Buying property in Türkiye is popular among expats and individuals seeking to apply for Turkish citizenship through investment. However, the success of such an endeavor largely depends on understanding crucial aspects of land ownership, such as zoning.
The distinction between zoned and unzoned land is important as it impacts approval of building permits and potential property appreciation. To get the best value on your real estate investment as a foreign buyer, you have to familiarize yourself with this basic, albeit essential concept.
Table of Contents
What Does Zoned Land Mean?
Zoned land meaning is the land where the government allows development and construction under local rules and regulations. In simple terms, a zoned land has the regional government’s permission for a building plan and infrastructure expansion.
So, why are zoning and land use rules so important? Zoning is important because it impacts:
- What can be constructed on the land (residence, shops, or industrial)
- Number of floors that can be constructed
- Ratio of land that can be built on
- Proportions of green zones
- Infrastructure planning (roads)
- Obtaining necessary permits
- Total value of the land
What Are the Types of Zoned Land?
There are different types of zoned lands in Türkiye. Each type has its own set of rules and regulations that decide how the land can be legally used by a potential buyer:
Residential Zoned Land
By land zoning definition, a residentially zoned land is for building living spaces. It includes all types of houses, such as apartments (low-rise, high-rise), separate units, semi-detached housing, or even social housing units. This type of zoning is further classified into sub-categories:
- Ayrık Nizam (detached or separate building)
- Bitişik Nizam (town-house type)
- Blok Nizam (apartment blocks)
Industrial Zoned Land
A land with permission for industrial construction and activities is known as an industrial zoned land. This type of zoning is reserved for warehouses, light/heavy industries, logistical buildings, or organized industrial areas.
Commercial Zoned Land
As the name suggests, a land with zoning permits for commercial spaces such as shops, shopping malls, offices, hotels, restaurants, etc., is referred to as a commercial zoned land. Buildings with a mix of residential and commercial spaces also come under this type of zoning.
Tourism Zoned Land
In areas with high tourist foot traffic (resort towns, coastal areas, major cities), tourism-zoned land is a common zoning type in Türkiye. Tourism zoning allows for building tourism-related spaces and other infrastructure. This includes hotels, guesthouses, motels, resorts, entertainment complexes, apartment hotels, marinas, etc.
Village Zoned Land
Village zoning is found in rural areas. This is a unique zoning that allows for constructing houses, low-rise buildings, storage spaces, barns, workshops, commercial shops, and other agricultural infrastructure. Village-zoned land is not agricultural land and is reserved only for settlement building.
Health Zoned Land
Also known as Sağlık Tesis Alanı, this type of zoning and land use is for healthcare-related infrastructure and facilities. Health zoning ensures that healthcare facilities are planned and appropriately located.
Subdivided Zoned Land
A subdivided zoned land is one that’s divided into smaller legal pieces of land after the initial zoning. The key advantage of this type of zoning is that it is available for sale and construction as legally separate plots. In Turkish, it is known as parselasyon yapılmış imarlı arsa.
Apart from these basic types of land zoning, there are also other forms of zoning, like social facility zoned land (schools, government buildings) and green zoned land (for parks and green spaces), among others.
What Does Unzoned Land Mean?
A piece of land with no legal permission for building or development from the local government or municipality is unzoned land. In other words, construction on unzoned land is generally not permitted, except for temporary or agricultural structures where allowed by regulations. Unzoned land has:
- No officially assigned use
- No legal permissions to build on
- May be lacking in infrastructure
Agricultural zoned land is technically zoned for farming purposes only; residential or commercial buildings are not permitted.
An informal term that buyers need to be familiar with is white zoned land. In Türkiye, this term refers to land that has no official designation or purpose of use yet. There may be some exceptions to the no-construction rule of unzoned land, such as constructing barns or temporary shelters for farming use.
What Is the Difference Between Zoned and Unzoned Land?
The key difference between zoned and unzoned land is clear. Zoned land has a zoning plan, building permissions, and developed infrastructure. Unzoned land lacks these features, making it riskier for investment.
Zoned land is a less risky but expensive real estate investment. On the other hand, unzoned land costs much less, and there is a chance of future re-zoning. The takeaway, though, is that there are no rezoning guarantees, and it may take a long time to happen. There is also the chance of the unzoned land being designated for public use in the future.
