Opening a Real Estate Office in Turkey: Licence, Listing Rules and the Website

01Conditions for the authorisation certificate

Only businesses with an authorisation certificate may act as intermediaries in buying, selling or renting property. Under Article 6 of the regulation, the business must:

• Be registered with its professional chamber,
• Be an income or corporate tax payer,
• Have real estate trade listed as an activity in its chamber and tax records,
• Have at least one responsible real estate consultant with a Level 5 vocational qualification certificate.

Each responsible consultant must:

• Be at least 18 and have finished at least primary education.
• Not be bankrupt, or have had their standing restored.
• Not have been convicted of the crimes listed in the regulation.
• Have passed at least 100 hours of training in real estate trade.
• Have worked as a real estate consultant within the last five years: at least 6 months for associate, bachelor's or master's graduates, at least 12 months for others.

Graduates of real estate programmes at high school or university level do not need the 100-hour training or the experience. Consultants working in the office need a Level 4 vocational qualification certificate.

The office cannot also be used as a home, and no other business can be run from it.

02How to apply

1. Prepare the documents that show you meet the conditions.
2. Apply through the Real Estate Trade Information System (TTBS).
3. The provincial directorate of trade where the business is located issues the certificate, within 10 days of the application if the conditions are met.

If your trade name or business name changes, the certificate is renewed. If any other detail changes, it is amended. In both cases you apply within 10 days of the change. The Ministry publishes the list of authorised businesses on its website, so clients can check you.

03Rules for listings

Articles 12 and 14 of the regulation cover listings online. Listings on your own website follow the same rules as listings on portals.

• A written authorisation agreement. You may not list a property without a written agreement with the owner.
• What every listing must show: your certificate number, the business name or trade name on the certificate, the province, district, neighbourhood, block and parcel (not the full address), contact details and, where there is one, the energy performance certificate details. All of it easy to read.
• Sold or rented listings come down within 3 days. Also when the owner withdraws or the agreement ends.
• No misleading content. Nothing in a listing may contradict the authorisation agreement.
• No unjustified price rises. Online listings may not raise prices out of line with general economic data and without a valid reason.

The fee is capped too: for a sale, at most 4 percent of the sale price excluding VAT; for a rental, at most one month's rent excluding VAT.

04What an agency website needs

• The certificate number on every page. In the footer and in every listing.
• Well organised listings. Filters for sale or rent, district and price. Sold listings removed on time.
• Area pages. Separate pages for the districts and neighbourhoods you work in.
• Your team. Each consultant's photo, name and phone.
• WhatsApp and call buttons. On every listing, with a ready message naming the listing.
• A page for owners. A short form for people who want to sell or let their property.
• Foreign buyers' languages. If you sell to foreigners, full pages in English, Russian or the languages your clients use.

05An example

We built the site for GlassHouse Properties, which finds offices for companies in İstanbul: a page for each advisory service, map-based pages for İstanbul's office districts, an appointment form and a short form that writes the client's request into a WhatsApp message. The site is in Turkish and English.