Dealing with Construction Permits in
Turkey
Listed below is detailed summary of the procedures, time and costs to build a warehouse —including obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections and obtaining utility connections.
The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.
-
Building a warehouse
-
Estimated Warehouse Value:
TRY 449,650
- City: Istanbul
| No. |
Procedure |
Time to Complete |
Associated Costs |
| 1 |
Obtain lot plan
BuildCo applies to the Land Registry. Technicians from the Land Registry peg the corners of the plot, fix its location on the land, and prepare the plan for application.
According to annual indexation of official fees for issuing the lot plan by the Land Registry, the new official fee schedule as of December 10, 2010 is as follows:
1- 1000 m2 ………………….100,00.TL.
1001 -3000 m2……………. .150,00.TL
3001 -5000 m2 ……………..300,00.TL
5001 -10000 m2 …………....400,00.TL.
10001-20000 m2…………….550,00.TL.
20001 -50000 m2 …………..715,00.TL.
50001 -100000 m2 …………870,00.TL.
100001- 200000 m2 …… 1.000,00.TL.
200001 ila 500000 m2…… 1.200,00.TL.
The fee applied for BuildCo case is TRY 100, which may be multiplied by a ratio based on the actual location of the warehouse in certain district.
Agency: District Land Registry
|
7 days
|
TRY 100
|
| 2 |
Obtain cadastral plan
BuildCo submits an application to the Cadastral Plan Branch of the relevant municipality, along with the two documents described in the previous procedure, and obtains the Cadastral Plan Document. This document states the development conditions applicable to the plot.
Agency: District Cadastral Office
|
3 days
|
no charge
|
| 3 |
Obtain road datum document
BuildCo must apply to the Road Datum Branch of the relevant municipality with the documents obtained in the previous procedures. The branch technicians set all the necessary levels—road, entrance, plot, building corners, and the like—to be the basis for the design process of the works that will follow, and issue a “road datum document.”
Agency: Road Datum Branch, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
|
2 days
|
TRY 105
|
| 4 |
Hire an independent building inspector
The company must select an independent building inspector and sign a service contract with this inspector. The inspector must check and approve all the project’s plans before they are submitted to the municipality. The list of project plans is extensive and includes the architectural design of the building done by design consultants; the reinforced concrete and insulation project plans prepared by a civil engineer; the fire safety project plans prepared jointly by an architect and the mechanical engineer for utilities; the project plans and documents for hot water, and those of central heating facilities prepared by a mechanical engineer; the electrical wiring project plans prepared by an electrical engineer; the telecommunications system project plans prepared by an electrical engineer; and the landscape project plans prepared by a landscape engineer.
Selecting an independent building consultant takes only a day. However, practitioners agree that it takes at least 3 days for the building inspector to review and approve all the documents before they are submitted to the municipality. Hence, for the case considered here, it is assumed that 4 days are needed to complete this procedure.
The building inspector charges a fee of 3% of the total building cost.On 5 February 2008, "Regulation on the İmplementation of Building İnspection" was adopted. According to it there have been several amendments in amount of the building inspector's fee. Accordingly, upon the period of the construction, the building inspector's fee changes between 2,57% and 5,31% of total construction cost. This fee is now paid in six installments whereas before was in four installments. The inspector receive the following payments at the following stages:
-10% when the building permit is obtained.
- 10% when the foundation is completed.
-40% when the static structure is completed.
-20% when the detailed works are completed.
-15% when the mechinacal and electricity system are completed.
-5 % when the construction completion minute is approved by the municipality.
However, for the case considered here, it is assumed that any interaction with the independent building inspector is an internal process within BuildCo. Hence, the phased-out payment is included in this procedure as a one lump sum, for methodological reasons.
Agency: Private Building Inspection Agency
|
4 days
|
TRY 13,490
|
| 5 |
Obtain approval of architectural drawings from the municipality
The company must submit the documents listed below along with the architectural drawings to the project branch of the municipality:
- The authorization document of the architect.
- The plan for the application.
- The cadastral plan document.
- The road datum document.
- The title deed registration document.
- The plot share distribution table, if there is more than one independent section on the land (for instance, an apartment building)
- Built-up area breakdown table in square meters.
- Ratified geological study.
- Three sets of the elevator preliminary report (not applicable in the warehouse case).
The municipality must approve the project’s proposed designs. The fire safety project should also be submitted to the municipality for approval and can be included in this procedure.
If the municipality asks for changes to be made to the architectural designs during the approval process, these changes should be reflected in the engineering and landscaping projects as well. For final approval, these project plans are submitted to the municipal project branch, for static, sanitation facility, heating and heat insulation, and landscaping project plans to the Turkish Electricity Distribution Corporation (TEDAS), for the electricity project plans; and to the telephone company, for the telecommunication project plans. Fire-electricity and fire-mechanical project plans must be approved by the Fire Department.
Article 22 of the Land Development Law establishes a 30-day statutory time limit for this procedure. Although in some cases the approval may be granted within 7 days, practitioners agree that most cases require the full 30 days allowed by law.
The cost estimated for this procedure ranges from TRY 3,000 to TRY 3,500. The fees found on one district municipality’s Web site show the cost breakdown to include fees for examination, approval, and various other taxes (e.g., sign posts, trees).
Agency: District Municipality
|
30 days
|
TRY 3,500
|
| 6 |
Obtain approval from the Fire Department
BuildCo must apply for fire facilities approval to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Fire Brigade. TAs of January 1, 2011 the fee schedule for issuing fire approval of construction projects has been updated:
1. group buildings: exempted,
2. group buildings: m2 0.44 TRY
3. group buildings: m2 0.75 TRY
4. group buildings: m2 0.99 TRY
5. group buildings: m2 1.45 TRY
6. group buildings: m2 1.74 TRY
7. group buildings: m2 4.05 TRY
BuildCo would fall into group 6 (factory buildings, hospitals, hotels, warehouses). Therefore, the applicable fee would be: 1.300,6 X 1.74 = TRY 2,263
Agency: Fire Department, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
|
2 days
|
TRY 2,263
|
| * 7 |
Obtain approval of technical drawings from the Turkish Electricity Corporation (TEDAS)
If the building requires new electrical facilities from the Turkish electricity corporation (TEDAS), the TEDAS charges a fee for the new facilities.
Agency: Turkish Electricity Corporation (TEDAS)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| * 8 |
Obtain approval of technical drawings from the phone company
If the building requires new telecommunication facilities from the Post and Telephone Corporation (PTT), the PTT charges a fee for these new facilities.
Agency: Türk Telekom
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 9 |
Obtain contractor registration document from the chamber of commerce
The contractor (BuildCo) must obtain the “contractor registration document” for the year in which the building permit is issued.
Agency: Chamber of Commerce
|
1 day
|
TRY 555
|
| 10 |
Obtain project approval from the civil defense directorate of the district governor’s office
The company must submit the project to the civil defense directorate of the district governor’s office for approval of the shelter provided in the designed building.
Agency: Civil Defense Directorate (District Governor's office)
|
7 days
|
TRY 30
|
| 11 |
Obtain proof of payment and clearance of water and sewerage infrastructure
The company contacts the water and sewerage department to pay the fees and participation share in the cost of the water and sewerage infrastructure. A clearance document is obtained, that shows that complete payment was made.
Agency: Water and Sewerage Department (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality)
|
20 days
|
TRY 1,208
|
| 12 |
Receive foundation registration number from the Social Security Institution
The company must register the staff that will be working at the construction site with the Social Security Institution.
Agency: Social Security Institution
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 13 |
Obtain building permit
The company requests a building permit from the licensing branch of the municipality. The approved design, engineering drawings, and other necessary documents (described in Procedures 7 to 16) must be attached to this request. The company must pay the fees before receiving the building permit and starting foundation work.
Building permits are usually issued 1–2 months after submission of the application. The law provides for a statutory time limit of 30 days for the municipality issuing the permit. There are frequent complaints from applicants about not receiving the building permit within the specified time.
Following the building permit issuance, the municipal building control authority will randomly conduct inspections during the construction on site, in addition to private inspection.
Agency: District Municipality, Licensing Branch
|
30 days
|
TRY 5,000
|
| 14 |
Obtain proof of tax payment
The company must pay all taxes owed, and obtain a tax clearance document from the appropriate tax departments. This document states that all taxes owed have been paid.
Agency: Tax Department
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 15 |
Request inspection from the civil defense experts
BuildCo must first request an inspection that takes a day. Depending on the availability of inspectors, it takes approximately a week to receive the final inspection from the district governor’s office.
Agency: Civil Defense Directorate (District Governor's office)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 16 |
Receive inspection from the civil defense experts in the district governor’s office
The civil defense experts of the district governor’s office determine (on site) whether the property conforms to the project, documenting its conformity with a report.
Agency: Civil Defense Directorate (District Governor's office)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 17 |
Receive final inspection from the municipality
Agency: District Metropolitan Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| * 18 |
Obtain occupancy permit
Land Development Law No. 3194 requires an occupancy permit for all new constructions. The company applies for the occupancy permit by submitting the following documents:
- The invoice for the building.
- The building permit.
- The built-up area breakdown table in square meters.
- The original copy of the plot title deed.
- The real estate tax declaration.
- The real estate tax receipt.
An authorized commission from the municipality inspects the building and verifies that it complies with the project. This commission then issues the occupancy permit.
The law specifies a statutory time limit of 30 days for the municipality to issue an occupancy permit. Practitioners observe that this statutory time limit is not frequently observed, and so, this process can take on average 2 months.
Agency: District Metropolitan Municipality
|
30 days
|
TRY 2,000
|
| * 19 |
Obtain proof of real estate tax payment
Real estate taxes must be submitted to the tax office within 3 months of receipt of the title deeds. The company must obtain a copy of the real estate tax form and a tax clearance statement from municipal accounting office.
Agency: District Metropolitan Municipality
|
10 days
|
no charge
|
| * 20 |
Change the title deed from a land title deed to a building title deed
The company must submit the following documents to the title deed department in order to register the building:
- The title deed.
- The plot share distribution table.
- The occupancy permit.
- The cadastral survey pages.
Registering the warehouse takes some time due to backlogs and long waiting times at the Land Registry. However, with connections at the Land Registry, the process may take as little as 3 days.
Agency: Title Deed Department
|
10 days
|
TRY 300
|
| 21 |
Request water connection and permission for discharge of sewerage and rainwater
The company must request permission from the water and sewerage department to discharge sewage and rainwater. The technicians from this department perform their inspections at the site and grant permission for connection of wastewater and rainwater to the system.
The company can also request the water connection at the same time. The technicians from the same department check that the canal connections comply with the approved design. The technicians then issue a letter of approval for connection.
Agency: Istanbul Water Supply and Sewerage General Directorate (ISKI)
|
40 days
|
no charge
|
| 22 |
Receive inspection and obtain connection from the water and sewerage department
Agency: Istanbul Water Supply and Sewerage General Directorate (ISKI)
|
7 days
|
no charge
|
| * 23 |
Obtain approval of telephone system from the Telephone Regional directorate
Agency: Turkish Electricity Corporation (TEDAS)
|
3 days
|
no charge
|
| * 24 |
Obtain telephone connection
Agency: Türk Telekom
|
2 days
|
TRY 7
|
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.