A Web Tapu sale application takes just a few minutes to create through the Web Tapu service of the Tapu ve Kadastro Genel Müdürlüğü (TKGM, the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre) on e-Devlet (Turkey's e-government portal): you select the property, declare the sale price and pay the tapu harcı (title deed fee) and the döner sermaye (municipal revolving fund fee) online; the buyer, the seller and, where required, the spouses then approve the application from their own e-Devlet accounts. The process starts on the internet, but the tescil (registration) — the signing of the tapu senedi (title deed) — is completed by appointment at the tapu müdürlüğü (land registry office) where the property is located. In short, Web Tapu does away with the queue and the paperwork grind; the signature stage stays.
How do you create a Web Tapu sale application?
All it takes is logging in to e-Devlet, opening the TKGM's Web Tapu service and choosing “sale” as the transaction type. The system walks you through it step by step; in outline, here are the screens you'll face:
- Selecting the property: You identify the property being sold by its province, district, neighbourhood and ada-parsel (block and parcel) numbers. Keep your title deed in hand; mixing up the block and parcel is the most common mistake.
- The parties' details: The buyer's and the seller's identity information is entered; for married parties, spouse details may also be requested because of the mal rejimi (marital property regime).
- Declaring the sale price: The fee is calculated over this figure, so enter a realistic amount. I explain why below.
- Land registry office and appointment: The sale is registered at the office where the property is located, and you address your application to that office.
One of the parties creates the application and the others are invited to approve it. For sales carried out by power of attorney, check how the process works on the TKGM's website; the service's scope keeps widening over time.
How do you pay the tapu harcı and döner sermaye online?
Payment is made by card on the application screen; if you'd like to see the amount first, you can enter the property's details in the Tapu Harcı Sorgulama (title deed fee inquiry) service on e-Devlet. The question people really want answered is this: how is the amount calculated?
For a sale, the tapu harcı is calculated on whichever is higher: the sale price you declare or the property's emlak vergisi değeri (property tax value). The rate the Harçlar Kanunu (Law on Fees) sets for sales is twenty per thousand — that is, 2% — and it hasn't changed in years. Even so, confirm the rate and the exemption thresholds in force in your transaction year from the current fee guide of the Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı (GİB, the Revenue Administration). One warning: understating the sale price gains you nothing. If your declaration falls below the property tax value, the fee is still calculated on that value; a false low declaration also carries the risk of an administrative penalty.
The döner sermaye is a separate line item. It is paid to the revolving fund enterprise of the municipality the property belongs to and is calculated on the property tax value at a rate the municipal council sets — which is why the amount varies from one district to another. On Web Tapu, the fee and the revolving fund charge appear on a single screen and are paid in one go. Who pays is up to the parties: by customary practice the buyer usually covers it, but that's not an obligation — the seller can take it on too.
How do the parties approve the application, and what happens if the deadline passes?
For the application to be valid, everyone involved in the sale must give electronic approval from their own e-Devlet account. Even if the buyer is in Bursa and the seller in Izmir, there's no problem; nobody travels anywhere just to approve.
Two details to watch. For married parties, the spouse's approval may also be required under the marital property regime; if that approval is missing, the application doesn't complete. Second, there's a set time limit for approvals. If one of the parties doesn't approve within it, the application lapses automatically and the transaction has to be created again. You can follow which stage your application has reached, and who has or hasn't approved, on the Web Tapu page. Check it once before the appointment, and give the other side a nudge too.
How is the transaction completed at the land registry office?
Once the approvals are in and the payment is made, your application is passed to the land registry office and the appointment stage begins; you track your appointment date in the system. To sign the title deed, the parties still have to appear in person at the tapu müdürlüğü where the property is located. The difference is this: the file is ready, the fee is paid, the approvals are in the system. Appointment day is usually a short meeting limited to identity checks and signatures. No queue, no pile of paperwork.
Get two things done before the appointment. If there are outstanding debts to the property's municipality — property tax, the environmental cleanliness tax, wastewater charges and the like — they must be paid before the sale; the office queries municipal receivables, and if a debt shows up, the transaction can be halted. If you're buying with a housing loan, talk the timing through with your bank; the ipotek (mortgage) runs on the bank's own process, so plan your appointment date around the loan approval.
A quick scenario: a seller and a buyer living in two different cities
Picture one of our readers selling an apartment in Antalya. They live in Ankara, listed the property on SahibindenSat, the negotiations moved forward over the phone, and they agreed on a price with a buyer settled in Istanbul. In the old days, that picture would have meant both sides setting aside a day each to travel to Antalya and wait their turn at the land registry office.
With Web Tapu, the flow changes. The seller creates the application on e-Devlet and pays the fee and the revolving fund charge by card. The buyer approves from a computer in Istanbul; the seller's spouse approves from a phone in Ankara. Once the approvals are complete, the appointment is fixed; the parties meet on the day they chose at the land registry office in Antalya, put down their signatures, and the registration is completed that same day. Travel comes down to a single day. The buyer and the seller being in different cities is no obstacle at any step of the process; only on registration day does everyone need to be at the office.
The most common mistakes in the Web Tapu process
Files that can't be completed on appointment day, or that have to start the process all over again, usually share one of these traits:
- Entering the wrong block and parcel: Selecting the neighbouring parcel, if it goes unnoticed, prepares the file for the wrong property. Enter the details by checking them against your title deed.
- Declaring a low sale price: The fee is calculated on whichever is higher — the declared amount or the property tax value. Understating it doesn't work, and it carries penalty risk.
- Forgetting the spouse's approval: Where spousal approval is required under the marital property regime, the application can't move forward until the e-Devlet approval arrives.
- Missing the approval deadline: If one party fails to approve in time, the application lapses. Remind the buyer and, where applicable, the spouses.
- Leaving municipal debts unpaid: An outstanding property tax or wastewater bill can cut the transaction off on appointment day.
- Loan and mortgage out of sync: If the bank's mortgage process doesn't catch the appointment date, the sale is postponed. Build the calendar together with your bank.
Frequently asked questions
Can a sale be completed entirely online through Web Tapu?
No. The application, the fee payment and the parties' approvals happen online; the registration and the signing of the title deed take place by appointment at the land registry office where the property is located.
What do you need for a Web Tapu sale application?
An e-Devlet account, the property's title deed details (province, district, neighbourhood, block and parcel numbers), the parties' identity information, a declared sale price and a bank card for the payment.
Who pays the title deed fee?
That's left to the agreement between buyer and seller; by customary practice the buyer usually takes it on. For the current details of how the fee is legally collected, check the GİB guide.
If the application lapses, is the paid fee refunded?
Yes, provided the conditions are met. For cancelled or lapsed applications, the refund of the paid fee is requested from the GİB through a correction and refund application; the guide explains the process.
What happens if the buyer or the seller is in another city?
It's no obstacle. Everyone can give approval from their own e-Devlet account, from whichever city they happen to be in. Only on registration day do the parties need to be present at the land registry office.
One last note: fee rates, revolving fund amounts and exemption thresholds can change from year to year. What's described here reflects the general workings of the process; be sure to confirm the current figures in force on your transaction date from the GİB's fee guide and from your land registry office.