Kazakhstan's outbound property investors, many of them buying pre-construction or newly delivered apartments in Istanbul, Antalya, and along the Aegean coast, increasingly encounter a governance layer they rarely have to think about at home: the Turkish condominium ownership system, known as kat mülkiyeti, and the homeowners' association it creates. Understanding how this system works before signing a purchase contract prevents a category of disputes that has nothing to do with the property itself and everything to do with shared decision-making.
How Türkiye's Condominium Law Actually Works
Türkiye's Condominium Ownership Law (Kat Mülkiyeti Kanunu, No. 634) governs any building divided into independently owned units, whether a two-unit apartment house or a 40-tower residential complex. Each owner automatically becomes a member of the building's management assembly (kat malikleri kurulu) the moment title transfers into their name. There is no opt-out and no separate registration step. For a Kazakhstan-based buyer who may visit the property once or twice a year, this means association obligations begin immediately at closing, regardless of whether the owner attends a single meeting.
The law requires an annual general assembly, sets voting weight proportional to each owner's arsa payı (land share, a fixed percentage assigned at the building's original registration), and obliges every owner to contribute to shared expenses such as elevator maintenance, facade repairs, security staff, and building insurance. Large resort-style complexes common in coastal Antalya or Bodrum developments often add on-site management companies operating under a separate service contract layered on top of the statutory association, which is worth reviewing closely before purchase.
Voting power : Voting weight follows land share percentage, not one-vote-per-unit, so a buyer of a larger penthouse unit carries proportionally more influence, and more financial exposure, than the owner of a smaller unit in the same building.
Where Foreign Owners Run Into Friction
Absentee decision-making : Because assemblies typically convene once a year and require quorum, an owner who cannot attend in person needs a properly executed power of attorney (vekaletname) authorizing a representative, often the property manager or a trusted local contact, to vote on their behalf. Without this in place well ahead of the meeting date, an absentee owner's unit is simply excluded from the vote count, which can matter significantly on decisions like special assessments for major repairs.
Special assessments : Beyond routine monthly dues (aidat), the assembly can approve extraordinary contributions for capital repairs, such as roof replacement or seismic retrofitting, by majority vote. These assessments bind all owners, including those who voted against them or were absent. Buyers should ask for the building's reserve fund status and recent assembly minutes during due diligence, not after closing.
Dues enforcement : Unpaid aidat accrues interest and can result in a legal collection action against the unit, independent of the owner's nationality or residence status. Some management boards also restrict access to shared amenities, such as pools or parking, for owners in arrears.
Language and documentation : Assembly minutes, dues notices, and building bylaws (yönetim plânı) are drafted in Turkish. A Kazakhstan-based owner relying solely on a property management firm's summary should request certified translations of the building's founding bylaws before purchase, since these govern usage restrictions, pet policies, short-term rental permissions, and dispute procedures.
Practical Due Diligence Before Purchase
Before finalizing any purchase in a multi-unit building, prospective buyers should request the yönetim plânı, the most recent two years of assembly minutes, current dues status for the specific unit, and any pending special assessment votes. For larger resort or mixed-use developments, it is also worth confirming whether a separate operator agreement exists alongside the statutory homeowners' association, since these can carry additional fees not captured in the standard aidat calculation.
For Kazakhstan investors purchasing primarily for rental yield or long-term appreciation rather than personal residence, and it is worth noting in passing that Türkiye's residence-by-property-purchase framework remains a separate consideration from these governance mechanics, engaging a local representative with power of attorney to participate in annual assemblies is a modest cost against the risk of being bound by decisions made in one's absence. Governance quality varies meaningfully between well-managed complexes and poorly administered ones, and this variance is often a better predictor of long-term holding costs than the initial purchase price.