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"In the wake of the recent earthquakes in Turkey, the government has announced plans to demolish all buildings which don't meet stringent building controls, and a draft law has been prepared with help from 30 experts.
The plan is to seek the agreement of owners of at risk buildings before demolishing them, but if an agreement cannot be reached the ministry of the Mass Housing Administration (TOKI) will have the power to seize the building. Owners of such buildings will be offered interest-free loans to purchase apartments in earthquake safe buildings, or will receive financial assistance towards renting alternative property.
Tenants in these buildings will receive a one-off financial payment. It is expected that this draft law will be submitted to the prime ministry this month, and it includes plans to open a new disaster preparation fund, and earnings from sales of state-owned land and fines collected for violations of zoning plans will be placed into this account as well as tax earnings from the general budget.
The estimated cost of this urban renewal project could be as much as $400 billion as the government is determined to reinforce or replace buildings vulnerable to earthquake damage. It is estimated there are as many as 14,000 buildings in Istanbul alone which will need to be demolished, and one welcome side-effect of this project is the number of new construction jobs which will be created.
