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Can farmland be subdivided?

In short: Agricultural land cannot be subdivided below 2 hectares (20 dönüm) for fields, 0.5 hectares for perennial (planted) land or 0.3 hectares for greenhouses, nor below the "economically viable" size (yeter gelirli) set for its district. Creating new shares, or increasing the number of shares and co-owners, is subject to the same limits and requires Ministry approval.

Because splitting agricultural land into small pieces lowers productivity, Law No. 5403 sets a lower limit on subdivision. These limits apply both to subdivision at the land registry (ifraz: splitting the parcel) and to division into shares (hisselendirme: adding new co-owners).

Minimum sizes (Law No. 5403, art. 8)

Absolute, marginal and special crop land (fields): 2 hectares (20,000 m²)
Perennial (planted) agricultural land (vineyards, orchards, olive groves…): 0.5 hectares (5,000 m²)
Greenhouse (protected cultivation) land: 0.3 hectares (3,000 m²)

Below these sizes, no subdivision or division into shares is allowed, and the number of shares and co-owners cannot be increased.

Economically viable holding size (yeter gelirli arazi büyüklüğü)

The list annexed to the Law sets, for each district, the size of land that is enough for a family to make a living, separately for irrigated, dry, perennial and greenhouse land. Land cannot be subdivided below this size. For example, in the Ceyhan district of Adana it is 50 decares for irrigated land, 160 for dry land, 10 for perennial land and 3 for greenhouse land.

The "District" tab of the farmland window in ParselX shows the economically viable sizes for the parcel's district. Ask the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry whether your land counts as irrigated.

Share transfers

Subdivision, division into shares, share transfers, conversion from joint ownership to shared ownership, partition and change of land type all require Ministry approval.
When a share is transferred, the remaining share cannot fall below the minimum size; land below the economically viable size cannot be divided into shares.
On a jointly owned parcel, any building, including a vineyard house, needs the other co-owners' consent. More: Shared title deeds

Beware of "hobby garden" sales

It is prohibited to sell a field that cannot be subdivided at the land registry by telling buyers "this corner is yours", whether through informal shares or through a company or cooperative. Anyone who divides land in this way, or acts as an intermediary, faces 1–3 years in prison and a judicial fine; companies face an administrative fine of 50,000–250,000 TL. From 2026, cooperatives cannot acquire agricultural land, and unauthorised buildings are not connected to electricity, water or natural gas.

Subdivision outside planned areas

In rural areas without a zoning plan, a parcel created by subdivision must also be at least 5,000 m² in size and have 25 m of road frontage (art. 62 of the Zoning Regulation for Unplanned Areas, Plansız Alanlar İmar Yönetmeliği). On agricultural land, the limits of Law No. 5403 also apply; whichever is larger is applied.

How to check on ParselX

Look up your agricultural parcel; in the "Building on agricultural land" card, the "subdivision" box shows how many plots the parcel can be split into (on paper). The "Subdivision and shares" tab of the window sets out the limits and the district's values.

This guide is for information only. Agricultural legislation changes often; some of the sizes set in the annex to the regulation can also be updated by the Ministry without publication in the Official Gazette. Before you apply, consult the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry; the final decision rests with the relevant authority.

Last updated: 29 September 2026