Section 2 · Land types and legal distinctions
Plot and land types: zoned plot, field, vineyard/orchard, olive grove and 2B
The ‘Nitelik’ (classification) field on the title deed decides your fate; look at the register, not at informal promises
Not every piece of land is a ‘plot’ (arsa). Properties that have not been brought within a zoning plan and have not been subdivided under a parcelling scheme are ‘land’ (arazi: field, vineyard, pasture). The legal status of the land directly determines whether you can build on it, whether it can be divided and to whom it can be sold.
Step-by-step process
- Reading the title deed's classification field (Land Registry Directorate). Look at the ‘Main Immovable Classification’ (Ana Taşınmaz Niteliği) field on your title deed or encumbrance record. If it does not say ‘Arsa’ (plot) — for example if it says ‘Tarla’ (field), ‘Bağ’ (vineyard) or ‘Ham Toprak’ (raw land) — know that the property has not gone through zoning parcelling, and never treat it as a zoned plot.
- Checking the subdivision and building conditions in unplanned areas (Provincial Special Administration / Municipality). If the property is a field and is to be divided, Art. 62 of the Regulation on Zoning in Unplanned Areas requires parcels created by subdivision to have (a) an area of at least 5,000 m² and (b) at least 25 metres of frontage on a cadastral road. Query in writing the building conditions (Arts. 63–64 of the same regulation) and the agricultural land permit (2026 Regulation on the Protection and Use of Agricultural Land, Arts. 4 and 14) from the Provincial Special Administration or the Municipal Zoning Directorate and from the Provincial/District Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry.
- Screening for olive-grove restrictions (Law No. 3573) (Provincial/District Directorate of Agriculture). If the property is registered as an olive grove or contains olive trees, petition the Provincial/District Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry. Learn in an official letter, under Art. 20 of Law No. 3573, that olive groves cannot be reduced, that polluting facilities cannot be built within about 3 km, and what the building limits are.
- Forest and 2B demarcation review (Forest Enterprise Directorate). If the property adjoins a forest, have the Cadastre and Ownership Office of the Forest Enterprise Directorate confirm whether the parcel falls under Art. 2/B of Forest Law No. 6831 and whether there is any encroachment on the forest demarcation boundary.
Legal basis
- Zoning Law (İmar Kanunu, Law No. 3194) Art. 18 — land and plot readjustment
- Law on Improving Olive Groves and Grafting Wild Olive Trees (Zeytinciliğin Islahı ve Yabanilerinin Aşılattırılması Hakkında Kanun, Law No. 3573) Art. 20
- Forest Law (Orman Kanunu, Law No. 6831) Art. 2/B
- Village Law (Köy Kanunu, Law No. 442)
Key principles
Zoned plot (residential / commercial / industrial). Parcels that have undergone the zoning readjustment (Art. 18), have had their cessions (terk) made and have a defined building footprint ratio (TAKS) and floor-area ratio (KAKS, ‘emsal’).
Raw land and field. Agricultural land. The minimum 5,000 m² and the 25 m frontage on a cadastral road in the Regulation on Zoning in Unplanned Areas (Plansız Alanlar İmar Yönetmeliği) are the subdivision conditions required for parcels created by subdivision (Art. 62). Building is assessed under Arts. 63–64 of the same regulation and the agricultural land permit (2026 Regulation on the Protection and Use of Agricultural Land, Arts. 4 and 14).
2B land and land adjoining forests. The sale of areas that have lost their forest character (2B) is subject to Law No. 6292; transactions run through the National Real Estate (Milli Emlak) units (ÇŞİDB) and the revenue office/treasury office. 2B land within an absolute drinking-water protection zone cannot be sold.
Mistakes to avoid
- Buying or trying to sell a field at the price of a zoned plot on the promise that it ‘will enter the zoning plan in future’.
- Misleading the buyer by promising that a prefab or tiny house can be placed on an olive-grove parcel.
- Facing Treasury lawsuits if there is a boundary encroachment next to pasture land.
Checklist
- The ‘Main Immovable Classification’ field on the title deed is binding; if it does not say ‘arsa’, the property is not a zoned plot.
- For properties classified as fields, the right to build depends on the opinion of the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and the Municipality/Provincial Special Administration.
- A Parselo file lists the property's cadastral classification and the official restriction layers clearly.
With Parselo
Parselo shows the title-deed classification you declare and the parcel boundary on the same map as satellite imagery and the openly available official layers; olive-grove, forest or agricultural-protection status must be confirmed with the relevant institution.
Official source: TKGM Parcel Query (https://parselsorgu.tkgm.gov.tr)