Duties and Liability of an Apartment Building Manager in Turkey: The Core Obligations under the Condominium Law

Short answer: a manager is liable to the unit owners as an agent is to a principal (KMK Art. 38). A building with eight or more units must have a manager (Art. 34). The manager's duties are listed in Article 35 of the Turkish Condominium Law (Kat Mülkiyeti Kanunu, KMK); the management plan can arrange them differently. This article summarises the core duties in the law and how to check them in practice. Get separate advice on your building's own management plan and on specific legislation such as employment, tax and lift regulations.

Last checked: 27 September 2026. Includes the changes made by Law No. 7579, in force since 22/05/2026 (advances and the operating budget).

Duties, legal basis and practical checks

One book: resolutions and expenses together

The law does not require a separate "operating ledger". The manager writes the assembly's resolutions, summaries of notices and reminders served, and all expenses, in date order, in the resolution book whose pages are certified by a notary, and keeps the supporting documents in a file (Art. 32, 36). If an auditor has been elected, the auditor keeps a separate notarised book for their reports (Art. 41).

Many managements also track income and expenses in a cash book or in software. These records are useful but do not replace the book required by law. Attaching software print-outs to the book is common; check with a notary and your lawyer whether that is enough in your case.

How long should documents be kept? The Condominium Law does not set a period. Limitation periods matter for claims involving owners and for the manager's liability: the general period is ten years, and five years for periodic payments (Code of Obligations, Art. 146, 147). Keeping documents for at least ten years is a prudent practice (our suggestion).

Bank account

The manager keeps the money and advances collected in a reliable bank, in an account in the manager's own name but showing their capacity as manager (Art. 35/j). The community of unit owners has no legal personality; in banking practice such accounts are usually opened under a title such as "… Building Management". Keeping the building's money in the manager's personal account goes against this and makes accounting harder.

Insurance and earthquake insurance

Insuring the building is one of the manager's duties (Art. 35/c); the owners' assembly can decide the insured value, and premiums are shared by land share (Art. 21). Compulsory earthquake insurance (DASK) is the owner's obligation for each unit (Law No. 6305, Art. 10). The law does not require the manager to check it; the management can remind owners of renewal dates.

Lifts

The manager has lifts serviced monthly and inspected yearly in line with the technical regulations, and pays for this (Art. 35/l). Keep the service contract, monthly service records and annual inspection reports; if the report lists defects, track the date they are fixed.

The operating budget after Law No. 7579

Since 22/05/2026 the operating budget (işletme projesi) is approved by the owners' assembly. If there is no approved budget, the manager promptly prepares a provisional one; it is notified to the owners against signature or by registered letter, and within three months the assembly decides whether to accept it as it is or amended. Where a budget is already in force, the amount in the provisional budget cannot rise by more than the revaluation rate for the previous year (Art. 37).

The old rule that the manager's budget became final if nobody objected within seven days was repealed by Law No. 7579. Final operating budgets and assembly resolutions on operating costs count as documents under Art. 68/1 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law in enforcement proceedings.

Accounting to owners and release

The manager accounts for income and expenses to the assembly at the time in the management plan, otherwise in the first month of each calendar year; if half of the owners ask, accounts can be requested at other times as well (Art. 39). Unless the plan sets a time, accounts are audited every three months (Art. 41).

When the assembly approves the manager's accounts, this is commonly called a "release" (ibra). Its scope depends on the wording of the resolution; state clearly which period and which accounts it covers.

Three kinds of liability

These are different concepts; a shortcoming does not automatically amount to a crime.

1. Civil liability: the manager is liable to owners as an agent (KMK Art. 38). An agent must act loyally and with care, judged by what a prudent agent doing similar work would do (Code of Obligations, Art. 506). Where carelessness causes loss, the result is compensation.

2. Administrative fines: the law provides fines imposed by the civil court of peace for some duties: ₺50–250 if the manager's details are not posted at the entrance (Art. 34), and ₺250–2,000 under Art. 33 if the book-keeping and document duties are not met (Art. 36). These are the amounts in the text of the law; administrative fines are increased every year by the revaluation rate (Misdemeanours Law No. 5326, Art. 17/7). Failing to register an employee with SGK is also subject to an administrative fine under Law No. 5510.

3. Criminal liability: arises only if the legal elements of an offence are present, and by court judgment. For example, using entrusted money for one's own benefit may amount to breach of trust (Turkish Criminal Code, Art. 155), and producing false documents may amount to forgery. In cases such as an accident in a facility that was not maintained, liability depends on fault in the specific case.

Stepping down

The manager is reappointed every year at the ordinary meeting (Art. 34), and the assembly can replace them at any time for just cause (Art. 41). Because management is an agency relationship, either side can end it at any time, but a party ending it at an inopportune time must compensate the resulting loss (Code of Obligations, Art. 512). If owners do not pay what they owe on time and in full despite a notice served by the manager through a notary, the manager can terminate without paying compensation and claim their own loss (KMK Art. 40).

On leaving, hand over the book, documents, bank authorities and open matters to the new manager with a signed handover record.

Staff, tax and social security

• The caretaker and other employees are registered with SGK before they start (Law 5510, Art. 8).
• If an apartment caretaker's pay falls under Income Tax Law 23/6, no income tax is withheld; the exemption does not apply in commercial buildings such as business centres. See our caretaker pay guide.
• Apartment and complex managements are not expressly listed among those required to withhold tax under Income Tax Law Art. 94. Check with your accountant which obligations arise for payments such as lawyer or accountant fees.

What Yonevo provides for these duties

• Meeting and resolution records: meetings, resolutions, votes and invitation documents are recorded. The legal duty to write resolutions in the notarised book remains.
• Budget and operating budget preparation: the fee target is calculated from annual expense and income items and split between units by land share, floor area or equally; actual amounts are compared with the budget.
• Cash, bank and ledger accounts: income, expenses and collections are recorded with their documents and can be exported to PDF and Excel.
• Fixed assets and maintenance: you enter the next maintenance date; overdue and upcoming maintenance is listed separately.
• Audit log: who changed a record, when and how is tracked, and a deleted record's content before deletion is kept. Authorised users can still correct records; the change history makes those corrections visible.

Frequently asked questions

Can the manager be paid? Yes. Even if no fee is set in the management plan or contract, the manager can ask for a reasonable fee (Art. 40). If the manager is one of the owners, they do not pay half of the normal management costs falling on them unless the assembly decides otherwise (Art. 40).

Is appointing a manager compulsory? Yes, if there are eight or more units. The manager is appointed by a majority of owners both by number and by land share; if they cannot appoint one, the civil court of peace appoints a manager on the application of an owner (Art. 34).

What if the manager disagrees with an assembly resolution? Carrying out resolutions is the manager's duty (Art. 35/a). Owners can bring an action to annul a resolution under the conditions and deadlines in the law (Art. 33); until it is annulled, the resolution is binding (Art. 32).

Sources (in Turkish)

• Condominium Law No. 634, Art. 21, 29, 32–41
• Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, Art. 146, 147, 506, 512
• Disaster Insurance Law No. 6305, Art. 10, 11
• Misdemeanours Law No. 5326, Art. 17
• Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510, Art. 8
• Income Tax Law No. 193, Art. 23, 94