Does an Apartment Renovation Require a Building Permit?

Does an apartment renovation require a building permit?

Under Article 21/3 of the Zoning Law, interior work that does not change the load-bearing system or the exterior facade does not require a building permit. This rule applies the same way in an apartment, but there is one extra layer: a decision by the board of flat owners and the site management plan come into play here, unlike in a villa.

Not needing a permit does not mean no approval is needed at all: jobs such as moving a wet area, demolishing a wall or changing the floor finish — in short, apartment renovation permission — are first reported to the building management, and neighbouring flats are also informed.

Which job needs management approval, and which only needs a notice?

Not every job in an apartment goes through the same approval process: some jobs only start with a notice to the building management, others need a decision from the board of flat owners.

What are the working hours and common-area rules in an apartment?

In most apartment buildings and sites, working hours are limited to weekdays 09:00-18:00; some site management plans ban all site work on Saturdays and Sundays entirely.

The shared elevator and staircase are wrapped in protective film before any material is carried through; this is usually a condition the management asks for in writing, and it needs to be clarified before work starts.

Where does an apartment renovation differ from a villa?

The base rule (Zoning Law Art. 21/3) is the same, but an apartment has an extra party: the building management and neighboring apartments. This is why the first step in an apartment renovation is always notifying the management, while in a villa it is going straight to setting up the site.

This rule does not change in a large, over-300-m², or even a duplex apartment; the same management notification applies in our article about planning a duplex or large apartment.

This approval process is also part of the first 5 decisions between a new apartment and an old apartment; in a new apartment the wet area location does not change, so this step is usually not needed, while in an old apartment it comes into play.

The same management notification also applies in an office, only the party changes: a neighboring company instead of a neighboring apartment; we explained this in our Does an Office Renovation Require a Permit? article.

Umut GÜRLER is an interior architect and a graduate of Çankaya University Interior Architecture; he has worked since 2009 (more than 17 years) on villa, apartment, office and clinic interiors in Ankara, and his office is in Cepa Ofis Kule. The example in this article comes from an apartment project he has completed.