Can Foreign Owners Lose Their Property for Refusing an Urban Transformation Agreement? (2026 Updated Guide)

Can a foreign property owner lose an apartment or property share for refusing an urban transformation agreement in Turkey? Learn about majority decisions, the 15-day notice period, statutory share sales, valuation, auctions and legal remedies in 2026.

Yes, potentially—but not simply because the owner refuses to sign.

A foreign property owner cannot ordinarily be forced to personally sign a private reconstruction or urban transformation agreement. Refusing a contractor’s proposal does not automatically transfer ownership to the contractor, the other owners or the government.

However, refusal does not necessarily give the foreign owner a permanent right to block the project.

Under the current framework applicable to risky buildings, where unanimous agreement cannot be reached, relevant decisions concerning the new development can be taken by the simple majority of owners calculated according to their registered ownership shares. If a foreign owner does not join that majority decision, the statutory dissenting-owner procedure can begin. If the owner fails to accept the majority-approved arrangement following the prescribed notification process, the owner’s land share can ultimately become subject to statutory auction.

Therefore, a foreign owner may ultimately lose the registered property share through a legally regulated sale process even though the owner never voluntarily signed the redevelopment agreement.

For foreign investors and owners living outside the country, Lawyer Fırat Fesih Kaya recommends treating any majority-decision notice, reconstruction agreement or share-sale notification as urgent.

Does Refusing to Sign Mean Immediate Loss of Ownership?

No.

There is a major difference between refusing to sign and actually losing ownership.

A foreign owner does not lose the property on the day the contractor says that the majority has agreed. Ownership does not disappear merely because the owner votes against reconstruction. Nor does ownership automatically transfer when the statutory response period expires.

A series of legal and administrative steps must occur before the property share can be transferred.

The majority decision must satisfy the statutory requirements. The dissenting owner must be informed of the decision and agreement terms. The statutory opportunity to join the agreement must be provided. If the owner still does not join, the agreeing owners may request the sale. The competent authority then handles the valuation and auction procedure. After a successful sale, payment and title-registration process, the share can be registered to the purchaser.

Accordingly, refusing to sign does not mean immediate confiscation.

But ignoring what happens after refusal can ultimately result in loss of the registered share.

Are Foreign Owners Treated Differently?

Foreign nationality does not by itself create an exemption from the urban transformation majority mechanism.

If a foreign citizen legally owns an apartment, commercial unit or other registered property interest affected by the relevant urban transformation procedure, that ownership interest can be subject to the applicable redevelopment rules.

The practical problem for foreign owners is often not nationality but distance.

A foreign owner may live outside the country for most of the year. While the owner is abroad, the risky-building status may become final, an owner meeting may be held, the majority may approve a reconstruction project, the agreement may be presented to dissenting owners and the statutory share-sale procedure may begin.

Foreign owners should therefore never assume that their physical absence prevents the process from moving forward.

What Majority Can Approve the Urban Transformation Project?

For the relevant new-development decisions concerning risky buildings, the current framework uses a simple majority according to registered ownership shares where unanimity cannot be achieved.

This is extremely important.

The vote is not simply calculated according to the number of apartments.

It is not necessarily calculated according to the number of individual people attending the meeting.

Registered ownership shares matter.

Suppose a building contains ten apartments and six owners support the contractor. It may appear that the majority exists, but the registered shares of those six owners must still be examined.

A foreign owner receiving a notice stating that “the majority has approved the project” should therefore request the underlying ownership-share calculation rather than accepting the statement at face value.

Can a Foreign Owner Refuse to Sign the Reconstruction Contract?

Yes.

The owner remains free to refuse a proposed private contract.

A contractor cannot simply manufacture the owner’s signature or treat silence as a voluntary contractual signature.

However, the consequences of remaining outside the majority arrangement must be understood separately.

The statutory mechanism does not necessarily force the foreign owner to sign. Instead, it creates a process under which the dissenting owner’s share can eventually be sold if the statutory conditions are satisfied.

This distinction is central to understanding urban transformation disputes.

The owner may have the right to refuse the contract without having the right to block the project indefinitely.

Can One Foreign Owner Stop the Entire Project?

Generally, not merely by refusing to sign.

The statutory majority mechanism allows redevelopment to proceed even where complete agreement among owners cannot initially be obtained.

Once the required simple majority validly approves the new development, the law provides a specific procedure for dealing with owners who remain outside the agreement.

This means that a foreign owner should not rely on the strategy:

“I will simply refuse to sign, and therefore nothing can happen.”

That approach can be dangerous.

The more useful questions are whether the majority was calculated correctly, whether the meeting and decision complied with the applicable requirements, whether the owner was properly notified and whether the subsequent share-sale procedure is lawful.

Can the Majority Decide While the Foreign Owner Is Abroad?

Potentially, yes.

Physical presence in the country is not necessarily required for the other owners to proceed with the statutory decision-making process.

Once the risky-building status becomes final, current official guidance provides for a meeting concerning the new development without requiring that the old building first be physically demolished. The meeting is held with owners representing at least the required simple majority according to their shares, and the decision is documented.

Therefore, a foreign owner should not assume:

“Nobody can make a redevelopment decision until I return.”

The process may continue while the owner is abroad.

What Happens After the Foreign Owner Refuses the Agreement?

If the required majority has validly approved the new development and the foreign owner has not joined the arrangement, the majority decision and agreement conditions must be communicated through the prescribed procedure.

Current official guidance provides that the decision and the offer containing the agreement terms, or information identifying where the offer can be examined, must be notified to the owners who have not joined the agreement.

The framework permits notification through a notary or by announcement at the relevant local administrative office for fifteen days. Where an electronic address has been registered with the title records, electronic communication can also be relevant.

This stage should never be ignored.

It is the bridge between disagreement with the project and the possible statutory sale of the owner’s land share.

Is There a 15-Day Period?

Yes.

The current official procedure provides a limited period associated with notification of the majority decision and agreement conditions. If the dissenting owner does not examine or accept the offer within the applicable 15-day procedure, the land share can proceed toward statutory sale.

This is particularly important for foreign owners.

A person living abroad may first hear about the matter from a relative, tenant or neighbor after a significant period has already passed.

The owner should immediately establish:

when the statutory notification process began,

how notification was made,

when it was legally deemed completed,

and whether the applicable response period has already expired.

The deadline should not be calculated merely from the date the owner personally opened an email or received a private message from the contractor.

What If the Foreign Owner Never Received an International Letter?

The absence of an ordinary international postal letter does not automatically mean the procedure is invalid.

The current framework contains specific statutory methods for notifying dissenting owners. Depending on the stage and information registered in the title system, notarial, local announcement and electronic notification mechanisms can become relevant.

At the auction stage, current official guidance also provides specific mechanisms involving electronic notification or electronic government notification together with local announcement.

Therefore, the legally relevant question is not simply:

“Did a letter reach my foreign address?”

It is:

“Was the statutory notification procedure correctly completed?”

The official file must be examined to answer that question.

What Happens If the Foreign Owner Does Nothing?

Doing nothing can be extremely risky.

If the required majority exists and the statutory notification process has been completed, failure to join the agreement can allow the agreeing owners to request the sale of the dissenting owner’s land share.

Current official guidance expressly provides that shares belonging to owners who do not participate in the majority decision can be sold by auction after the statutory conditions are satisfied.

Silence therefore does not necessarily preserve ownership.

For a foreign owner living abroad, simply ignoring communications until the next visit can be one of the most dangerous strategies.

Can the Foreign Owner’s Apartment Be Sold Directly?

Technically, the statutory mechanism focuses on the dissenting owner’s land share associated with the property rather than an informal private sale of the apartment by the other owners.

This distinction becomes particularly important once the risky building is being replaced and the legal structure of the redevelopment is moving toward the new project.

The majority owners cannot simply sign a private sale agreement on behalf of the foreign owner.

Instead, the special statutory share-sale procedure must be followed.

Who Requests the Sale?

The sale request is made by the owners who formed the required simple-majority decision.

They must submit the necessary information and documentation to the competent authority.

Current official guidance states that the sale procedure is conducted pursuant to the relevant provisions of the urban transformation legislation and implementing regulation.

This means that a contractor cannot simply privately confiscate a foreign owner’s property because the owner refuses to sign.

There must be a statutory process.

What Happens to the Title Record Once the Sale Procedure Starts?

If the sale request is submitted and the competent authority considers the sale procedure appropriate, current official guidance provides for an annotation to be requested in the title register.

That annotation indicates that the share is subject to sale under the urban transformation framework and that it cannot be subjected to another sale or similar transaction requiring transfer while the statutory sale procedure continues.

This can have major consequences.

A foreign owner who plans to avoid the process by independently selling the share at the last minute may discover that the statutory procedure has already restricted such a transfer.

The current title record should therefore be checked immediately.

Who Determines the Value of the Foreign Owner’s Share?

The majority owners and contractor do not simply choose the sale price.

Current official guidance provides for the establishment of a Valuation Commission and a Sale Commission within the competent authority. These commissions handle the valuation and statutory sale process.

This is an important protection for dissenting owners.

If a contractor tells a foreign owner:

“Your share is worth this amount, and that is all you will receive,”

the owner should ask whether that figure is actually the official value determined through the statutory procedure.

Can the Share Be Sold for Any Price?

The sale is not intended to operate as an arbitrary private transfer at whatever price the majority chooses.

The share must first pass through the applicable official valuation procedure.

If the foreign owner believes the valuation is seriously incorrect, the underlying valuation documentation should be obtained and examined.

Relevant issues may include incorrect ownership information, incorrect characteristics attributed to the property or other material problems affecting the official valuation.

An effective objection should focus on identifiable valuation or procedural defects rather than merely stating that the property is worth more.

Who Can Buy the Share at the First Auction?

Current official guidance states that the first sale is restricted to the owners forming the majority arrangement. Outsiders cannot simply participate in that initial auction.

This is important because foreign owners are sometimes told that the contractor will automatically acquire the property as soon as they refuse the agreement.

That is an oversimplification.

The statutory sequence and eligibility rules governing the auction must be followed.

Can Third Parties Eventually Buy the Foreign Owner’s Share?

Potentially, yes.

If the share is not sold through the first restricted sale, the statutory procedure can be repeated. At a later stage, qualifying third parties may participate if they accept the majority decision and agree to comply with the redevelopment documents.

Current official guidance also requires such third parties to deposit cash security equal to 10% of the current value of the share being sold before participating.

This means that refusal can ultimately expose the ownership share to acquisition beyond the original group of owners.

Can the Contractor Eventually Buy the Share?

Potentially, depending on the contractor’s legal position and the stage of the statutory sale procedure.

However, refusing the agreement does not automatically transfer the property to the contractor.

The contractor’s ability to participate must be assessed under the rules governing the particular auction stage.

Foreign owners should therefore be skeptical of statements such as:

“If you do not sign today, the contractor automatically becomes the owner.”

That is not an accurate description of the complete statutory process.

When Does the Foreign Owner Actually Lose Ownership?

The critical point comes after the statutory sale is successfully completed and the resulting transfer is registered.

Current official guidance provides that after the sale price is paid, the transaction is sent to the title registry for registration in the purchaser’s name. Once registration has been completed, the updated title information is returned to the competent authority and the former owner is informed.

Therefore, there are several stages between refusal and actual loss of ownership.

That also means there may be important points at which the owner can investigate whether the statutory procedure has been properly followed.

Does the Foreign Owner Receive the Sale Price?

A statutory sale is not the same as confiscation without compensation.

The procedure involves valuation and payment of the sale price.

The existence of mortgages, attachments, usufruct rights or other registered interests can affect the legal treatment of the proceeds and should be examined separately.

A foreign owner facing a statutory sale should therefore obtain a current title record showing all registered rights and restrictions before the auction is completed.

What If the Property Has a Mortgage?

A mortgage does not automatically prevent the urban transformation procedure.

Registered rights can have consequences for the treatment of the share and the resulting sale proceeds.

The owner should obtain an updated title record identifying mortgages, attachments, precautionary attachments, usufruct rights and other registered interests.

If a bank or another creditor holds rights over the property, those interests should be considered before deciding how to respond to the redevelopment and sale process.

Can a Foreign Owner Accept the Agreement After Initially Refusing?

Potentially, depending on the stage reached.

The statutory procedure gives the dissenting owner an opportunity to join the majority-approved arrangement.

However, current official guidance requires an owner demonstrating agreement to sign the majority-approved contract and relevant documents without conditions or reservations within the applicable procedure.

This means that an owner should not assume that a conditional response such as:

“I accept only if I receive a larger apartment”

automatically prevents the statutory sale procedure.

The earlier the disagreement is addressed, the more opportunity there may be for negotiation.

Can the Foreign Owner Refuse Because the New Apartment Is Worse?

An owner may have legitimate commercial reasons for refusing the proposed agreement.

The replacement apartment may be smaller.

It may be on a different floor.

Its orientation may be worse.

Parking or storage rights may change.

The future ownership share may differ.

The contractor may demand additional money.

These issues should be analyzed before signing.

However, the existence of a genuine commercial concern does not automatically suspend the statutory majority mechanism.

The owner must evaluate both the quality of the proposed agreement and the consequences of remaining a dissenting owner.

What If the Contractor Demands Additional Money?

The financial terms should be clearly documented.

Before signing, the foreign owner should determine the total contribution required, payment dates, circumstances permitting additional demands and consequences of non-payment.

Undefined contractual provisions allowing unlimited future increases should be examined carefully.

The owner should also compare the additional payment against the economic consequences of refusing the agreement and potentially entering the dissenting-share procedure.

What If the Contractor Is Financially Weak?

This can be a legitimate concern.

Before joining a redevelopment agreement, foreign owners should investigate the contractor’s financial and technical capacity.

The agreement should address construction deadlines, temporary rent, delay, security, contractor default, insolvency, abandonment, termination and replacement of the contractor.

Majority approval does not guarantee that the contractor is financially safe.

The statutory majority rule and the commercial quality of the contract are separate issues.

Be Careful With Upfront Title Transfers

A foreign owner should be particularly cautious where the contractor agreement requires immediate transfer of valuable land shares or other property interests before substantial construction progress has occurred.

If the contractor later becomes insolvent or abandons construction, recovering transferred property rights can become difficult.

The owner should examine whether transfers are staged according to actual construction progress and what security exists if the project fails.

The fact that other owners have accepted the arrangement does not automatically make an early title transfer safe.

Can the Foreign Owner Challenge an Incorrect Majority?

Potentially, yes.

The statutory dissenting-share mechanism depends on a valid underlying majority decision.

If the majority was calculated incorrectly, that can affect the legality of the subsequent process.

Possible problems include counting apartment numbers rather than ownership shares, relying on outdated title records, incorrectly handling inherited interests or making mathematical errors in the share calculation.

The registered ownership structure should therefore be independently verified.

Can Defective Notification Be Challenged?

Potentially.

Notification is not merely an administrative formality. It is the mechanism through which the dissenting owner is informed of the majority decision and given the opportunity to join the agreement before the share moves toward sale.

If a foreign owner believes the statutory notification requirements were not satisfied, the actual notification documents should be obtained.

The analysis should focus on the legally prescribed method and effective notification date rather than only on whether the owner personally remembers receiving a document.

Can the Official Valuation Be Challenged?

Where there is a specific legal or factual defect, the valuation and subsequent administrative procedure may require legal review.

The owner should obtain the official valuation documents and identify concrete problems.

Timing matters.

A valuation dispute should ideally be addressed before the sale, payment and subsequent title-registration stages make the situation more complicated.

Can the Auction Be Challenged?

Potentially, depending on the specific irregularity and the procedural stage.

Possible issues can include an invalid underlying majority, defective notification, errors in the valuation procedure, failure to comply with auction requirements or other material procedural defects.

The available remedy and applicable deadline depend on the act being challenged.

A foreign owner should therefore seek the complete administrative file immediately rather than waiting until the next visit to the country.

Does Filing a Lawsuit Automatically Protect the Property?

Not necessarily.

The existence of a pending legal challenge should not automatically be treated as equivalent to an effective order preventing the sale or registration.

Where an auction or title transfer is imminent, the requirements for interim judicial protection may need to be evaluated separately.

This distinction can be critical.

A case may be pending while the administrative procedure continues unless legally effective protection prevents implementation.

What Changed in 2026?

The procedural framework received additional formal documentation in 2026.

The competent authority announced that amendments published on February 4, 2026 added a Meeting Notification Form, a related meeting-notification record, a Meeting Information Note and a Resale Notification Form.

For foreign owners, these developments make examination of the actual procedural file particularly important.

A 2026 redevelopment should be reviewed according to the current documentation requirements rather than practices used in older projects.

Can a Foreign Owner Use a Power of Attorney?

Yes.

For owners living abroad, a carefully drafted power of attorney can be extremely useful.

A representative can be authorized to monitor the process, obtain documents, attend meetings and perform specifically defined acts.

However, the authority should be limited to what the owner actually intends.

Authority to attend an owner meeting should not automatically include unrestricted authority to sell the property, transfer title to the contractor, create mortgages, waive legal claims, accept additional financial obligations or sign every reconstruction agreement presented.

Foreign owners should understand exactly what powers they are granting.

What Should a Foreign Owner Do Before Refusing the Agreement?

First, obtain the complete redevelopment agreement.

Second, verify the registered ownership shares and majority calculation.

Third, obtain the meeting documents and majority decision.

Fourth, identify the replacement apartment or commercial unit.

Fifth, compare the new unit with the existing property.

Sixth, calculate all additional payments.

Seventh, examine temporary rent and relocation provisions.

Eighth, investigate the contractor.

Ninth, review construction deadlines and security.

Tenth, understand precisely what happens if you remain outside the agreement.

A refusal should be an informed decision rather than an emotional reaction to pressure from other owners or the contractor.

What Should a Foreign Owner Do After Receiving a Share-Sale Notice?

Act immediately.

Obtain the majority decision, meeting documentation, ownership-share calculation, reconstruction agreement, statutory notification records, official valuation and auction documentation.

Check the title record for the statutory sale annotation and any mortgages or other registered rights.

Establish when notification became legally effective.

Determine when the auction will occur.

Then identify whether there is a concrete legal defect requiring urgent action.

At this stage, general opposition to redevelopment is not enough. The specific legality of the procedure becomes central.

What If the Auction Is Only a Few Days Away?

The matter should be treated as urgent.

The owner should focus on several questions:

Was the required majority actually achieved?

Were registered ownership shares calculated correctly?

Was the meeting conducted under the current procedure?

Was the owner properly notified?

Was the applicable response period respected?

Was the sale request properly submitted?

Was the share properly valued?

Was the auction properly announced?

Has title registration already occurred?

Is there an available legal remedy capable of protecting the owner’s position?

Delay becomes increasingly dangerous as the process approaches auction and registration.

2026 Practical Legal Strategy

For a foreign owner, the first priority is not to confuse refusal with permanent protection of ownership. The owner can refuse to sign, but a valid simple-majority decision can ultimately lead to the statutory sale of a dissenting share.

The second priority is verify the majority calculation. Registered ownership shares, not merely apartment numbers, determine the statutory majority.

The third priority is review the complete redevelopment agreement before refusing it. The owner should understand the replacement unit, additional payments, temporary rent, construction timetable, guarantees and title-transfer provisions.

The fourth priority is monitor the 15-day notification stage carefully. Failure to act within the applicable procedure can move the share toward statutory sale.

The fifth priority is never assume that living abroad prevents legally effective notification. Current procedures include local and electronic notification mechanisms.

The sixth priority is obtain the official valuation if the sale process begins. The contractor’s estimate is not the same as the statutory valuation.

The seventh priority is check the auction stage and who is permitted to participate. The initial sale is restricted, while qualifying third parties may become involved later under statutory conditions.

The eighth priority is check the title register immediately. Once the statutory sale request is accepted, an annotation can restrict other transactions involving the share.

The ninth priority is use the current 2026 procedural framework, including the additional meeting and resale documentation introduced in February 2026.

The tenth priority is act before auction and title registration whenever there is a genuine procedural or legal defect.

The central principle is:

A foreign property owner does not automatically lose property merely by refusing to sign an urban transformation agreement. However, refusal does not provide an unlimited veto. If a valid simple-majority decision exists, the statutory notification requirements are satisfied and the foreign owner remains outside the agreement, the owner’s land share can ultimately be sold through the regulated auction procedure and registered to another person.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can a foreign owner refuse to sign an urban transformation agreement?

Yes. A foreign owner cannot simply be forced to personally sign a private redevelopment agreement. However, refusal may trigger the statutory dissenting-owner process where a valid majority decision exists.

2. Can refusing the agreement cause a foreign owner to lose the property?

Potentially, yes. If the statutory conditions are satisfied, the dissenting owner’s land share can ultimately be sold through auction.

3. Does the foreign owner lose the property immediately after refusing?

No. Refusal alone does not transfer ownership. The notification, sale request, valuation, auction, payment and title-registration procedures must follow.

4. What majority is required?

For the relevant new-development decisions concerning risky buildings, the current framework uses a simple majority calculated according to registered ownership shares where unanimity cannot be achieved.

5. Is there a deadline after the majority decision?

Yes. The current procedure contains an important 15-day stage associated with notification of the majority decision and agreement conditions.

6. Can a foreign owner lose the share without receiving an international postal letter?

Potentially, because legally effective notification does not necessarily depend on ordinary international post. The statutory notification methods and official records must be examined.

7. Can the contractor choose the value of the foreign owner’s share?

No. The statutory sale procedure includes an official valuation process through the competent authority.

8. Can anyone buy the share at the first auction?

No. Current official guidance states that the first sale is restricted to the owners who formed the majority arrangement.

9. Can a foreign owner challenge an allegedly unlawful sale?

Potentially, depending on the specific defect, procedural stage and applicable deadline. The majority decision, notification, valuation, auction and title-registration documents should be examined immediately.

10. What should a foreign owner do after receiving a share-sale notice?

The owner should immediately obtain the complete redevelopment and administrative file, verify the majority calculation and notification procedure, review the official valuation, check the title record and auction date, and determine whether urgent legal action is required.

Protecting Foreign Property Ownership During Urban Transformation

Foreign owners should not assume that refusing an urban transformation agreement automatically protects their apartment or land share. At the same time, the majority cannot simply confiscate foreign-owned property because the owner disagrees with the redevelopment.

The statutory procedure matters at every stage.

A valid majority must exist. The foreign owner must be placed into the legally prescribed notification process. The opportunity to join the majority arrangement must be provided. The statutory sale request and official valuation must follow the applicable requirements. The auction must be properly conducted, and ownership ultimately changes through the title-registration process.

The greatest risk for foreign owners is often discovering these steps too late.

Fırat Fesih Kaya Law Office provides legal assistance to foreign property owners and investors facing urban transformation disputes and dissenting-share sale proceedings.

Lawyer Fırat Fesih Kaya assists foreign owners with reviewing majority calculations, owner-meeting procedures, reconstruction agreements, statutory notifications, response deadlines, replacement-property allocations, additional payment obligations, official valuations, dissenting-share auctions, title-registration risks and available remedies concerning allegedly unlawful urban transformation proceedings.

Phone: +90 312 434 22 22
WhatsApp: +90 532 769 22 22
Email: info@firatfesihkaya.av.tr