Secure Payment System for Real Property Sales Becomes Mandatory

Under the Regulation Amending the Regulation on Trade in Immovable Property, published in the Official Gazette dated 29 April 2026 and numbered 33238, the use of the secure payment system in real property sales will become mandatory by 1 July 2026.

Where all or part of the real property sale price is paid in cash, by wire transfer, electronic funds transfer, or any other payment method to be determined by the Ministry of Trade, the secure payment system must be used. For sales financed by loans, the secure payment system will become mandatory only for payments other than the loan amount.

This obligation will take effect on 1 July 2026. The Ministry of Trade may postpone this date by up to three months.

The government has for some time been focused on the practice of declaring official sale prices in real property transactions below the actual transaction value, and the resulting issues concerning title deed fees and capital gains taxation. In this context, the authorities first sought to increase official real property values, which led to a significant number of lawsuits. The mandatory use of the secure payment system may also be viewed as another step in this policy direction.

It remains to be seen whether payment methods such as blocked cheques will become more widely used, or whether a separate system will be introduced for such methods. The Ministry of Trade is authorized to determine the implementation details. These issues are therefore expected to become clearer through the Ministry’s announcements.