According to international property solicitor, John Howell, on March 14th, the Turkish Supreme Court overturned part of Article 19 of the New Land Registry (TAPU) Act, a Turkish law that was amended in 2003, to allow foreigners to buy property in Turkish villages. The 2003 law also allowed foreign companies to own property along with more than 30 hectares of land in Turkey.

However the Supreme Court has now overturned Article 19, and in three months time the amendments made to the law in 2003 will no longer exist.

John Howell comments: "Thousands of foreigners, many of them British, have bought property in Turkey over the last year or two. Most of them have bought in purpose-built coastal developments and so are unlikely to be affected too much by this law. Some, however, have bought inland and some have bought large amounts of land for development purposes. Those people and any others who are concerned about their position should seek urgent legal advice."