What Is a Turnkey Villa and How Does the Process Work?

A turnkey villa means one contractor handles everything from design to occupancy permit, and you receive the house ready to live in. The architect, structural engineer, frame crew, electricians, plumbers, window fitters and facade team all answer to the contractor, not to you. One contract, one party responsible.

Simple on paper. In practice, what "turnkey" covers varies from firm to firm, and that is where most disputes start. So let's begin with scope.

What a turnkey price usually includes, and what it often doesn't

Most turnkey contracts in Turkey include the architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical designs, the foundation and structure, roof, facade and insulation, windows and doors, internal walls, plaster and paint, floor finishes, plumbing and wiring, and bathroom and kitchen fittings.

Items that are often excluded or priced separately:

• The land and title deed costs
• Soil investigation, municipal fees and the building inspection fee
• Connection and subscription fees for electricity, water and sewage
• Retaining walls, boundary walls and garden works
• Pool, air conditioning, white goods and light fittings

Each of these should be listed in the contract as included or not. The word "turnkey" on its own guarantees nothing.

The process, stage by stage

1. Site visit and brief

We walk the plot and look at the slope, road frontage, neighbouring buildings, trees, and how far away the power and water lines are. At this stage you get the zoning status document (imar durumu) from the municipality. It sets the footprint ratio, floor area ratio, number of storeys and setbacks, so the maximum size of the house is known from day one.

Around Şile and Ağva there are a few things we always check: distance from the shoreline boundary, flood risk and groundwater level on plots near streams, and signs of slope movement on clay soils.

2. Soil investigation and design

No structural design can be done without a soil investigation report. It decides the foundation type and whether soil improvement is needed. Then come the architectural design, the structural design under the Turkish Building Earthquake Code (TBDY 2018), the mechanical and electrical designs, and the thermal insulation calculation under TS 825.

This is the cheapest moment to change your mind about the layout. Any change after the permit means a revision to the approved drawings, and time.

3. Building permit and inspection

The drawings go to the municipality for a building permit. Depending on the area and how busy the municipality is, this usually takes 1 to 4 months. An independent building inspection firm is mandatory under Law No. 4708, and it is assigned through the Ministry's electronic system, so neither you nor the contractor picks it. In a turnkey contract the contractor handles the paperwork.

4. Foundation and structure

Excavation, foundation, and the structural frame: columns, beams and slabs in concrete, or the frame and panels in a steel or prefab system. Roughly 40 to 50 percent of total build time is spent here. With concrete, the inspection firm checks the rebar before every pour and concrete samples are taken for testing.

5. Interior works

Services, plaster, screed, insulation, windows, tiles, flooring, paint, kitchen and bathrooms. Most delays at this stage come from decisions the owner has not made yet. Tiles, window colour and kitchen model should be chosen before interior works begin, because some materials take weeks to arrive.

6. Facade, site and garden

Facade cladding, roof details, boundary walls, driveway, drainage and planting. On sloping plots around Şile, retaining walls and surface water drainage are the key jobs here; if water is not managed properly, damp problems start around the foundation.

7. Snagging, handover and occupancy permit

Before handover we go room by room and make a snag list. Once everything is fixed, we apply for the occupancy permit (yapı kullanma izin belgesi, usually just called iskan). It needs the inspection firm's completion report, a clearance letter from the social security institution (SGK) and utility documents, among others. Without iskan the title deed cannot be updated to show a house, and permanent utility contracts and mortgages become difficult.

What the contract must say

Pricing model. A fixed (lump sum) price protects your budget. With unit pricing, quantity and price increases are your risk. The contract should say exactly when, if ever, the price can be revised.

Specification. Concrete class, rebar grade, insulation material and thickness, window profile and glazing, and brands or at least price bands for tiles and fittings. Two quotes without a specification cannot be compared.

Payment schedule. Payments should follow progress: foundation complete, frame complete, interiors complete, and so on. Avoid large upfront payments.

Time and delay. Start and finish dates, how weather and owner-caused delays are counted, and a daily delay penalty.

Variations. Any change you ask for during construction should be priced and approved in writing before the work is done.

Warranty. What the contractor guarantees after handover and for how long. Statutory liability exists as well: the Turkish Code of Obligations sets a five-year limitation period from handover for defects in buildings, and Law No. 4708 holds the inspection firm liable for 15 years for the structural system and 2 years for non-structural parts. Have a lawyer read the contract, especially if you are buying from abroad.

Turnkey or managing it yourself

If you manage the build yourself, you hire and pay each trade separately. It can look cheaper on paper. But coordinating crews, ordering materials, and arguing about whose mistake caused which problem all land on you. If you cannot be on site regularly, and especially if you live abroad or in central Istanbul and would be driving out to Şile, that gets exhausting fast.

With turnkey that burden moves to the contractor. In return, choosing the right contractor and writing a clear contract become the most important decisions you make.

Common questions

How long does a turnkey villa take?

For a concrete villa, allow roughly 10 to 20 months from design to handover, of which 1 to 4 months is the permit. A steel or prefab system cuts construction down to a few months, but design and permit time stay the same.

Can I change the plan during construction?

Changes that don't touch the structure or the permitted drawings (a partition wall, socket positions, finishes) can usually be made. Anything affecting the structure or floor area needs a revised permit drawing, and its cost and time should be agreed separately.

Do I need to visit the site at all?

You don't have to, but I'd recommend it. Seeing the site before the foundation pour, at the end of the frame, and before interior works start, and making your finish choices in person, prevents a lot of later disagreement.

When you ask for a turnkey quote, have the zoning status document and title deed details ready; the first site visit is far more useful with those in hand. You can see the scope of our work on the villa construction and pool construction pages.