THE EYB COUNTRY GUIDES · Turkey
Write an appointment that defines the broker's work, authority, fee, expense approval and ending arrangements.
Yacht broker agreement Turkey is the appointment governing the intermediary's work, rather than the buyer's contract to purchase the yacht. It should identify the client, the business appointed and the decisions the broker can take. The official contract provisions explain brokerage, mandate duties and fee entitlement, but they do not supply a ready-made yacht listing form or a universal exclusivity period. A useful agreement records the actual service and the owner's instructions clearly.
This guide turns the verified contract framework into practical drafting questions for buyers and sellers. The Code text is identified by its edition, and current application needs local confirmation. It does not claim that every suggested clause is a statutory formality or that a broker's appointment can replace the formal yacht ownership-transfer procedure. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Key facts at a glance
Code of Obligations 6098, Article 520, describes preparing or mediating contract formation with fee entitlement on conclusion.
Official Legislation Portal – Official consolidated Turkish Code of Obligat, updated 4 Feb 2011 ·Article 504 determines unstated mandate scope by the nature of the work.
Official Legislation Portal – Official consolidated Turkish Code of Obligat, updated 4 Feb 2011 ·Article 506 requires personal mandate performance unless authorisation, necessity or permitted custom allows another person to do the work.
Official Legislation Portal – Official consolidated Turkish Code of Obligat, updated 4 Feb 2011 ·Article 521 makes the fee payable on fulfilment of a suspensive condition attached to the resulting contract.
Official Legislation Portal – Official consolidated Turkish Code of Obligat, updated 4 Feb 2011 ·Article 512 allows unilateral termination but requires compensation for damage caused by termination at an inappropriate time.
Official Legislation Portal – Official consolidated Turkish Code of Obligat, updated 4 Feb 2011 ·Section 1
The Code describes brokerage as preparing the opportunity for a contract or mediating its formation, with fee entitlement on its conclusion. Begin the appointment by stating which work the intermediary actually accepts. As drafting advice, distinguish locating prospective buyers from negotiating terms and from arranging unrelated services. Identify whether the client is the yacht's owner, a company owner or a buyer seeking a boat. That description helps the appointment fit the job rather than relying on a business card or a broad label.
The Code applies mandate rules to brokerage as the default. It separately defines mandate (vekâlet) as an undertaking to perform the principal's work or transaction. Have a locally qualified lawyer consider the actual arrangement, especially where the broker does more than introduce parties. Practical drafting should describe the services in everyday language and attach the yacht's identifying records. Avoid suggesting that an appointment to market a boat automatically contains every authority needed to sign, complete or register its eventual sale.
Where mandate scope is not expressly stated, the Code determines it from the nature of the work. Do not leave that question implicit in a yacht appointment. As practical advice, identify the owner's decisions, the intermediary's tasks and any actions requiring fresh approval. State how offers are submitted and accepted and which document records a changed instruction. Clear scope is useful whether the appointment is brief or detailed, because it tells the parties what the fee proposal actually covers.
Broker tip: Write the actual tasks and reserved owner decisions before negotiating exclusivity. Attach the yacht identifiers and name the legal client and appointed business so the appointment matches the transaction. Readers often go on to our guide on how much yacht broker commission is in Turkey.
Boat sale contract with a legal stamp.
Brokerage definition
Section 2
The mandate provisions require compliance with the principal's express instructions, with a stated exception where permission cannot be obtained and the principal would clearly have consented. Use that rule to keep price and offer instructions understandable. As client advice, give a written asking-price instruction, identify acceptable negotiation limits and keep later changes dated in the appointment file. Do not expect a broker to infer a changed limit from a casual conversation with someone who has no recorded authority.
The mandate framework requires the representative to perform personally, subject to authorisation, necessity or permitted custom allowing delegation. If the yacht appointment involves another office or a collaborating broker, ask for the proposed delegation to be identified. The Code also addresses responsibility when work is passed on without authority. Practical drafting should tell the client who will arrange viewings and report offers, without promising that every employee or cooperating intermediary has identical power to make decisions for the owner.
The same framework requires loyalty and care, protecting the principal's legitimate interests. It also specifies a standard based on prudent conduct in comparable work. As practical agreement advice, define the reporting and approval process rather than repeating those duties as vague promotional promises. Require factual listing descriptions and a record of buyer enquiries, offers and owner responses. Where someone is representing both sides or receiving another payment, ask for disclosure and local review of the arrangement before accepting it.
Broker tip: Require written approval for changes in price instructions, scope or delegation. Name the person who reports offers and keep the owner's decisions in the same file as the appointment. Our guide on whether yacht brokers are regulated in Turkey covers a related point.
Signing a boat purchase agreement.
Express instruction duty
Buying or selling a boat in Turkey and want a second opinion? Speak to one of our brokers.
Section 3
The brokerage provisions tie the fee to a contract resulting from the intermediary's activity. Put the fee formula and intended trigger beside the service description. As drafting advice, compare that trigger with the sale agreement so the two documents describe the same transaction stage. A conditional purchase agreement and an unconditional completion should not be referred to interchangeably. Ask local advice to confirm the legal effect of the chosen wording instead of assuming a standard-looking fee clause answers every scenario.
The Code addresses a contract subject to a suspensive condition: the brokerage fee is payable when the condition occurs. If the sale depends on inspection results, finance or an authority decision, have a locally qualified lawyer decide how the condition operates. Practical preparation means preserving the exact condition, notice route and evidence of fulfilment with the appointment. Do not insert a guessed default deposit or automatic commission payment date merely because those figures appear in someone else's yacht-sale template.
Agreed brokerage expenses remain reimbursable even when the intermediary's activity does not result in a contract. The Code also says an unspecified fee follows a tariff, or custom where no tariff exists. Avoid leaving either issue to a later discussion. As practical advice, state the fee basis expressly, list authorised expense categories, require approval where intended and ask for receipts. Separate reimbursement, commission and any other service invoice so the owner can assess the bill against the signed appointment. No official standard yacht brokerage appointment, mandatory exclusivity period or yacht commission percentage verified. Foreign-law and cross-border appointments need transaction-specific local advice; no universal governing-law result inferred. For these, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Broker tip: Compare appointment and sale conditions side by side before signing. Express the fee formula, authorised expenses and approval route clearly, and do not borrow deposit figures from unrelated transactions. A related question is answered in our guide on what goes in a boat sale contract in Turkey.
Broker and buyer shaking hands on a pontoon.
Resulting contract fee
Code of Obligations 6098, Article 521, ties brokerage entitlement to a contract resulting from the broker's activity.
Source: Official Legislation Portal – Official consolidated Turkish Code of Obligat, updated 4 Feb 2011Article 521 makes the fee payable on fulfilment of a suspensive condition attached to the resulting contract.
Source: Official Legislation Portal – Official consolidated Turkish Code of Obligat, updated 4 Feb 2011Article 521 makes agreed brokerage expenses payable even where no contract results.
Source: Official Legislation Portal – Official consolidated Turkish Code of Obligat, updated 4 Feb 2011Article 522 uses tariff, or absent tariff custom, where the brokerage fee has not been determined.
Source: Official Legislation Portal – Official consolidated Turkish Code of Obligat, updated 4 Feb 2011Section 4
The mandate accounting rule requires an account on request and delivery of what the representative received in connection with the work. Ask the appointment to state the records and closing statement the client will receive. As practical advice, show proceeds, authorised deductions and money remitted separately. A duty to account is useful, but it is not evidence that the business offers an insured escrow arrangement. Fund-holding terms require their own examination before a buyer sends a deposit to an intermediary.
The Code allows principal and representative to end a mandate unilaterally, while requiring compensation for damage caused by ending it at an inappropriate time. A yacht appointment should address its intended duration and ending process without pretending that notice alone settles every fee or loss claim. Have local advice review any exclusivity, continuing-introduction or post-termination clause. Practical record keeping should preserve the notice, outstanding offers and authorised expenses so the parties can identify what remains to be resolved when the work stops.
The Commercial Code permits public inspection of commercial-register contents and certified copies at the requester's expense. MERSİS is the Ministry's central system for electronic registration, changes and deletion of businesses and stored registry information. Check the appointed entity against that official evidence and compare its name with the agreement and invoice. As practical advice, request supporting authority for the signatory and any different account beneficiary. Company identity checks are separate from determining whether a particular yacht fee or fund-holding promise is justified.
Broker tip: Before appointment, compare the legal business, signatory and proposed payment recipient. Agree reporting and ending arrangements in writing, with a closing statement for money or expenses already handled. See also our guide on whether to use a yacht broker or a dealer in Turkey.
Broker photographing a boat for sale.
Account and delivery
Practical support
Peter Mattey is a yacht broker at European Yacht Brokers with a BA in Law. He is not a Turkish lawyer: for Turkish law and tax we refer you to a locally qualified adviser. What we can do is help you plan the transaction, put the right questions to the other side and spot gaps in the paperwork before you commit.
If you are buying or selling a boat in Turkey, tell us about the boat and the area through the enquiry form on this page and a broker will reply. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
The handover of a boat at the dock.
Your questions
No. The appointment describes the intermediary's work, while the buyer's purchase terms belong to the sale agreement. The official brokerage definition concerns preparing or mediating the contract's formation. As practical drafting, keep the service, fee and authority terms clear and align them with the resulting sale without implying that marketing authority automatically includes every step needed to complete the ownership transfer. [Official Legislation Portal]
The mandate framework starts with personal performance and allows delegation where authorised, necessary or permitted by custom. It also addresses responsibility for an unauthorised substitute. Ask the appointment to identify proposed cooperation and the reporting person, then obtain local advice where the scope is disputed. Practical delegation terms should tell the owner who is doing what and who can seek approval. [Official Legislation Portal]
Yes. The brokerage rule makes agreed expenses reimbursable even when the broker's activity does not result in a contract. List authorised items and any approval requirements in the appointment, and require receipts. Separate that reimbursement from success commission so the owner understands the potential cost of work that ends without the intended yacht sale. [Official Legislation Portal]
The mandate provision allows unilateral ending, but it also requires compensation for damage caused by ending at an inappropriate time. Have local advice review the actual appointment, especially exclusivity and continuing-introduction wording. Keep the notice, offers and authorised expenses together so termination does not obscure the remaining accounting or entitlement questions. [Official Legislation Portal]
No. The mandate accounting rule requires an account on request and delivery of what was received; it does not establish an insured yacht-escrow arrangement. Ask for the actual fund-holding agreement and verification of the business before sending money. The Ministry's commercial-register tools identify the entity, but they do not certify a particular deposit protection promise. [Official Legislation Portal]
This guide only includes facts checked against official sources. For anything it does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information, and ask a locally qualified adviser to confirm the position for your own boat.
Ready when you are
Find a broker
Yacht brokers TurkeyCheck it yourself
Official consolidated Turkish Code of Obligations, Law 6098; brokerage, mandate, sale and deposit provisions.
Official consolidated Commercial Code 6102: ship transfer formalities and public commercial-register checks.
MERSİS central register functions and company identification.
Keep reading
Talk to European Yacht Brokers
Buying or selling a boat in Turkey? Tell us what you need
Tell us about the boat, your budget and the area and a broker will reply.
