Unauthorized Construction and the Construction Amnesty (Structure Registration Certificate)

Istanbul has a large number of buildings and sections built without a permit or in deviation from their permit: floors added later, enclosed balconies, basements shown as storage on the project but used as a residence, and so on. Under a regulation issued in 2018, some of these structures were given a structure registration certificate (yapı kayıt belgesi), a process commonly known as the 'construction amnesty' (imar barışı).

What does the structure registration certificate provide?

• That demolition and fines will not be applied for the deviations it covers,
• That temporary electricity, water and natural gas hookups can be obtained,
• In some cases, the possibility of changing the registered nature of the property and moving to condominium ownership on the deed.

What does it not provide?

• It is not a guarantee of earthquake safety. The certificate does not show that the structure is sound.
• It does not permanently give the structure the same status as a permitted one; when the structure is eventually rebuilt, it must comply with the current zoning plan and regulations.
• If the structure is found to be a risky building, urban transformation rules apply regardless.
• It does not legitimize sections built on land belonging to someone else or on public land.

Risks of buying an unauthorized floor

• The unauthorized floor may not appear on the deed as a separate independent unit, leaving ownership unclear.
• In urban transformation, entitlement is calculated by land share, and the unauthorized floor does not by itself create an additional entitlement.
• The building's load-bearing system may be strained beyond what the project allowed.
• Financing and insurance problems.