This article is about the time before an earthquake: how do you find out whether the building you live in is safe?

The short answer: not by looking at it. Türkiye’s Law No. 6306 defines a risky building as one that has reached the end of its economic life, or one “determined on the basis of scientific and technical data” to be at risk of collapse or heavy damage. Only an assessment by an authorised organisation produces that data.

What do visible signs tell you?

Some observations are a good reason to consult an expert: columns or walls altered in a ground-floor shop renovation, constant damp in the basement, rusty reinforcement where concrete has spalled, or floors added later.

None of these is a verdict on its own. Equally, a fresh façade or crack-free walls do not show that the load-bearing structure is sound. Note what you see and tell the assessing organisation.

Why the construction year matters

A building is designed to the earthquake rules in force when its project was prepared. The current Turkish Building Earthquake Code was published in the Official Gazette on 18 March 2018 and took effect on 1 January 2019, replacing the 2007 regulation on buildings in earthquake zones. It covers not only the design of new buildings but also the evaluation and strengthening of existing buildings.

A new code does not make an old building stronger, and a new building is not safe if it was not built to the rules. The construction year is a clue, not a verdict.

AFAD’s Türkiye Earthquake Hazard Maps application (sign in with e-Devlet) shows the ground shaking hazard at your location; it does not show how well your building will withstand it.

Who requests a risky building assessment, and how?

  • Owners apply. Under the law, owners or their legal representatives commission the assessment, at their own expense, from institutions licensed by the Urban Transformation Presidency (Kentsel Dönüşüm Başkanlığı). According to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, an application by one of the owners is enough, made through an electronic system.
  • Tenants cannot apply. The law sanctions a licensed organisation that carries out an assessment at the request of someone who is not an owner. If you rent, talk to your landlord or building manager.
  • Check first. Assessing an already assessed building again is also sanctioned. Risky buildings are recorded in the land registry, a notice is posted on the building, owners are notified through e-Devlet and the result is announced at the muhtar’s office for 15 days. e-Devlet carries the Ministry’s “Riskli Yapı Tespiti” service.
  • Right to object. Owners can object within 15 days. Objections are reviewed by seven-member technical panels: four academics from universities and three members from the Ministry or the Presidency.
  • The local administration or the Presidency can also carry out the assessment itself, or ask the owners to do so within a deadline.

Ask the licensed organisation you apply to for its fee.

If the building is found risky: urban transformation

Law 6306 aims to create safe living environments that meet engineering standards where risky buildings stand. Owners of a risky building are given at most 90 days to have it demolished. Decisions on redeveloping the plot are taken by an absolute majority of the co-owners in proportion to their shares. Owners, tenants and resident holders of limited real rights in buildings vacated by agreement can receive temporary housing, rent assistance and construction assistance.

While you wait: secure your belongings

You cannot change the structure, but you can reduce the hazard inside today. AFAD recommends:

  • Fix cabinets and anything that can topple to the wall and to each other; fill any gap between them.
  • Secure items on top of cabinets with holding material or adhesive; fit mechanical latches to cabinet doors with heavy contents.
  • Hang chandeliers and air conditioners with hooks rated for their weight. Fix stoves and heaters in place.
  • Do not put beds next to windows or heavy cabinets that could fall; keep shelves with heavy items away from above the bed.
  • Keep exit routes clear.

AFAD also recommends earthquake insurance for homes; see our DASK article. For what to do during shaking, use the earthquake guide, and set up a meeting plan with the family plan tool.