Liaison office law in Turkey

“Hello Berk, I have just read your article on Turkish property law — subtenant and eviction issues. I am Irish and own a house in Turkey which I use on a yearly basis as a summer holiday. I have rented this out to a Turkish girl two weeks ago.

She initially needed a house for about three months, which I was happy to accommodate. She now likes the house and wishes to rent for longer, possibly one year. I did not have a rental agreement in place. Would it be advisable to have a written agreement with her? Do you have a sample agreement (in Turkish and English)? Many thanks, Colm.”

Dear Colm, thank you for reading my column. I am afraid there is no one sample agreement which would suit all rental agreements; you always need to consider the special needs of your property and tenant.

I strongly recommend that you visit a lawyer and ask your lawyer to prepare a rental agreement. It may not look feasible to pay legal fees to a lawyer for a small house rental matter, but it really is feasible and necessary. This may save a lot of time and money and avoid stress.

Another question is a short and important one: “Dear Sir, what is the process to be followed for the purchase of a property in Turkey? Thank you for your time. James”

Dear James, the property purchase process in Turkey is based on a couple of stages, which include a property check at the title deed office. This is best done by a lawyer who can assess and carefully examine whether there are any liens or obstacles to transferring the title. Another step is the permission process for foreign purchase.

This is given by military headquarters and basically indicates if the property is located in a prohibited military zone or not. Another stage is the notary process, for granting power of attorney to the lawyer who will be representing the buyer during the purchase process, and the final stage is the conclusion of title transfer at the land registry office.

Liaison office question

“Dear Mr. Cektir,

I was very interested to read your article in Today’s Zaman last week regarding how businesses can establish themselves in Turkey. I was particularly interested in the recent change in legislation that allowed foreign businesses to establish liaison offices in the country. I was wondering whether you can advise on where I might find further information on this subject and in fact how a foreign company can apply for this status. Any direction you may be able to give me would be greatly appreciated. Best regards, Atila Madakbas.”

Dear Atila, foreign companies can promote their business by opening liaison offices in Turkey. The main difference between a branch and a liaison office is that the liaison offices cannot carry out any activity through their offices in Turkey to generate revenue.

Another difference is that the expenditures of a liaison office must be met entirely from foreign currency brought in from abroad. Liaison office permits are granted for a period of up to three years, and extension applications must be made at the end of each period or permit.

The permit-issuing authority for opening a liaison office in Turkey is the Directorate General of Foreign Investments at the Treasury. If the application procedure is in order and the documents complete, the permit will be issued within a week or so.

Berk Cektir http://www.berkcektir.av.tr  The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner. http://www.todayszaman.com/ info@berkcektirlaw.com