How Is a Building Declared Risky in Turkey Under Urban Transformation Law? (2026 Updated Guide)

How does a building officially become a risky building in Turkey? Learn about the assessment application, licensed institutions, technical report, title registration, notification, 15-day objection period and demolition process under Law No. 6306.

How Does a Building Officially Become a Risky Building?

A building does not become legally classified as a risky building merely because it is old, damaged, located in an earthquake-prone area or described as unsafe by a contractor.

Under Law No. 6306, risky-building status results from a formal technical and administrative procedure.

The legislation defines a risky building by reference to a structure that has completed its economic life or is determined, on the basis of scientific and technical data, to carry a risk of collapse or severe damage. The building may be located either inside or outside a separately designated risk area.

For foreign property owners, understanding this distinction is extremely important. A building manager may say that the property is entering urban transformation, or a contractor may offer to demolish and reconstruct the building, but neither statement alone proves that an official risky-building determination exists.

Lawyer Fırat Fesih Kaya advises foreign property owners to establish the official status of the building before signing redevelopment agreements, transferring title rights or making decisions based on an expected demolition.

Who Can Start the Risky-Building Assessment?

The process can initially be started by a property owner or legal representative.

Current official guidance provides that a risky-building assessment may be requested, at the owners’ expense, through an institution or organization licensed to conduct such assessments. Importantly, one qualifying owner can initiate the assessment; unanimous approval of every apartment owner is not required simply to begin the risky-building assessment.

This rule can be particularly important for foreign homeowners.

For example, a foreign investor may own one apartment in a condominium building but live abroad. Another owner can potentially initiate the risky-building assessment even though the foreign owner did not sign the initial application.

The foreign owner’s absence does not automatically prevent the process from starting.

Can a Foreign Owner Request the Assessment?

Foreign nationality does not create a separate risky-building assessment procedure.

If the foreign individual holds the relevant ownership position, the assessment can be considered within the same property-based framework.

Foreign owners should therefore understand that they can have rights both as the person requesting an assessment and as an owner affected by an assessment initiated by someone else.

The important question is the registered ownership position, not simply nationality.

Can the Authorities Start the Assessment?

Yes.

The current implementing framework also allows the competent authority or administration to conduct or arrange a risky-building assessment on its own initiative or to give owners or their legal representatives a period within which to have the assessment conducted.

If the owners fail to act within the period given, the assessment can be carried out or arranged by the competent authority. Owners can then be responsible for the assessment costs according to their respective shares.

Therefore, the process does not always depend on voluntary action by an apartment owner.

Who Is Authorized to Determine Whether a Building Is Risky?

Not every engineer, contractor or construction company can issue the official risky-building determination required for this process.

The implementing regulation identifies the competent authority, relevant administrations and institutions or organizations licensed by the competent urban transformation authority as entities capable of conducting risky-building assessments within the statutory framework. Licensed entities may include qualifying public institutions, universities, building-inspection organizations, laboratories and registered engineering organizations that satisfy the applicable licensing conditions.

This means a foreign owner should distinguish between a private engineering opinion and an official risky-building assessment under Law No. 6306.

A private technical report may contain useful information, but it does not automatically mean that the statutory risky-building procedure has been completed.

How Is the Assessment Application Made?

The current procedure uses the designated electronic software system for risky-building assessment requests.

Where condominium ownership or condominium easement has been established, the application is connected to the relevant property ownership. Where such a condominium structure has not been established and the property is held through land shares, the rules identify which land-share owner is entitled to request the assessment of the building physically located on the land.

This makes title deed verification important from the beginning.

A person who merely occupies an apartment is not necessarily the person legally entitled to initiate the statutory assessment.

How Is the Building Technically Examined?

The building is assessed according to the technical principles established for risky-building determinations.

The current implementing regulation requires risky buildings to be identified according to the technical criteria contained in the relevant annex and through the designated electronic software system.

The process is therefore not simply a visual inspection.

The fact that a building has visible cracks can be relevant to its physical condition, but visible cracks alone do not replace the formal technical assessment.

Likewise, a building that appears visually well maintained cannot automatically be assumed to be structurally safe.

Which Structures Can Be Assessed as Risky Buildings?

The implementing regulation describes the types of structures that can be subjected to the statutory risky-building assessment.

The procedure applies to independently usable covered structures that people can enter for purposes such as living, working, recreation or worship, as well as structures used to protect animals or goods.

By contrast, unoccupied structures still under construction and structures whose structural integrity has already been lost because of abandonment or another reason are excluded from this ordinary risky-building assessment procedure.

The legal classification of the structure should therefore be established before assuming that the ordinary risky-building procedure applies.

Can an Owner Refuse Access to Prevent the Assessment?

Refusing access does not necessarily stop the process.

The current regulation specifically addresses situations where entry into the building or an independent unit is prevented, doors remain locked, or those conducting the assessment are obstructed through threats or force.

Where the statutory conditions are satisfied, the competent authority can seek the required authorization and law-enforcement assistance so that the assessment can be carried out, including opening closed areas where necessary.

This means physically preventing an inspection should not be confused with legally challenging the resulting risky-building determination.

What Happens After the Technical Report Is Prepared?

Preparation of the report is not the final stage.

The licensed institution or organization submits the risky-building assessment report electronically to the competent Urban Transformation Directorate or, where authority has been delegated, the relevant administration.

The report is then reviewed according to the applicable procedures.

If technical deficiencies are identified, the report can be returned to the institution or organization that prepared it for correction.

Therefore, the initial technical report does not automatically become final merely because it has been prepared.

What Happens If the Report Is Found Complete?

If no deficiency remains and the building is found to be risky, the competent authority proceeds with the next formal stage.

Under the current regulation, risky buildings whose reports contain no outstanding deficiency are notified to the relevant title deed authority within the prescribed period so that risky-building status can be indicated in the declarations section of the title register.

This title-registration stage is highly important for both existing owners and prospective buyers.

A foreign investor considering purchasing an apartment in an older building should therefore obtain current title information rather than relying on an old title deed copy.

Is a Risky-Building Notation Entered on the Title Record?

Yes.

Once the risky-building report has passed the relevant administrative review, the competent authority notifies the title deed authority for the risky-building status to be reflected in the title record.

This can materially affect the legal and economic position of the property.

A buyer may be acquiring an apartment that is already moving toward evacuation and demolition.

The notation should therefore never be treated as a minor administrative detail.

How Are Owners Notified?

The notification procedure is particularly important for foreign owners who spend substantial periods outside the country.

Under the current framework, the prescribed notice containing information about the risky-building determination is posted on the building. Owners are also informed through the e-Government system, and the determination is announced at the relevant local administrative office for fifteen days.

The building is additionally announced through the competent authority’s official publication mechanism for fifteen days.

Foreign owners should therefore not assume that a paper notice must first be personally delivered abroad before the procedure can progress.

When Is the Risky-Building Determination Legally Deemed Notified?

This date is extremely important.

Under the current procedure, the risky-building determination is deemed notified to holders of relevant rights on the final day of the fifteen-day local announcement.

This date matters because it is connected to the objection period.

A foreign homeowner who discovers the process weeks later may find that the ordinary objection period has already expired.

For this reason, determining the official notification chronology should be one of the first actions taken after learning that a building has been declared risky.

How Long Does an Owner Have to Object?

The current procedure provides a 15-day objection period.

Building owners or their legal representatives may object within fifteen days from the final day of the relevant local announcement. The objection is submitted to the competent Urban Transformation Directorate or, where authority has been delegated, the relevant administration.

Foreign owners should treat this as an urgent deadline.

Waiting for a future owners’ meeting or contractor proposal can result in losing the ordinary opportunity to challenge the risky-building assessment itself.

Who Can File the Objection?

The current regulation provides for an objection by the building owner or legal representative.

It also addresses situations involving a deceased owner and the relevant heirs. Objections that are out of time or are not submitted by the appropriate owner, representative or qualifying heirs are not processed under the ordinary objection mechanism.

This can become particularly important where a foreign family has inherited an apartment but inheritance and title procedures have not yet been fully organized.

What Should an Objection Be Based On?

The objection should address the risky-building determination.

An owner may dislike the idea of redevelopment, but personal opposition to demolition does not by itself establish that the technical report is incorrect.

The report should therefore be examined for technical and procedural issues.

A foreign owner considering an objection may need both legal review and independent technical analysis.

The objective should be to determine whether the official assessment was conducted and documented according to the applicable technical principles.

Who Reviews the Objection?

The objection is examined by the technical committee established under the statutory framework.

Official guidance states that the committee includes university academics and technical personnel from the competent public authority.

Importantly, the technical committee is not limited to the specific objection ground written in the petition. It examines the risky-building report technically as a whole to determine whether it complies with the applicable assessment principles and reaches the final technical conclusion concerning whether the structure is risky.

This makes the objection process a substantive technical review rather than merely a procedural formality.

Can the Risky-Building Determination Change After an Objection?

Yes.

The implementing regulation expressly recognizes that the result of a risky-building assessment may change following an objection or judicial decision.

Where this occurs, the change is communicated to the relevant title deed authority.

Therefore, a technically justified and timely objection can have meaningful consequences.

When Does the Risky-Building Determination Become Final?

The risky-building determination becomes final when no objection is made within the applicable period or when an objection is made and rejected.

This is a major turning point.

Before finalization, the owner may still be focused primarily on the validity of the technical assessment.

After finalization, attention shifts toward evacuation, demolition and protection of the owner’s position in the future redevelopment.

What Happens After Risky-Building Status Becomes Final?

Once the determination becomes final, the competent Urban Transformation Directorate requests the necessary notification and demolition procedures.

A separate evacuation and demolition notice is then issued through the prescribed mechanism.

As with the risky-building assessment notification, the current procedure uses posting on the building, electronic notification and a fifteen-day local announcement. The evacuation and demolition action is deemed notified on the final day of that announcement.

Foreign owners should therefore continue monitoring official developments even after the risky-building assessment itself becomes final.

How Much Time Is Given for Evacuation and Demolition?

Under the current implementing regulation, the administration gives a period not exceeding 90 days for evacuation and demolition.

The notice also explains that if the building is not evacuated and demolished within the period given, administrative evacuation and demolition may follow.

This means that a final risky-building determination is not simply a notation that remains indefinitely without practical consequences.

Owners should use this period to protect both their immediate housing position and their future redevelopment rights.

Can the Owner Stop Demolition Simply by Refusing to Leave?

Not necessarily.

Once the statutory process has reached the final evacuation and demolition stage, passive refusal does not amount to a successful legal challenge.

The implementing regulation contains mechanisms for administrative intervention where evacuation and demolition are not carried out and also provides consequences for obstructing risky-building assessment, evacuation or demolition procedures.

If an owner believes the underlying administrative process is unlawful, the available legal remedies should be evaluated promptly rather than relying on physical refusal.

Can the Building Be Strengthened Instead of Demolished?

Potentially, yes.

The current regulation expressly provides a route for strengthening where owners seek strengthening instead of demolition.

Within the period given for demolition, the owners must establish that strengthening is technically possible, obtain the required owner decision, prepare the strengthening project and obtain the necessary permit under the applicable construction framework.

Once the strengthening work is properly completed within the period determined by the permitting authority, an application can be made for removal of the risky-building notation from the title record.

Therefore, a risky-building determination does not mean that strengthening is legally impossible in every case.

Does a Risky-Building Determination Automatically Select a Contractor?

No.

This is a common misunderstanding.

The risky-building determination concerns the technical and legal status of the existing building.

Contractor selection and redevelopment of the property involve additional owner decisions and contractual arrangements.

Therefore, the fact that one owner initiated the risky-building assessment does not automatically give that owner authority to select a contractor for everyone.

Likewise, the licensed institution that conducted the assessment does not automatically acquire the right to redevelop the property.

Does a Risky-Building Determination Automatically Determine the New Apartment?

No.

The risky-building assessment determines whether the existing structure satisfies the applicable risk criteria.

It does not by itself decide which replacement apartment each owner will receive in a future development.

Replacement-unit allocation, construction terms, project characteristics and contractor obligations arise at later stages.

Foreign owners should therefore resist pressure to treat the risky-building report as if every redevelopment issue has already been decided.

Why Should the Owner Check the Title Deed Before Demolition?

Once demolition approaches, the physical apartment will disappear.

The owner’s registered land share and title position therefore become increasingly important.

Before demolition, the owner should verify the independent unit, registered land share, mortgages, attachments, usufruct rights and other title restrictions.

These matters can materially affect subsequent redevelopment decisions and transactions.

For foreign owners living abroad, obtaining this information early can prevent major problems once the project moves quickly.

Why Should the Existing Apartment Be Documented?

Before evacuation, the owner should create a detailed record of the existing property.

Photographs, videos, architectural plans and other records can help establish the apartment’s floor, orientation, approximate usable area, balconies, parking, storage and other economically important characteristics.

This can become valuable if a later dispute arises over the replacement apartment.

Once the building has been demolished, reconstructing reliable evidence of the former unit may become much harder.

What If the Building Is Already Under Urban Transformation When You Buy?

Foreign buyers should determine exactly where the building is within the risky-building procedure.

Questions should include whether the assessment has been completed, whether it has become final, whether the objection period remains open, whether an evacuation notice has been issued and whether redevelopment decisions have already been adopted.

A buyer should also investigate the land share, contractor arrangements and replacement-property allocation.

Purchasing an apartment in a building already declared risky is not economically equivalent to purchasing an ordinary completed apartment.

Can a Seller Hide the Risky-Building Status?

A buyer should not rely solely on the seller’s disclosure.

The current title record and official transformation documentation should be investigated independently.

Because the formal procedure includes notification to the title deed authority after an accepted risky-building report, current title due diligence is an important protection for prospective buyers.

The buyer should also determine whether later transformation procedures have progressed beyond the initial risky-building determination.

What If a Foreign Owner Is Outside the Country?

Living abroad does not automatically suspend the procedure.

This is one of the most important practical lessons for foreign homeowners.

A building can move through assessment, notification, objection and later evacuation procedures while an owner is abroad.

Foreign owners should therefore arrange reliable monitoring and, where appropriate, representation.

If a power of attorney is used, its scope should correspond to the actual task. Authority to obtain documents or file an objection does not necessarily require unrestricted authority to sell, mortgage or transfer the property.

Can the Risky-Building Determination Be Challenged in Court?

Depending on the circumstances, judicial review may become relevant in addition to the statutory technical objection procedure.

The precise legal route depends on the administrative action being challenged and the procedural stage.

Owners should not assume that simply filing a court case automatically suspends all further action.

Where urgent protection is required, the availability and requirements of interim judicial relief should be considered separately.

Timing is critical because demolition creates consequences that can be physically difficult to reverse.

2026 Practical Legal Strategy for Foreign Property Owners

The first priority is to determine whether there is an official risky-building report or merely an informal redevelopment proposal.

The second priority is to establish who conducted the assessment and whether the institution or organization was properly authorized within the statutory system. Current rules require risky-building assessments to follow the prescribed technical principles and official electronic procedure.

The third priority is to establish the official notification date. Under the current procedure, the risky-building assessment is deemed notified on the final day of the fifteen-day local announcement.

The fourth priority is to calculate the 15-day objection period immediately. If an objection is contemplated, the actual technical report should be obtained and reviewed without delay.

The fifth priority arises if the determination becomes final. Owners should then prepare for the evacuation and demolition procedure, under which the current regulation allows a period not exceeding 90 days.

Finally, the owner should begin protecting the future property position before demolition. The title deed, land share, existing apartment characteristics and subsequent redevelopment documents should all be preserved and reviewed.

The central principle is:

A building is not officially declared risky simply because it is old or because someone says it is unsafe. Risky-building status under urban transformation law results from a formal technical assessment, administrative review, official notification and the opportunity for the owner to object.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who can declare a building risky?

The risky-building assessment must be conducted within the statutory framework by the competent authorities or properly licensed institutions and organizations using the applicable technical assessment procedure.

2. Can one apartment owner start the process?

Yes. A qualifying owner or legal representative can initiate the risky-building assessment without obtaining unanimous approval from all owners.

3. Does the building have to be located in a designated risk area?

No. The statutory definition of a risky building covers qualifying structures located either inside or outside a separately designated risk area.

4. Is an engineer’s private report enough to declare the building officially risky?

Not automatically. The statutory risky-building process requires assessment through the authorized framework and subsequent administrative processing.

5. Is risky-building status recorded in the title register?

Yes. Once an accepted report has completed the relevant review, the competent authority notifies the title deed authority so that risky-building status can be reflected in the title record.

6. How are property owners notified?

The current procedure includes posting the prescribed notice on the building, electronic notification to owners and a fifteen-day announcement through the relevant local administrative mechanism.

7. How long do owners have to object?

Owners or their legal representatives have 15 days from the final day of the relevant local announcement to file the statutory objection.

8. Who decides the objection?

The objection is examined by the technical committee under the statutory framework, which reviews the risky-building report from a technical perspective and determines whether the building is risky or not.

9. What happens when risky-building status becomes final?

The process moves toward evacuation and demolition. Under the current implementing regulation, owners can be given a period not exceeding 90 days for evacuation and demolition.

10. Can strengthening be chosen instead of demolition?

Potentially, yes. The current regulation permits strengthening where technical feasibility, the required owner decision, a strengthening project and the necessary permit are obtained within the applicable framework.

Legal Assistance for Foreign Owners Facing a Risky-Building Determination

A risky-building determination can affect the future of an apartment, home, office or commercial property very quickly. Foreign owners should pay particular attention to the technical assessment, official report, title registration, notification date, 15-day objection period, strengthening possibility, evacuation and demolition procedure.

The most serious problems often arise when a foreign owner learns about the process only after important deadlines have expired.

Fırat Fesih Kaya Law Office provides legal assistance to foreign property owners and real estate investors dealing with risky-building and urban transformation procedures.

Lawyer Fırat Fesih Kaya assists foreign clients with reviewing risky-building documentation, determining objection deadlines, examining title and ownership records, evaluating redevelopment procedures, managing representation from abroad and protecting property rights before demolition and redevelopment.

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