The Disaster Law, its effects on our lives and properties (5)

CHAPTER FOUR

WHAT IS A HOUSING CERTIFICATE?

For owners of structures evacuated, demolished, or expropriated by agreement, and for those determined to have resided in or operated a business in these structures for at least one year as tenants or holders of limited real rights—even if they are not the owners—a housing certificate may be issued. This certificate, the procedures and principles of which are determined by the Presidency, provides housing, workplaces, land, or credit from the special account for transformation projects, or grants ownership or limited real rights. Tenants or holders of real rights will also be able to obtain this certificate.

WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WILL BE GRANTED TO OWNERS?

Owners of structures evacuated, demolished, or expropriated by agreement who wish to build or acquire their own housing or workplaces may also be granted credit. For those accepted as poor or low-income according to the Gecekondu (Squatter) Law No. 775 dated 20/7/1966  “and other right holders” the housing or workplaces to be provided;  may also be provided by the Presidency, TOKİ, or the Administration through debt-incurring arrangements in accordance with the procedures and principles specified in the Law No. 7269 dated 15/5/1959 on Measures to be Taken Regarding Disasters Affecting Public Life and Assistance to be Provided.

In practices carried out by the Presidency; for those accepted as poor or low-income according to the Gecekondu Law No. 775, if the independent units to be provided are jointly owned with the Presidency based on shared ownership principles, the rights and annotations such as mortgages, precautionary attachments, liens, and usufruct rights contained in the title deed record of the right holder's immovable property prior to the transformation shall continue only on the right holder's share. If the right holder does not have another residential property registered in their name where they can reside, a right of habitation shall be granted on this independent unit to the right holder, or if the right holder is married, to the right holder and their spouse, in accordance with the provisions of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721. This is also an important regulation for the protection of individuals who are right holders under the Turkish Civil Code.

This is also an important regulation for the protection of individuals who are right holders under the Turkish Civil Code.

IS THERE A REGULATION THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO REDUCE CONSTRUCTION COSTS?

The costs of the  “independent units” constructed on risky areas, reserve building areas, and immovable properties containing risky structures may, when deemed necessary, be determined below construction costs/market value by a Presidential decree, taking into account the 

+current economic situation, 

+conditions created by the natural disaster, 

+housing market values and debris values, and 

+the assets and income of the individuals in the implementation area, 

by Presidential decree 

1. and 

2. social facilities and infrastructure expenditures may not be included in the implementation cost.

These two factors will partially reduce the construction cost. Since individuals will not have the means to continue their normal lives in the place where the disaster occurred, they will essentially have no means to cover any costs. 

In fact, what is expected in such a situation is that those affected by the disaster do not bear any costs. It would wound the public conscience for people who are left in an environment where they cannot even meet their most urgent physical needs to face costs as if they were the ones who caused the natural disaster.

CHAPTER FIVE

WHAT ARE THE POWERS OF THE URBAN TRANSFORMATION PRESIDENCY (PRESIDENCY)?

The Presidency;

1. Is authorized to perform all kinds of mapping, planning, project, land and plot arrangement operations, and consolidation regarding risky areas, reserve building areas, and immovable properties containing risky structures,

2. To purchase immovable properties located in these areas, to exercise the right of first refusal, to exchange immovable properties including independent units, and to transfer immovable property ownership or zoning rights to another area (the point to be noted here is the authority to transfer to another area. There is a possibility of moving people away from their living spaces to areas they are not accustomed to, where they may have to live under more difficult conditions than their current settlements. When making a transfer decision, the individuals' social lives, education, health, transportation opportunities, and other matters must be taken into account),

3. To convert immovable property ownership in the same areas into movable assets, provided that an agreement is reached,

4. To implement methods based on public and private sector cooperation, to build or have construction done including methods in exchange for floors or revenue, and to determine land shares (The practices mentioned in this clause  "of the Presidency" can also be carried out in cooperation with affiliated, related, and associated institutions, organizations, and their subsidiaries, and with administrations subject to the Public Procurement Law No. 4734 dated 4/1/2002, or within the framework of private law agreements with natural persons and private legal entities),

5. dated 23/6/1965 and to distribute, separate, or consolidate shares according to the principles of the Condominium Law No. 634, and to establish limited real rights in accordance with the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 dated 22/11/2001,

6. to lease and sell real estate that is under Treasury ownership and transferred to the Presidency within the scope of this Law; real estate  expropriated by the Presidency within the scope of the Law, and real estate falling to the share of the Presidency as a result of the implemented practices, for the purpose of generating revenue for the special account of transformation projects,

7. to purchase ready-made housing and workplaces to be used within the scope of this Law and to transfer them,

8. to carry out all kinds of practices that will generate income and revenue in reserve building areas,

9. to make deductions for the arrangement partnership share in parceling plans, if deemed necessary, to complete the arrangement partnership share ratio from the initial application, if any,

is authorized.

The leasing and sale of real estate that has passed into the disposal of the Ministry within the scope of the Law, excluding those to be given to rights holders, are exempt from the provisions of the State Tender Law No. 2886 dated 8/9/1983.  The Presidency is authorized to determine the procedures and principles regarding leasing and sales transactions. 

Within the scope of this Law, Treasury real estate transferred to the Presidency; may be sold directly or leased directly at a price to be determined by the Presidency to the Ministry's affiliated, related, and associated institutions and organizations and their subsidiaries, to municipalities and their companies, to public institutions and organizations, and to professional organizations with the status of public institutions; to the owners of structures on real estate located within municipal and adjacent area boundaries that had structures on them before 30/3/2014, primarily to the owners of the structures and their legal or contractual successors, at the current market value to those listed in subparagraphs (b), (c), (d), and (e) of the first paragraph of Article 4 titled “Direct Sale” of Law No. 4706 on the “Evaluation of Treasury-Owned Real Estate and Amendment to the Value Added Tax Law”, and to cooperatives and municipalities established for the purpose of building small industrial sites, at a price to be determined by the Presidency, provided that it is not less than fifty percent of the current market value.     

In the purchase and exchange to be made in accordance with the second article mentioned above; in the event that the purchase/exchange offer made by the Presidency is accepted by the owner, a record regarding the agreement reached is drawn up and signed by the parties. This record, which includes all legal and actual characteristics of the real estate subject to the agreement, the purchase price, the owner's identity information, and the declarations of consent regarding the registration or cancellation of the real estate in the land registry, is considered the owner's declaration of alienation and the legal basis for the  registration to be made in the name of the Presidency in the land registry. The registration or cancellation of the real estate in the name of the Presidency is carried out ex officio by the land registry office based on this record.       

Furthermore, the Presidency's right of first refusal, mentioned in the same article, is exercised in the event of the sale of these real estates to third parties other than those who are owners in the area or parcel, regardless of whether the Presidency/Treasury is a shareholder in the real estate within the scope of this law and whether there is shared or independent ownership in these real estates. The procedures and principles regarding the exercise of the right of first refusal are determined by the Presidency.

This means that if the Presidency/Treasury is a shareholder as an owner, when other shareholders want to dispose of or sell the real estate, they must first  offer it to the other shareholders. Since the Treasury/Presidency will also be a shareholder, it will be in a position to exercise its right of first refusal. 

In our next article, Ministry practices and the processes regarding lawsuits will be examined.

Mediator and Lawyer NURDAN HERIS

News Source: 12punto