This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Kentsel Dönüşümde Hak Sahipliği ve İtiraz Yolları.
Urban regeneration begins with a determination that a building is at risk; that determination may be objected to within fifteen days of service (Law no. 6306). Decisions to demolish and rebuild are taken by a two-thirds majority of the shares. The shares of owners who do not join the decision are put up for sale under the procedure the Act lays down.
Your building has been determined to be at risk. Some neighbours are pleased, others uneasy. What comes next usually runs through a process nobody fully understands.
Law no. 6306 governs it. This article explains how to object to the determination, what the two-thirds majority means, and what happens to the share of an owner who does not join.
Objecting to the Risk Determination
The process begins with a determination that the building is at risk, made by organisations licensed by the Ministry. It can be triggered by a request from any one of the owners.
The result is served on the owners. The period for objecting is fifteen days from service, and the objection is made by petition to the directorate for the place where the building is.
A technical panel examines the objection. If the period is missed the determination becomes final and the demolition process starts.
The grounds must be technical: what measurements the report rests on, whether core samples were taken, whether the method of calculation was appropriate. Saying “our building is sound” is not enough; producing a contrary technical opinion is the strong course.
How Is the Two-Thirds Majority Calculated?
Once the determination is final, the owners meet to decide what happens to the building. The Act requires a decision by at least a two-thirds majority of the owners by share.
Note carefully: the majority is calculated by land share, not by number of owners. A small number of owners holding large shares can constitute the majority.
The decision covers the contract with the builder, the division of the units and the terms of construction. Because it binds those who did not join, the procedure for calling and holding the meeting must be followed exactly: proper notice, a stated agenda, and a properly kept attendance list.
What Happens to a Dissenting Owner?
The land shares of owners who do not join a decision taken by the two-thirds majority are put up for sale under the statutory procedure. They are offered first to the other owners who did join; if there is no buyer, the administration proceeds to a sale.
That is a serious interference with property rights, which is exactly why compliance with the procedural rules matters so much. The grounds a dissenting owner can raise are: irregularity in the notice, miscalculation of the majority, and undervaluation of the share.
Challenging the valuation is a separate route and is subject to a time limit. If you consider your share undervalued, object in time.
| Stage | Period / proportion | Forum |
|---|---|---|
| Risk determination | — | A licensed organisation |
| Objection to the determination | 15 days from service | The directorate; examined by a technical panel |
| Owners' decision | Two thirds by land share | Meeting of the owners |
| Sale of a dissenting owner's share | Under the statutory procedure | First to the other owners, then by the administration |
| Objection to the valuation | Within the period prescribed | The administration and the courts |
| Annulment of an administrative act | 60 days | Administrative court |
The majority is calculated by land share, not by number of owners — the point most often misunderstood.
What About Tenants?
A tenant in a building found to be at risk must vacate, but they are not left without rights:
- Rent assistance. Tenants as well as owners may apply for the rent assistance the Act provides, within the period and on the conditions prescribed.
- Return of the deposit and unexpired rent. The tenancy ends by operation of the statutory process, and sums paid in advance are recoverable from the landlord.
- Moving costs. Where the contract or the scheme provides for them.
A tenant should apply for rent assistance in their own name; assuming the owner will handle it is a common way the entitlement is lost.
Protecting Yourself in the Process
- Obtain a copy of the risk report and have it reviewed technically before the fifteen days expire.
- Take the land registry entry and check the share proportions; the majority turns on them.
- Keep the notice, agenda and attendance list for every meeting — they are the evidence in any later challenge.
- Read the contract with the builder as a construction contract in return for flats: delivery date, delay penalty, specification, security and staged transfer of title all apply here too.
- Apply for rent assistance in time, as owner or as tenant.
The objection to a risk determination must be filed within fifteen days of service and must engage with the report: the measurements, the core samples, the method of calculation. Once the period passes the determination is final — and the two-thirds majority that follows is counted by land share, not by head.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I object to a risk determination?
By petition to the directorate for the place where the building is, within fifteen days of service. A technical panel examines it, so the grounds must engage with the report's measurements and method.
How is the two-thirds majority counted?
By land share, not by number of owners. A few owners holding large shares can constitute the majority.
What happens if I do not join the decision?
Your land share is put up for sale under the statutory procedure — offered first to the owners who did join, and otherwise sold by the administration. You may challenge the notice, the calculation of the majority and the valuation.
Do tenants have any rights?
Yes. Tenants may apply for rent assistance in their own name, and may recover the deposit and any rent paid in advance from the landlord.
What should I check in the builder's contract?
The same points as in any construction contract for a share of the flats: the delivery date, the delay penalty, the specification, security, and above all a staged transfer of the land shares.