Condominium governance in Turkey touches every foreign landlord’s cashflow, tenant relations and risk posture, yet it is often treated as an afterthought until a special assessment (extraordinary levy) arrives or a noise complaint escalates into fines. Under Turkey’s condominium regime, owners fund the building’s operating plan through dues, approve or challenge budgets at meetings, and may face collections and enforcement if payments fall behind. Minutes, notices and quorums matter because decisions bind absentees unless challenged on time, and late objections can be dismissed on procedural grounds. For landlords with tenants, the lease must allocate dues and special assessments cleanly or disputes will land at the management office and then at enforcement desks. This guide explains, in plain English and with verifiable procedures, how budgets are set, what happens when ordinary dues are not enough, how to call or attend meetings, the tools to challenge decisions, and the steps management can take to collect—including lien-like effects on the unit and judicial enforcement. We also map privacy (KVKK) and cross-border notice practice so absentee owners can keep control from overseas. If you want a single point of coordination from agenda to audit trail, a disciplined law firm in Istanbul working with a practical English speaking lawyer in Turkey will stage documents and deadlines so you do not learn about decisions at the collections stage. International investors frequently retain experienced Turkish lawyers for policy hygiene and dispute prevention, and many rely on a reputable Turkish Law Firm to align building rules with portfolio strategy under the supervision of a lead lawyer in Turkey.
Why Dues and Special Assessments Matter for Foreign Landlords
Dues fund the operating plan (işletme projesi) that keeps common areas running: lighting, lifts, cleaning, staff, insurance and routine maintenance. In well-run sites the plan is drafted with realistic line items, circulated before the meeting and approved with minutes that reflect quorum and votes. Foreign landlords often miss the meeting or fail to appoint a representative, then discover that the approved plan contains cost lines they never saw. Procedurally, minutes and notices are the spine of enforceability; substantively, the plan sets the cash calls you must budget across the year. A simple calendar—publish date, meeting date, challenge window, payment due dates—prevents friction and keeps tenant communication coherent when dues are passed through.
Special assessments (extraordinary levies) arrive when ordinary dues cannot cover non-routine works: façade, roof, elevator replacement, or urgently required safety upgrades. Because these projects raise cash quickly, documentation discipline matters: owners want clear scopes, comparative bids, timelines and a fair split formula; management wants authority to proceed without cash shortfalls. The law gives buildings tools to collect, but courts scrutinize how decisions were taken; evidence beats rhetoric. If you are abroad, monitor agendas through verified channels and appoint a narrow representative who can attend, vote and sign—see our guidance on power of attorney for property. Where practice differs between districts, note that practice may vary by court/administration and year, so a local desk call before the meeting helps.
For landlords, dues and special assessments intersect with leasing economics. If the lease fails to allocate ordinary dues, special assessments and utilities with precision, disputes will flow to the management office, which rightly points back to the registered owner. Preventive drafting aligns the operating plan with pass-through clauses and proof of payment routines. A bilingual schedule attached to the lease listing ordinary dues, services included in rent, and “extraordinary works pass-through with notice” reduces arguments and accelerates collections. When portfolios scale, owners often rely on a checklist culture run by a trusted law firm in Istanbul or an in-house administrator trained by an English speaking lawyer in Turkey to keep governance calm and cash predictable.
Operating Budget & Dues: How Condominiums Plan and Split Costs
The operating plan (işletme projesi) is the annual budget that a manager or board drafts, listing expected revenues and expenses for the site. It should show common-area costs, staff and service contracts, insurance premiums, routine maintenance and a modest reserve; the document should also state the allocation key (often based on contribution shares) used to calculate each unit’s dues. Transparency at this stage reduces disputes later: owners who see line items and formulas are less likely to challenge or delay. Keep a copy in your “building file” next to the last year’s accounts and bank statements; if numbers jump without explanation, ask for supporting invoices and contracts before the vote. Where formats vary by municipality or management company, practice may vary by court/administration and year, but the principle—clarity and auditability—does not.
Splitting costs requires a lawful allocation method and clean owner lists. Contribution shares are usually derived from the condominium establishment deed and plans; ad-hoc changes invite challenges. If the building has mixed-use areas (shops plus residences), the plan should reflect differential usage and cleaning or security burdens. Absent a sensible split, courts may accept challenges that show disproportion. Foreign owners should verify their unit’s contribution share during purchase diligence; see title-deed check Turkey and real-estate due diligence for how to read the condominium plan. If your unit was altered or combined, update records so dues reflect reality rather than legacy drawings.
The annual cycle is simple when managed: draft → circulate → meet → approve → collect → report. Trouble arises when drafts are rushed, minutes are thin, or owner lists are outdated. Absent owners should receive bilingual summaries and electronic copies with a clear challenge window. Management should publish bank details and a standardized reference format for transfers to avoid misapplied payments. Owners who budget quarterly rather than ad-hoc rarely face interest or enforcement. If you need a single coordinator, a responsive lawyer in Turkey within a reputable Turkish Law Firm can standardize communication templates and reconcile records with the bank each quarter so disputes do not accumulate.
Special Assessments: When Ordinary Dues Are Not Enough
Special assessments fund non-routine works—structural repairs, system replacements, or upgrades mandated by safety, insurance or municipal directives. Because these are exceptional, the building must document the need (reports, contractor proposals), the scope (drawings/specs), the cost (comparative bids or contracts), and the split logic. Decisions should be taken at a properly called meeting with agenda items that reflect the actual vote: “approve elevator replacement budget and collection schedule,” not just “elevator.” Owners abroad should receive the same pack with a bilingual summary; absent clarity, resistance grows. Where city practices for notices and minutes vary, practice may vary by court/administration and year, but the evidentiary expectations in court are constant: show the paper.
Collection schedules should align with contractor payment rails, not the other way around. If the contractor asks for mobilization and milestone tranches, schedule owner contributions slightly ahead of those dates and keep cash in a dedicated account. Avoid “variable on demand” collections without caps or milestones; they invite distrust and late payment. If the project is large, consider escrow or retention mechanics and publish a short project memo stating how funds are released—see our explainer on escrow accounts. Transparent rails lower the cost of capital because owners pay on time when they understand where the money goes.
Special assessments often track urban-transformation or retrofitting plans. If reports under Law No. 6306 suggest strengthening or rebuild, owners should read those obligations into the budget horizon and coordinate with municipal timelines. Our guide to urban transformation & retrofitting explains majority decisions and temporary housing logic; pairing that roadmap with site finance keeps decisions realistic. Foreign landlords who operate rentals should align tenant communications with project windows well in advance, adjusting lease language and pricing to reflect anticipated disruptions.
Meetings, Quorums and Minutes: How Decisions Are Taken
Decision-making legitimacy rests on three pillars: proper notice, quorum at opening, and minutes that record votes and attach key documents. Notices should state date, time, agenda and access to supporting materials (budget draft, proposals). Quorum rules and majority thresholds shift by topic and are applied differently in some districts; rather than chase fixed numbers here, we emphasize process hygiene and remind readers that practice may vary by court/administration and year. Foreign landlords should request electronic copies of the pack in advance and, if traveling, appoint a representative with a narrow mandate to attend, vote on listed agenda items and sign minutes; see our note on POA scopes.
Minutes are evidence. They should list attendees, proxies, agenda items, discussions and vote outcomes; annexes should include the operating plan and any approved contracts or proposals. Signatures matter—illegible initials create opportunities for procedural challenges. For hybrid meetings, maintain an attendance log for online participants and save platform logs. If interpretation is needed for absentee foreign owners, provide a short English summary aligned with the Turkish text; the authoritative version for desks remains Turkish. A consistent format reduces courtroom uncertainty if a challenge later targets the process.
Site managers should publish minutes promptly and maintain a secure archive of past meetings, budgets and bank reconciliations. Owners should check the archive before challenging “surprise” line items; many disputes evaporate when records show that the community approved them months earlier. When in doubt, ask management for the accounting support behind a cost item; forensic requests framed politely usually prevent escalation. If silence persists, a short, facts-first letter drafted by a methodical lawyer in Turkey signals that records matter and that further steps will follow the statutory route.
Challenging HOA Decisions: Deadlines, Evidence and Practical Odds
Owners may seek to annul decisions that are unlawful or adopted with procedural defects, but odds correlate with discipline: timely filing, clear evidence and a measured tone. Courts disfavour generic “we disagree” petitions and respond better to challenges tied to agendas, quorum defects or mismatches between approved scopes and budgets. Every challenge should attach the notice, minutes, annexes and correspondence; allegations without exhibits invite dismissal. Because filing windows are strict and differ by claim, practice may vary by court/administration and year; diarize deadlines the day minutes are published and retain counsel early.
Practical outcomes also depend on proportionality. If a project is urgent or already mobilized, courts balance harm from delay against the defect alleged. Where defects are procedural but curable, solutions often involve corrective meetings rather than cancellations. A pragmatic strategy is to combine a targeted challenge with on-record requests for transparency (e.g., publication of contracts and payment schedules) so that even if annulment fails, governance improves. Owners who present options earn credibility; those who stonewall tend to lose both influence and cases.
Foreign landlords should ensure that challenges reflect building realities, not only legal theory. Obtain translations of key documents, verify contribution shares and contract scopes, and consider mediation tracks that keep neighbours cooperative. A bilingual, evidence-led brief assembled by a seasoned law firm in Istanbul or a boutique team of Turkish lawyers usually resolves more than it litigates, especially when residents want the same outcome—safe, predictable buildings—delivered through cleaner process.
Collections & Enforcement: Interest, Notices and Filing a Claim
Collections begin long before a lawsuit, and the buildings that recover quickly are those that follow a predictable script. First comes a polite reminder with the operating plan reference and the exact amount owed to date; second, a formal notice that cites the relevant meeting minutes and payment schedule; third, a default notice that warns of interest accrual and potential filing if payment is not received by a specific date. Each step should be backed by records: copies of minutes, the owner ledger showing entries and payments, bank details and a standardized reference format owners must use when wiring funds. When owners live abroad, the management should add an electronic delivery (in addition to physical service) and log receipt where possible; a short bilingual cover letter helps reduce “I did not understand” disputes. Because notice formats and interest practices can vary in tone across districts, practice may vary by court/administration and year, but the constant is evidence—courts and enforcement desks look first at paper.
If payment still does not arrive, filing an enforcement action requires a clean packet. That means up-to-date owner registers, approved budgets and special-assessment resolutions, ledger extracts, notices with dates and delivery proofs, and a calculation sheet that shows amounts and interest through the filing day. Managers who cannot produce these in one sitting risk delays, while those who can often see faster interim steps. Before filing, check whether the debtor contests the allocation method or disputes a particular line item; if the dispute is narrow and documented, targeted settlement sometimes saves months. When owners argue that they paid in cash or via a third party, insist on bank proofs tied to the standardized reference format and keep a policy that cash only counts when accompanied by an official receipt; unreceipted payments invite avoidable reconciliation work later.
Once the action is on foot, speed depends on discipline. Keep a “litigation ledger” that records each filing, response and order with dates; respond to court requests within the window and send updates to the building’s board so non-paying owners see that governance is real, not rhetorical. If a settlement is reached after filing, record it formally (amounts, dates, any fee-sharing understanding) and ensure the accounting is updated the same week; unresolved accounting undermines credibility. Where courts differ on process or timing—and they do in busy cities—assume that practice may vary by court/administration and year and speak in ranges to owners rather than promises. Managers who use this steady, paper-first approach find that most debt does not need a judge; it needs a ledger, a calendar, and respectful persistence.
Security over the Unit: How Unpaid Dues Can Be Enforced against the Property
A persistent misconception among foreign landlords is that dues are “just a personal debt.” In reality, unpaid sums tied to the common-interest regime tend to travel with a form of priority against the unit in collections, and enforcement can proceed in a way that feels lien-like. The exact route and phrasing may differ across filings, but the practical lesson is the same: arrears reduce liquidity and bargaining power and can complicate a sale or refinance if left unattended. Buyers’ lawyers routinely ask for up-to-date building clearance letters during due diligence; see real-estate due diligence and title-deed check Turkey for the broader closing hygiene that includes such letters. If managers refuse to issue a clearance because the ledger shows a balance, expect buyers to delay or discount—collections pain migrates quickly into pricing.
When arrears reach enforcement, the file should demonstrate that the building followed governance rules and sent correct notices. Courts and enforcement offices will look for board authority, approved minutes, and evidence that the debtor was given a genuine opportunity to cure. If the debtor is a landlord with a paying tenant, managers sometimes wonder whether they can redirect rent; approaches vary by case, so obtain advice rather than improvising. Where enforcement instruments allow security against the unit to be escalated, the practical point for owners is simple: treat dues with the same seriousness as utilities or taxes, because their legal traction in practice is stronger than a generic private invoice. If a sale is contemplated while arrears exist, negotiate escrowed payoffs at transfer so the unit’s page is clean the day the deed changes hands; our note on escrow accounts shows how to wire these payoffs safely.
Preventive steps are cheaper than filings. Keep a rolling three-month forecast of dues and special assessments, reconcile transfers to the management’s bank proof each quarter, and store the clearance letter in your portfolio file for future reference. If cashflow is tight, speak with the manager and propose a short plan rather than waiting for compounding interest to invite a claim. And when buying a unit, ask for a seller’s clearance letter dated as close as possible to transfer; the absence of one is a red flag that should trigger price or escrow adjustments. A simple sentence in the sale deed that references dues clearance plus a small escrow for late-appearing invoices often eliminates “surprise” arrears in the first month after closing.
Tenant vs Landlord: Who Pays What and How to Draft Your Lease
The single most effective way to avoid dues disputes is a lease that allocates costs precisely and aligns with building practice. Ordinary dues tied to routine operations can be included in rent or passed through to the tenant; special assessments for capital repairs are often reserved to the owner, but nothing prevents a commercial allocation if the parties agree and the wording is clear. Clarity means listing what is covered, what is excluded, when payments are due, and how proof will be exchanged. Attach a bilingual schedule that incorporates the building’s published operating plan for the current year and a clause stating how extraordinary levies will be handled (for example, “owner to pay, tenant to cooperate with access and temporary relocation where reasonably required”). Without this map, tenants will defer to the manager and managers will defer to the deed owner—everyone loses time and patience.
Draft pass-through clauses that function in the real world. If the tenant must pay ordinary dues directly to the management, state the bank account, reference format and evidence rule (e.g., “tenant to send PDF bank slip within 24 hours of each transfer”). If the landlord collects dues via rent and pays the management, state how increases will be handled (index or notice) and how the landlord will provide proof of payment to the tenant on request. Where a tenant fails to pay dues they agreed to cover, the lease should allow the landlord to cure at cost and recover the amount as additional rent, with a short notice-and-cure ladder that fits consumer law. Avoid fuzzy phrases such as “tenant to pay dues as customary”; judges and managers want specifics, not customs.
Anticipate friction points. If the building votes a special assessment for a project that will inconvenience residents (façade works, lifts out of service), the lease should say how rent and obligations adjust during the works so disputes do not migrate into non-payment. If the tenant operates a short-stay rental against the building’s rules, reserve a right to terminate or to levy contractual damages and notify management that the owner will cooperate with enforcement; our separate guide on compliance for short-stay rules offers detailed operational steps. In all cases, remember that buildings judge owners by outcomes—quiet, paid, rule-abiding units—so align your lease with that baseline rather than with an ideal draft that ignores building realities.
House Rules, Nuisance and Repairs: From Warnings to Remedies
House rules are governance in practice. They translate statutes and management plans into behaviour: quiet hours, use of common spaces, pet policies, waste and recycling routines, and guest protocols. Landlords should keep a copy posted inside the unit and attach it to the lease in bilingual form so tenants cannot claim ignorance. When a complaint arrives—noise, misuse of parking, damage—the sequence should be familiar: a prompt written reminder with the rule verbatim, a follow-up warning that records the incident with time and date, and, if necessary, an escalation that cites contractual or statutory consequences. Buildings that maintain a log with photos or staff notes resolve disputes faster than those that rely on recollection; evidence wins the day.
Repairs raise questions about cost allocation and access. Ordinary maintenance inside the unit is usually a tenant responsibility, while repairs affecting common systems or structural elements typically sit with the building or the owner depending on scope. Draft your lease to align with building practice and state how access will be arranged, how notices will be given, and what happens if emergency works require entry. For recurring issues that stem from building systems (e.g., lift outages during modernization), coordinate communications with management so tenants receive accurate timing rather than rumour. If disputes develop into claims, a paper trail of notices, invoices, and photos shortens resolution and keeps relations professional.
Nuisance disputes escalate quickly when neighbours feel unheard. Establish a single point of contact at the owner side (email plus phone), ensure messages are acknowledged within a day, and work with the manager to demonstrate visible corrective steps (e.g., installing soft-close devices or posting reminders). If an incident results in damage to common areas, cooperate on repairs and share receipts; a small gesture often prevents a formal vote to penalize. Where surveillance exists in common areas, remember privacy rules and avoid sharing raw footage widely; coordinate with the site manager on lawful disclosure and retention practices so that safety and privacy are balanced in line with KVKK.
Absentee Owners: POA, Cross-Border Notices and Multilingual Communication
Absentee ownership is normal in resort towns and big cities, but governance assumes reachable owners. Provide management with a current email and a postal address abroad, authorize a local representative with a narrow power of attorney to attend meetings and receive notices, and ask to be added to any resident portal the building uses. A narrow mandate should cite attendance and voting on listed agenda items, receipt of notices, and the ability to sign minutes; broader powers (e.g., contract execution) should be avoided unless a project demands them. If you are mid-transaction or deep in disputes, formalize representation rather than relying on ad-hoc favours, and keep the POA and sworn translations in your building file; our practical primer on POA for property covers scope and legalization.
Multilingual communication reduces litigation. Managers should circulate bilingual summaries of agendas and budgets alongside the Turkish originals, and owners should respond with short, focused questions rather than broad objections. For cross-border notice, combine channels—registered post to the recorded address plus email with delivery confirmation—and store receipts or platform logs. If a meeting is crucial and travel is hard, ask for a video link and a copy of the pack a week in advance; even when format is informal, courts appreciate records showing you asked to participate and were not indifferent. Because postal performance and electronic-notice practice evolve, practice may vary by court/administration and year, so align your expectations with local desks rather than with assumptions from another country.
Create a personal “owner brief” in the cloud: standardized municipal address, contribution share, last two budgets, minutes archive links, bank account details for dues, and the name and contact of your local representative. Share read-only access with family or asset managers so someone can act if you are unreachable. If you own multiple units, a shared spreadsheet that tracks dues, special assessments, payment dates and clearance letters saves audit time and helps you answer buyer or lender questions in minutes rather than days. Absentee owners who operate with this checklist mindset rarely face enforcement—they see issues early and cure them before papers are filed.
Data & Privacy (KVKK): Owner Lists, CCTV and Visitor Logs
Condominium governance runs on data: owner rosters, payment ledgers, CCTV, access logs and contractor registers. Under KVKK, boards and managers act as data controllers and must issue transparency notices that explain what is collected, for what purpose, how long it is kept and with whom it is shared. Posting phone numbers or email addresses on hallway walls is poor practice; use role-based access in a portal and redact personal fields when sharing with contractors. Owners have the right to receive copies of their own data and to request corrections; managers should route these requests into a standard process rather than handle them ad-hoc. For translation of privacy notices and minutes, use sworn services so that the Turkish and English versions stay aligned; see our note on legal translation services for seals that desks accept.
CCTV and visitor logs sit at the intersection of safety and privacy. Cameras should point to common areas, signage should inform residents and visitors, and retention should be limited to what is necessary for security or incident review. Sharing raw footage beyond lawful recipients risks privacy claims; management should release extracts only upon proper requests from authorities or parties with a legitimate interest in a specific incident. Visitor logs and contractor sign-ins should capture the minimum needed to maintain security and should be stored securely with access limited to those who need it to perform their role. If a breach occurs—lost USB drives, emailed spreadsheets—document the incident, notify where required, and remediate quickly.
Payment transparency must coexist with privacy. Publishing unit-by-unit arrears on a public wall may shame debtors but also invites disputes; a better practice is individual notices plus a sanitized summary to the community that states totals without names. When owners request bank statements or invoices, redact unrelated personal data and share in a secure channel. Boards that build a small “privacy pack” for audits—controller details, processor contracts for the portal and CCTV vendor, retention schedules and sample notices—find that inspections are shorter and that owners trust governance more. As with other themes in this guide, formats and expectations can differ across districts, so practice may vary by court/administration and year.
Budget Transparency & Audit: Access to Books, Invoices and Bank Records
Owners fund the budget and are entitled to see how funds are spent. Practical transparency means timely publication of the operating plan, quarterly snapshots of actuals versus plan, access to supporting invoices and contracts, and reconciliation to bank statements. Management should maintain a dedicated account for the building and avoid commingling; transfers must carry meaningful references so ledger and bank line up. When owners ask “what is this line item?”, managers should be able to produce the invoice and the contract within days. Boards that cannot do this invite challenges; boards that can rarely see litigation because scepticism evaporates under the spreadsheet.
Audit does not require hostility. A small team of owners can review books with management at a scheduled time, sign a short confidentiality acknowledgment, and report back to the community with a factual note: “we saw the invoices for X and Y; payments matched the bank; one item requires clarifying.” This habit builds trust and reduces the temperature of budget meetings. If a dispute persists, escalate to a formal audit clause in the next budget or propose hiring an external accountant for an annual review. Owners abroad can appoint a representative to attend the audit and provide a short bilingual summary; align this process with your POA approach discussed earlier.
For large projects funded by special assessments, publish a “project ledger” that tracks collections, banked funds, contractor certificates and payments. Tie every payment to a document and keep a running balance accessible to owners. If retention or escrow is used, state its conditions publicly and file the instrument in the portal for read-only access. These small steps reduce rumours and keep collections current because owners can see their money turning into works on the ground. This documentary culture is the cheapest dispute-prevention tool in condominium law.
Dispute Resolution Strategy: Mediation, Litigation and Settlement Playbooks
Not every conflict should go to court. Many disagreements—line items, allocation keys, timing of works—resolve when parties sit with the paper and a mediator who can reframe positions in terms of shared goals: safe buildings, predictable dues and fair splits. Mediation preserves neighbour relations and avoids the delays that court calendars impose. Where litigation is necessary—for example, to annul a defective decision or to collect persistent arrears—prepare a sober chronology with exhibits and present realistic ranges for duration; the phrase “practice may vary by court/administration and year” is a signal to plan buffers. Settlement should remain on the table during litigation and should convert into written terms that management can implement without new votes.
Build playbooks before you need them. For arrears, the playbook lists reminders, default notices, interest rules, filing thresholds and settlement hints. For special-assessment projects, it lists communications milestones, publication of ledgers and evidence of progress. For nuisance, it captures warning templates, logs and escalation steps. Owners abroad should keep these templates in a shared folder with their representative so that responses are measured rather than improvised at midnight. Playbooks reduce decision fatigue and eliminate inconsistent approaches that courts and owners distrust.
Finally, align building governance with your personal risk management. Keep insurance current (including structural cover discussed in our DASK explainer), maintain orderly files for potential resale due diligence, and ensure your lease language mirrors building rules so that enforcement does not pull you in different directions. A paper-first, calendar-driven culture costs little and pays for itself every time a neighbour, tenant or manager needs proof rather than promises.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How are dues calculated? Dues are allocated under the operating plan (işletme projesi) using a lawful split such as contribution shares derived from the condominium establishment deed and plans. Mixed-use buildings may apply differentiated splits to reflect actual burdens; request the plan, the formula and supporting invoices before the vote. If numbers look disproportionate, ask management to show the legal basis and the calculations—transparency prevents most disputes, though practice may vary by court/administration and year.
What is a special assessment? A special assessment is an extraordinary cash call to fund non-routine works (elevator replacement, façade, mandated safety upgrades) that the ordinary budget cannot cover. It should be approved by a properly noticed meeting with a documented scope, cost and collection schedule tied to project milestones. Owners abroad should receive a bilingual pack; vague agenda lines invite challenges later.
Can I challenge a decision I believe is unlawful? Yes, but timing and evidence are decisive. File within the statutory window, attach the notice, minutes and annexes, and show a concrete defect (notice, quorum, mismatch of scope to vote). Courts favour curable process fixes over blanket cancellations; expect ranges, not promises, because practice may vary by court/administration and year. A concise brief prepared by a diligent lawyer in Turkey improves odds.
How is interest on late dues computed? Interest rules are applied according to governing instruments and applicable law; buildings should publish the method in the operating plan and on reminders. Management must keep a ledger that shows accruals by date and amount so owners can reconcile. If figures appear off, request the calculation sheet rather than arguing abstractly.
Can the HOA pursue my tenant for unpaid sums? The registered owner remains the primary debtor to the building. If your lease passes ordinary dues through to the tenant, you may recover from the tenant when you cure a default to the building. Align your lease with building practice and provide proof to management so they know the owner is acting; do not assume the manager will collect from your tenant on your behalf.
Is there a lien on the unit for dues? Unpaid sums have lien-like traction in practice during enforcement against the unit. Buyers’ counsel will ask for a clearance letter, and arrears can complicate transfer or pricing. Keep dues current and obtain a seller’s clearance letter close to closing; using escrow for payoffs at transfer keeps the registry page clean.
What if I live abroad and miss meetings? Appoint a local representative with a narrow POA to receive notices, attend and vote on listed agenda items, and sign minutes. Request bilingual summaries and combine registered post with email for cross-border service; store receipts or platform logs. Formats differ across districts, so practice may vary by court/administration and year.
How do I serve or receive notices cross-border? Use the building’s recorded postal address plus email with delivery confirmation, keep copies and logs, and ask management to acknowledge receipt. For critical votes, request the pack a week in advance and—where possible—a video link; courts appreciate records showing proactive engagement. A short bilingual template prepared by an English speaking lawyer in Turkey avoids misunderstandings.
What documents can I inspect as an owner? Owners are entitled to see the operating plan, minutes, bank statements and supporting invoices/contracts for building expenditures. Request access politely and propose a scheduled review with confidentiality acknowledgments; persistent opacity can justify formal challenges. Use sworn translations where needed—see translation standards.
Can utilities be cut for unpaid dues? Utility policies vary and must respect law and contracts, so buildings should prioritize lawful collections rather than improvised cut-offs. The effective levers are evidence-led reminders, enforcement filings, and clear governance; extreme measures invite disputes. Treat dues with the same seriousness as taxes or insurance and avoid escalation.
Do I need a POA if I own from abroad? Practically yes. A narrow, property-focused POA lets a trusted person attend meetings, receive notices and sign minutes. Keep apostille/legalization and sworn translations ready for managers and notaries; our primer on POA for property gives safe scopes.
How do I write pass-through clauses for my lease? Specify what the tenant pays directly (ordinary dues, utilities), what remains with the owner (special assessments unless agreed otherwise), when payments are due, and how proof is shared. Include cure-and-recover language so the owner can cure and charge back if the tenant defaults, and attach a bilingual schedule aligned with the current operating plan.