Housing Programs

■ Social housing program of TOKİ targets the low and middle-income people who cannot own a housing unit under the existing market conditions. (Considering the distribution of the housing projects realized by TOKİ, 14% of the same consists of "Fund Raising by the financial model of Revenue Sharing" and 86% of "Social Housing" projects.)

The beneficiaries of the social housing projects of TOKİ (constructed on lands pertaining to TOKİ) make their down payments on the start of the constructions after the tender or at a certain stage (determined by the Administration) (no down-payment is collected in projects toward the poor), and continue monthly payments according to a single-indexed reimbursement plan. For most of these projects the index is the public sector wage index (semiannual index calculated by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Turkey).

For the social type of housing projects targeting low income families, monthly payments are increased (twice in a year) depending on the rate of increase for public sector wage index or Producer Price Index or Consumer Price Index (inflation indices announced by Turk Stat). The maturities of the loan repayments of TOKİ's social type housing projects are set as 10-20 years in average depending on the financial capabilities of the target groups.

45,55% of the social housing projects realized consists of those for the low and middle-income groups. As to the 18,22% portion of the projects (the lowest 20%-40% income tranche), they consist of projects toward the low-income and poor groups. The urban transformation projects which have recently become increasingly significant, have a ratio of 17,15 %.

Since the property right is owned by TOKİ until the debt is over, the repayments of the projects are under guarantee. That is, TOKİ is acting as a 'guarantor' for the repayments of the project. TOKİ finalizes the construction of housing units within 24 months.

The fact that the title deeds are not issued until full repayment of the debts minimizes the default of payment of installments. Indeed, the rate of non-payment is near to zero in the sales practices realized by the Administration. The rate of termination of the sales contracts/rate of taking back of the houses are also low. (approximately 1/ 2.000 houses).

The reimbursements for the sales realized and loans made available by TOKİ are pursued and collected over public banks (Ziraat Bank, Halk Bank and Vakıflar Bank) in the name of TOKİ. The collections accumulating in Banks are transferred to the accounts of the Administration within the framework of the protocols with the banks.

Housing units in TOKİ projects are offered for sale at the beginning of the construction stage after the tender or at a certain stage.

Sales prices of the units are set by TOKİ, by taking into consideration the cost of construction, social facilities, cost of infrastructure, cost of consultancy services and cost of land. Sales prices are determined without a profit purpose, in view of the saving patterns and monthly affordability of the target groups.

Construction cost is the sum of building, mechanical, electrical, substructure, and land-scape and ground Improvement etc. costs.

The sales prices of the housing units produced for the poor citizens (one of the category of TOKİ's social type housing program) do not include the cost of land.

■ Because the problem of slums and shanty settlements cannot be solved through the efforts of the local governments only, since 2003 TOKİ has been following a comprehensive policy toward supporting modern urbanization in cooperation with local administrations, with the support of the central government.

Within the scope of the Law No.5162 that underlines "the prevention of shanty settlements in our cities in cooperation with local authorities and the transformation of the existing shanty settlements" in the Emergency Action Plan of the program of the 58th Turkish Government and the regulations adapted in 12.05.2004, TOKİ has been assigned to be in service in the urban renewal projects and has been carrying out its projects in this sense.

TOKİ's practices constitute a model for local governments and other actors of the housing sector. TOKİ not only transforms slums, extremely intensive shanty settlements, areas with a high risk of natural disasters (earthquake, flood, landslide etc.) and historical urban areas as well as urban areas whose economic lifetime is over but also tries to prevent formation of new slum areas with the houses it produced for narrow-income groups.

Renewal projects and not only produce renovated housing areas; but also provide major recreation areas (like, Trabzon-Zağnos Valley), city parks (like, İzmir-Kadifekale), city quarters, trade centers for the city.

In this context, major urban transformation projects have been implemented in other cities and districts, particularly in cities with intense population such as Ankara, Istanbul, İzmir, Bursa, Denizli, Erzurum, Erzincan, Gaziantep, Trabzon.

With the urban transformation model, areas are developed by the Administration where slum clearance is made/to be made by the local managements, and project-based solution suggestions and implementations are implemented after acquisition by the concerned municipality of the proprietorship of the area in cooperation with the local governments within the scope of relevant laws.

In urban renewal projects, it is the main target to rehabilitate the slum, shanty settlement and bedraggled regions of the city by way of most efficient use of the public resources while simultaneously trying to keep the satisfaction of the proprietor citizens and other city dwellers at a maximum.

TOKİ houses use the "tunnel form-work" system with higher building safety which is also earthquake resistant providing smooth geometric spaces and allowing fast and high-quality production, while schools, trade centers, hospitals, mosque, police station, dormitories, stadiums etc. buildings apply conventional formwork systems. Besides, the light steel building systems are preferred in buildings such as village house, village clinic, which are small in number.

■ TOKİ pioneers the efforts of the government to construct houses, substructure and public utilities in regions damaged by natural disasters. The activities of the Administration in the field of disaster management and restructuring started with Erzincan Earthquake in 1992. TOKİ received the United Nation's HABITAT Scroll of HONOR in 1994 for having provided housing credits to hundreds of thousands of low and medium income families and for having implemented the Erzincan Earthquake Reconstruction Project successfully.

After VAN Earthquake (2011), one of the major earthquakes recently realized in Anatolia, 15.000 houses and their social facilities have been completed within a year in Van by our Administration in coordination with AFAD actively participating in restructuring of the city, and 18 thousand houses were constructed for the beneficiaries up until today. Furthermore, all kinds of support were provided to those willing to build their own house, barn, work place (Houses are produced for disaster regions within the scope of the disaster regions in line with the demand by the Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Office. All houses under construction by TOKİ are purchased by AFAD.)

 With the "Law on Transformation of Places under Disaster Risk" numbered 6306 that took effect during the time of office of 61st Turkish Government for the purpose of demolition of unpermitted/risky buildings with inadequate earthquake-resistant design, material resistance and construction and of restoration of old buildings, urban transformation works spread throughout Turkey and TOKİ's duties reached a significant position with entities responsible at implementation level. On legalization of the relevant legislation, comprehensive urban transformation projects were started throughout Turkey with a new era in urban transformation.

■ TOKİ also creates innovative models to implement government decisions regarding existing housing and settlement policies. The most important model is a financial model which is named as the "income (revenue) sharing model" which provides housings to the high income groups, in order to establish funds for housing projects of low and middle income groups. This model is based on housing production on TOKİ owned lands in provinces like İstanbul and Ankara, in collaboration with the private sector and on sharing the sales income with the private partner. (This is a build-sell model and this concept is based on income - not housing.) TOKİ developed this model to close the gap between its short-term investment expenses and its long-term receivables.

■ The other activities are mainly the "agricultural village projects", "migrant dwellings", "restoration of buildings of historical-cultural importance", "cooperative credits, housing credits for victims of war".

■ TOKİ's affordable housing includes producing all the social facilities within the projects. TOKİ also invests a great of effort in infrastructure (roads, water lines, etc.)  Landscaping is provided for the projects.

In addition to this, construction experience of the Administration has been actively employed in many social practices such as health, education, security, lodging, sports facilities, care centers for homeless children and dormitories where needed, especially in the recent years within the protocols signed with various ministries, state institutions and organizations.

Because of the tender-construction activities experience TOKİ has, its reducing bureaucracy to a minimum and ensuring cheap cost and quality formation in its implementations, the Administration was authorized to make the projects and implementations subject to claim upon the request of the Ministries and approval of the affiliated Minister. Consequently TOKİ can provide support to all public entities regarding the planning, tender and construction of the particular service building needed by the public.

In this sense, besides the mobilization it has promoted, TOKİ is in charge of constructing health, education facilities in the areas where needed, care centers for homeless children, military lodgings, police stations, stadiums and public buildings within the scope of the protocols signed with various public  institutions.

TOKİ, as of December 2018, started the construction of total of 14.541 social facilities, which it mostly completed.

■ "Disadvantaged groups" are TOKI's priority in social housing production.
Low- and medium income families constitute the main target, and separate quotas are allocated for the handicapped, martyr families, the disabled and the pensioners.