Construction Servitude Status (Kat İrtifakı): Verification Guide
In Türkiye, kat irtifakı is a registered construction-servitude status tied to independent sections that are to be created under an approved building project. For a buyer, the first verification rule is not to treat kat irtifakı as if it were the final condominium-ownership status, kat mülkiyeti. A construction servitude can be established before the building is completed. It identifies rights connected with planned independent units and their land shares, but by itself it does not prove completion of construction, issuance of an occupancy permit, or conformity of what was actually built with the approved project. Verification therefore starts with the land registry and then moves to the approved project and the competent licensing authority.
Confirm the registered unit, owner and parcel
Obtain current land-registry information for the exact property. Match the parcel, block if used, independent-unit number, floor, unit type, registered owner and land-share fraction. TKGM guidance explains that land shares are allocated to independent units and move with those units; they are not a separate trading entitlement detached from the independent section. If a developer or agent uses a marketing apartment number that differs from the registered independent-unit number, a buyer should not rely on similar floor area or floor position. There should be a documentable bridge between the marketed unit, the independent unit in the registry and the unit shown on the approved architectural project.
Match the approved architectural project
The words “kat irtifakı” on a title record are only the starting point. Check the approved architectural project and the data transmitted through the official registration/cadastral process. Relevant attributes include the independent-unit number, block and floor location, intended use, project area information, appurtenances where applicable and the allocated land share. TKGM’s official circular describes the role of the project-approving authority, cadastral control and the land-registry office in establishing kat irtifakı or kat mülkiyeti. This is why a sales brochure, an unapproved floor plan or a developer’s internal numbering sheet cannot replace the approved project.
Separate construction status from occupancy status
Kat irtifakı can exist while construction is still under way. The buyer should separately verify the building permit, approved amendments and, when the building is complete, the status of the Yapı Kullanma İzin Belgesi (occupancy/use permit) with the municipality or other competent authority. If a building has been occupied for years but its units remain registered under kat irtifakı, ask for a documented explanation. An occupancy permit may exist while conversion has not yet been completed, or there may be an administrative, project or technical issue. The age of the building and the seller’s oral explanation do not establish which explanation is correct.
Understand conversion to kat mülkiyeti
Once the building and the required administrative conditions are complete, Turkish registration procedure provides a route from construction servitude to condominium ownership. TKGM’s published guidance and frequently asked questions describe procedures following the issuance of the occupancy permit, including cases in which documentation is transmitted by the competent authority or an owner applies within the applicable procedure. A promise that “the title will be converted later” is therefore not enough. Verify which document has already been issued, whether the registered unit matches the approved project, and whether any unresolved discrepancy would prevent or delay conversion.
Know what kat irtifakı does not prove
A construction-servitude registration is not a structural-safety certificate, an earthquake-performance report, an insurance policy, a tax-clearance statement or evidence that every physical alteration was licensed. It also does not prove that a completed apartment exactly follows the approved project if later unauthorized changes were made. Keeping these boundaries clear prevents a common due-diligence error: using a valid title concept to answer questions that belong to engineering, municipal licensing, insurance or taxation.
What a satisfactory verification looks like
A strong result shows one coherent identity across the land registry, approved project and physical unit; establishes the registered owner and land share; and explains the current building-permit and occupancy-permit position. For an unfinished project, the construction stage and remaining contractual obligations should be documented separately. For a completed and occupied building that remains under kat irtifakı, the reason for non-conversion should be known rather than assumed. A mismatch in the independent-unit number, use, owner, land share or approved layout should be resolved before purchase, because those are directly connected to the right the buyer intends to acquire.
Primary sources
The primary authority is Türkiye’s General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (TKGM), particularly its official circular and guidance on kat mülkiyeti and kat irtifakı. The competent municipality or licensing authority is the primary source for the building permit, approved project and occupancy/use permit. These sources must be applied to the actual parcel and independent unit; a general rule cannot substitute for a current property-specific check.