Loss of Immovable Property Ownership and the Land Register Entry

Legal Article · 12 November 2026
Thomas Andreas Di Constantinople, Attorney at Law

Loss of ownership of immovable property is not the same as the property remaining unused or appearing to have been physically abandoned by its owner. Article 717 of the Turkish Civil Code (TMK) provides for ownership to end through cancellation of the registration or complete destruction of the property. The time at which ownership ends in expropriation is governed by special legislation. In each case, the legal event underlying the loss must be identified.

Change of Owner and Termination of the Right

When property is transferred to another person through a valid transaction, the previous owner's ownership ends and the other person becomes the owner. Relinquishment of the right or complete destruction of the property may have different consequences. Nor does every correction to a land register entry establish that ownership actually ended on that date. A legal change outside the register and its reflection in the register may occur at different times.

The distinction between land and the building on it is particularly important. Demolition of a building does not mean that the land on which it stands has also been completely destroyed. The disappearance of the building alone therefore does not establish that ownership of the land has ended. Special provisions concerning independent units subject to condominium ownership and demolished buildings must be assessed separately.

Non-use of a property, failure to pay taxes or use by another person does not, by itself, change its owner. If another person claims to have acquired ownership, the statutory requirements for that claim are examined separately. In expropriation, the stage of the procedure, the nature of the decision and the relevant special provision are decisive. In a dispute, the historical chain of land register entries, the basis for cancellation and the decision or transaction affecting the right matter as much as the current entry. This prevents factual change, a registry procedure and the legal loss of ownership from being confused.

This article has been prepared for general legal information.