Significant Amendments for the Transformation of Risky Buildings

These amendments were prepared in parallel with the Law No. 7471 on the Amendment of the Law on the Transformation of Areas under Disaster Risk and Certain Laws and the Decree Law No. 375 (“Law”), which has entered into force on 9.11.2023. You can access the memorandum we prepared in 2023 regarding the Law here.

A. What are the Amendments Introduced by the Regulation?

Authorization of the Urban Transformation Presidency for Urban Transformation Practices:

Within the scope of the Regulation, in parallel with the Law, the powers of the Urban Transformation Presidency (“Presidency”) and the Urban Transformation Directorate (“Directorate”) have been expanded in order to conduct the transformation processes regarding risky buildings in a more effective and coordinated way.

Expanding the Definition of Reserve Building Areas and Providing Financing for Transformation

Following the expansion of the definition of reserve construction areas by the Law, the term “new settlement area” was removed from the definition of reserve construction areas by the Regulation. Thus, all areas deemed necessary can be declared as reserve construction areas, and the areas declared as reserve construction areas can be evacuated for urban transformation and new buildings can be built in their place.

In addition, in order to accelerate urban transformation projects and provide the necessary financing for these projects, landowners must fulfill one of the following two conditions in order for a land to be designated as a reserve building area:

1. Transfer of ownership of 30% of the land to the Presidency,
2. The value of 30% of the area is transferred as income to a special account created for transformation projects.

Official institutions affiliated to the Ministry and their affiliates are excluded from these conditions.

Identifying Risky Buildings:

It is regulated that the Presidency or the administration can identify risky buildings on their own. In the objection process regarding the determination of risky buildings, new procedures have been introduced to ensure that building owners and legal representatives are announced and notified about the building before the objection period expires.

With the amendment, if the building owners try to disrupt the identification process, law enforcement officers are allowed to intervene upon written authorization by the local administrative supervisor.

Innovations have also been made in the objection period and notification methods, and a wider information system has been created by announcing the risky building detection information at the mukhtar's office and notifying the building owners via the e-Government Gateway.

In addition, a new deadline has been set for the correction of deficiencies in risky building assessment reports; accordingly, all deficiencies must be corrected within 30 (thirty) days from the date of notification to the institution or organization issuing the report. If the licensed institution or organization makes a justified request within the 30 (thirty) days period, additional time may be granted for the correction of the deficiencies.

Reduction of the Quorum Required for the Decision to be Taken by the Owners Regarding the Transformation Process:

While the Law required a two-thirds (2/3) majority decision by the owners for the transformation of buildings under risk, this quorum was reduced to the absolute majority of the owners' ownership shares. A parallel amendment has been made in the Regulation, stipulating that a simple majority will now be sufficient for provisions requiring a two-thirds (2/3) majority, with the aim of facilitating the decision-making process.

Time Period for Demolition of Risky Buildings and Eviction:

While the owners were given a period of not less than 60 (sixty) days for the demolition of risky buildings, the Law gave the owners a maximum period of 90 (ninety) days. Similar to the Law, the Regulation stipulates that in cases where the risky building is not evacuated or demolished within this period, it will be demolished with the personal intervention of the administrative authorities.

In addition, the Regulation stipulates that if a building is requested to be reinforced instead of demolished, the owners must, within the specified period (90 days), have it determined that the reinforcement is technically feasible, take a reinforcement decision, have a reinforcement project prepared and obtain the necessary license in accordance with the zoning legislation.

The Presidency's Pre-emption Right and Its Exercise:

In the previous regulations, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change had the right of pre-emption on immovables in risky areas. Pursuant to the Regulation, the Presidency may exercise the right of pre-emption in the same manner. The Presidency can annotate the title deeds of immovables in risky areas and reserve construction areas with the right of pre-purchase. In the event that all or part of the immovable is sold to a third party, the Presidency may exercise its pre-emption right.

B. Conclusion

With the amendments made to the Regulation, important steps have been taken to ensure that urban transformation processes are implemented in a more effective and coordinated way. With these amendments, the powers of the administration regarding the identification, evacuation and demolition of earthquake-risk buildings have been expanded and these processes have been regulated in more detail.

These amendments were made in parallel with the Law and aim to accelerate the transformation process for risky buildings and provide more effective financing. With these regulations, it is aimed to realize urban transformation projects more effectively. While the Regulation is of great importance in terms of encouraging the renovation of risky buildings, it is also extremely important to protect the interests and equity of building owners in this process.

The full text of the Regulation is available here.

Cerensu Çetin Yenigün, Senior Associate
Kayra Menekşe, Associate
Gökçe Aksoy, Trainee Lawyer