of the independent unit or the promised registration status cannot be established, payment should not proceed on assumption.
Primary official sources
- TKGM — Kat İrtifakı ve Kat Mülkiyeti Genelgesi and current amendments.
- Law No. 634 on Condominium Ownership.