Will My Flat Get Smaller in Urban Transformation? Land Share, Floor Area Ratio and m² (2026)

When a building enters urban transformation (kentsel dönüşüm), owners usually ask first: "Will my new flat be as big as the old one?" There is no single answer for everyone, but the factors that decide it are clear and can be calculated before the owners vote. Drawing on ÇET Yapı's housing and urban transformation work in Istanbul, here is how the size of a new flat is actually worked out.

Short answer: land share and zoning rights decide, not the old m²

Your old flat's m² is not automatically carried over. Three things decide the new flat's size:

1. Your land share (arsa payı) on the title deed: the area left to the owners is, as a rule, distributed in proportion to land shares.
2. The plot's current zoning right (floor area ratio, "emsal"): the total area that can be built on the plot under today's zoning plan.
3. Project efficiency and the agreed split: the space taken by parking, shelter and common areas, how efficient the flat layouts are, and the share agreed with the contractor.

Under Article 6 of Law No. 6306, decisions on a plot with a risky building — rebuilding, flat-for-land or revenue-sharing — are taken by a simple majority of owners in proportion to their shares. Both your voting weight and your share of the new building are tied to your share on the title deed.

How the new flat size is calculated

The logic is simple. The figures below are only an example; every plot must be calculated with its current zoning status:

If the old flats were 90 m², they shrink in this example. If the plot's zoning right is higher, or the old building did not use its full right, flats can stay the same or grow. We explain how the split is negotiated in our guide to flat-for-land construction agreements.

Five reasons flats get smaller

1. The plot's current zoning right is lower than the old building

Many older buildings were built with more floor area than today's plan allows, or the plan has since changed. The new building is licensed under today's plan, so the total area can fall. The first step is always to obtain the plot's current zoning status from the municipality.

2. Unlicensed (illegal) floors

Unlicensed floors, roof flats or enclosed balconies do not create extra building rights in the new project. Their owners are entitled in proportion to their land shares, but the building's "actual" area cannot be carried over, so the area per flat may fall.

3. Parking, shelter and common areas

New buildings must meet today's rules on parking, fire safety, lifts and accessibility. Even where some of these areas fall outside the floor area ratio, they shape the layout and can reduce net flat area, especially on small plots.

4. Unbalanced land shares

In older buildings, land shares do not always reflect flat sizes — roof or ground-floor flats may have been given low shares. Under Article 3 of the Condominium Law, if land shares were not allocated in proportion to the value of the units, any owner may apply to court to have them re-arranged. This should be reviewed with a lawyer before the contract stage.

5. Campaign and subsidy conditions

To benefit from the "Yarısı Bizden" campaign, the new building's area, excluding parking and shelter, must not exceed 1.5 times the existing building. Projects seeking the subsidy are designed within this limit.

When flats can get bigger

• The plot's current zoning right is higher than the area the old building used
• Merging with neighbouring plots produces a more efficient project
• Flat layouts and common areas are designed efficiently

In these cases flats can stay the same, grow, or the owners can negotiate a better split.

What the contract must state

Most disputes over flat size come from areas left vague in the contract. The notarised flat-for-land contract should include:

• An allocation list: each owner's unit with floor, orientation, number of rooms and net and gross m²
• Preliminary project and specification list attached to the contract
• Definition of m² and tolerance: how net and gross areas are measured, and the limit and consequence of any difference
• Completion guarantee: building completion insurance or a bank guarantee

Article 15 of the 6306 Implementing Regulation also requires that, where owners ask the authority to register the condominium servitude, the contract identifies the units allocated to each owner. In short, "who gets which flat" must be settled in the contract.

Before the vote: a four-step check

1. Obtain the plot's current zoning status from the municipality.
2. Check each flat's land share and whether the building has unlicensed areas.
3. Have a feasibility study prepared on that zoning status, showing each owner's area.
4. Compare contractor offers not only on the split but on net flat area, specification and delivery time — our contractor checklist helps here.

A plot-specific calculation with ÇET Yapı

ÇET Yapı has delivered housing, education and urban transformation projects in Istanbul since 1993; we completed the Yeşilköy Ateş Residence transformation in 20 months. To calculate each owner's area and the project options for your building, fill in our pre-application form.

This article is general information. The example is only to show the method; each plot's zoning status, land shares and legal situation must be reviewed individually.