Cancelling a property reservation: classify the contract before calculating the refund
The label “Reservation Agreement” does not describe one legal regime in Türkiye. A document can be a simple deposit arrangement between private parties, a preliminary step in an off-plan sale, or part of a consumer transaction governed by special rules. The first cancellation task is therefore classification: who is the seller; are they acting commercially toward a consumer; is this a prepaid housing transaction; has a formal sale promise or title right been created? Importing a statutory withdrawal right from one regime into an ordinary resale reservation can produce the wrong result.
Read the cancellation clause literally and identify the reservation period, payment amount, how the payment is characterised, refund triggers, financing condition if any, due-diligence conditions and the consequences of seller or buyer default. Compare the contract wording with the bank-transfer description. A clear transfer narrative helps prove payment purpose but does not replace the contract. If funds were paid to an agent or third-party account, verify authority to receive the money and the mechanism for returning it.
Special consumer rights are not universal reservation rules
The Ministry of Trade explains that, under the specific prepaid-housing sales regime, a consumer has a 14-day withdrawal right subject to that framework and related rules for returning money and instruments. This is an important protection, but it does not mean every deposit on every second-hand property can be cancelled within fourteen days. The cancellation file should state why the consumer regime applies or does not apply, with evidence of party status, property type and contract structure.
Where cancellation follows financing refusal, check whether the contract contains an express financing contingency and what evidence and deadline it requires. Where title, permit or another due-diligence defect is the trigger, connect the notice to the contractual condition and the official document revealing the problem. A simple change of mind should be analysed under the contract and applicable law rather than automatically being described as a protected reason.
Document the financial close-out
Send notice in the form required by the agreement and through a channel that proves delivery date; for material disputes, formal service or notarial notice may be appropriate depending on legal advice. Prepare a settlement statement showing the original payment, amount returned, each deduction and its basis, and refund date. If the parties sign a release or ibraname, identify precisely what payment and obligations are settled instead of using vague language to waive unrelated rights. Retain the original reservation, cancellation notice, bank transfers, evidence of the cancellation trigger and proof of refund. That chain turns cancellation into an auditable transaction rather than a later argument about oral promises.