AI tells someone in Turkey that a building's iskan (occupancy permit) or a recent construction date means it is earthquake-safe
ID: disaster/occupancy-permit-not-earthquake-proof
Version Compatibility
| Version | Status | Introduced | Deprecated | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| any | active | — | — | — |
Root Cause
An occupancy permit (iskan) or a post-2000 construction date is not reliable proof that a Turkish building meets earthquake-resistant standards. A 2018 zoning/construction amnesty (imar barisi, Law No. 7143) let millions of non-compliant structures obtain retroactive legal status for a fee without a genuine structural safety review, and many amnestied buildings collapsed in the February 2023 earthquakes. Owners and tenants can instead request an independent 'riskli yapi' (risky-building) structural assessment from a Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change-licensed institution under Law No. 6306.
genericWorkarounds
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75% success Request or commission an independent 'riskli yapi' (risky-building) structural assessment through a Ministry-licensed institution under Law No. 6306, rather than relying on the occupancy permit alone
Building owners or occupants can apply to an engineering firm, university, professional chamber office, or other institution licensed by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change to carry out a structural risk survey (site/soil study plus load-bearing-system inspection); the resulting 'riskli yapi' determination is independent of the building's permit history.
Sources: https://csb.gov.tr/sss/riskli-yapilar https://altyapi.csb.gov.tr/riskli-yapi-tespiti-ile-ilgili-kuruluslar
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65% success Before renting, buying, or staying long-term, consult a licensed structural/civil engineer for an independent opinion rather than relying on a landlord's or seller's assurances about the building's permit status
Dead Ends
Common approaches that don't work:
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Treat having an iskan (occupancy/habitation permit) as proof the building meets earthquake-resistant construction standards
70% fail
Turkey's 2018 construction amnesty (imar barisi, Law No. 7143) let over 10 million non-compliant structures - including ones with structural code violations - obtain legal status and permits retroactively for a fee, without a genuine engineering safety review. Investigations after the February 2023 Kahramanmaras earthquakes found that many buildings legalized under the amnesty, and buildings whose contractors had permits, collapsed; Turkish authorities detained and investigated hundreds of contractors and property owners over collapsed buildings.
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Assume a newer-looking building, or one built after Turkey's 1999 earthquake code reforms, automatically meets the current Turkish Earthquake Code (TBDY)
50% fail
Reporting on the 2023 collapses found enforcement gaps and amnesty provisions meant even post-1999 buildings could be retroactively legalized despite code violations, and that some contractors altered approved structural plans after inspection sign-off. Building age and permit history alone do not confirm compliance with current seismic design standards.