What Is an Operating Budget (İşletme Projesi) and How Do You Prepare One? A Guide after Law No. 7579

Short answer: the operating budget (işletme projesi) is the document that shows a building's estimated income and expenses for a year, the estimated share falling on each unit owner and the advance each owner must pay (the monthly maintenance fee) (KMK Art. 37). Under Law No. 7579, in force since 22/05/2026, the operating budget is approved by the owners' assembly; if there is no approved budget, the manager prepares a provisional one, which the assembly must decide on within three months at the latest.

Last checked: 27 September 2026. The June 2026 version of this article described the "seven-day objection" rule that Law No. 7579 repealed; it has been rewritten for the current law.

What the law says (Art. 37, from 22/05/2026)

"The operating budget is approved by the general assembly of unit owners. If there is no operating budget accepted by the owners' assembly, the manager promptly prepares a provisional operating budget until one is approved by the owners' assembly within three months at the latest." (our translation)

The budget shows in particular:

• a) the estimated income and expenses for one year of managing the building;
• b) the estimated amount of all expenses falling on each unit owner under the principles in Article 20;
• c) the advance each unit owner must pay under the principles in Article 20.

The budget is notified to the unit owners or to those actually using the units against signature or by registered letter, and within three months at the latest the assembly decides whether to accept it as it is or amended.

Law No. 7579 added a limit too: where a budget already exists, the amount in the provisional budget cannot be increased, from the start of the calendar year, by more than the revaluation rate announced for the previous year.

Approved budget versus provisional budget

What was the old rule? Before the change, the manager's budget was notified and became final if nobody objected within seven days. That sentence was repealed by Law No. 7579. Get legal advice on budgets that became final that way before 22/05/2026 and on the transition period.

Role in enforcement

Under the law, final operating budgets or owners' assembly resolutions on operating costs count as documents listed in Art. 68/1 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (KMK Art. 37). This means that if the debtor objects to enforcement, the creditor can ask the enforcement court to remove the objection (EBL Art. 68, within six months of being notified of the objection).

That is not a guaranteed outcome:

• If the debtor proves their objection with a document such as a payment receipt, the request is rejected (EBL Art. 68).
• The law refers to a "final" budget. Whether a provisional budget not yet approved by the assembly counts as final in this sense is not answered clearly after the change. Basing collection on an assembly resolution is safer.
• The assembly resolution itself is an EBL Art. 68/1 document; state the fee and advance amounts clearly in the resolution.

For the whole collection process, see the guide on what to do when an owner does not pay.

Practical warning: posting the budget on a noticeboard is not one of the notification methods in the law. Hand it over against signature or send it by registered letter, and keep the records.

Example operating budget (12-flat building, 2026)

Assumptions: the management plan has no special rule on splitting costs, so the split in the law applies: caretaker costs equally, other costs by land share (KMK Art. 20). Land shares: 4 flats at 75/1,000, 4 at 85/1,000 and 4 at 90/1,000 (1,000/1,000 in total). The caretaker is on the minimum wage and the premium support conditions are met (caretaker pay guide). The figures are an example.

A. Estimated annual expenses

B. Estimated income: annual rent from a mobile phone mast on a common area, ₺30,000.00. Because owners own the common areas in proportion to their land shares (Art. 16), in this example the income is deducted from the expenses shared by land share: 210,000.00 − 30,000.00 = ₺180,000.00. Net requirement: 692,568.36 − 30,000.00 = ₺662,568.36.

C. Monthly advance (maintenance fee)

The caretaker share is 482,568.36 ÷ 12 flats ÷ 12 months = ₺3,351.1692, rounded to ₺3,351.17.

Check and rounding: the 12 flats pay ₺55,214.04 a month in total; the monthly requirement is 662,568.36 ÷ 12 = ₺55,214.03. The difference is ₺0.01 a month, or ₺0.12 a year collected in excess. Show it in the year-end accounts.

If costs are shared equally: if the management plan splits all costs equally, the monthly advance is 662,568.36 ÷ 144 = ₺4,601.17 (the rounding effect is again ₺0.12 a year). Equal sharing can only be used if the management plan or an agreement between owners provides for it.

Editable template

You can copy the headings below into your own budget. Each field is explained.

Points to watch when preparing it

1. Start from last year's actual expenses. They are the most solid basis for estimates.
2. Reflect minimum wage and contract increases. Caretaker costs and service contracts usually change at least once a year.
3. Show large works as separate items. Roof, facade and lift upgrades on their own lines reduce the need for extra collections.
4. Show income separately. State which income is deducted from which expense.
5. Do not leave empty units out. Not using a unit or facility does not remove the share (Art. 20).
6. In multi-block developments, separate block and shared costs. The management plan and KMK Art. 72 decide which costs fall on a block's owners and which on all owners.

Tracking the budget during the year

The budget is an estimate; compare it with actual income and expenses during the year. The law sets no threshold for deviations. As an internal rule, it is good practice, for example, to inform the assembly and update the advance by a new resolution if a lasting deviation exceeds 10% (a suggestion, not a legal threshold). At year end, present the actuals at the accounts meeting (Art. 39) and add them to the auditor's report if there is one (Art. 41).

In Yonevo: the annual budget is prepared with expense and income items, and the fee target is split between units by land share, floor area or equally. From the budget screen you can create a fee charge linked to the budget and compare budgeted with actual amounts. For an item-by-item mixed split (for example caretaker equally, others by land share), use the additional items in the fee charge. You still need to keep the approval and notification records separately.

Frequently asked questions

Who prepares the operating budget and who approves it? The owners' assembly approves it. If there is no approved budget, the manager promptly prepares a provisional one, which the assembly must decide on within three months at the latest (Art. 37).

Must the budget be renewed every year? It is prepared for one year of management; renewing it for each period fits the purpose of the law.

Can it be notified to a tenant? Yes. The law allows notification to those actually using the unit. The debtor is the owner; the tenant is jointly liable up to the rent they owe (Art. 22).

Can a budget approved by the assembly be challenged? An owner who attended and voted against can bring an action to annul in the civil court of peace within one month of the resolution, an owner who did not attend within one month of learning of it, and in any case within six months of the resolution (Art. 33). Mediation is a precondition before the lawsuit (Law No. 6325, Art. 18/B).

Sources (in Turkish)

• Condominium Law No. 634, Art. 16, 20, 22, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, 72 (Art. 35 and 37 as amended by Law No. 7579, in force 22/05/2026)
• Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law No. 2004, Art. 68
• Law No. 6325 on Mediation in Civil Disputes, Art. 18/B