| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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TOKİ develops 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 high income groups.
Through the method, TOKI raises funds for the housing projects of low and middle income groups. The model is based on housing production by TOKI on lands owned in metropolitan cities such as Istanbul, Ankara in collaboration with the private sector and on sharing the sales income with a private partner. This is a revenue sharing model and the concept is based on income rather than housing. TOKİ developed this model to close the gap between its short-term investment expenses and its long-term receivables.
The receivables portfolio constituting the funds of the Administration consists of the profits earned via the model, the receivables from the sales of the social welfare housing projects, land sales and the returns of past housing loans.
The Administration has a land portfolio growing with miscellaneous legal arrangements. TOKI continues its activities throughout Turkey by optimal utilization of the portfolio, which is a “unique” implementation in order to raise new financial resources for social housing.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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“Emergency Action Plan for Housing and Urbanization” announced with the 58th Government of Turkey Programme was adopted in “1 January 2003”, and the targets of “renewal”, “transformation” and “quality housing production” being set, TOKI was assigned the responsibility to implement the concerned plan. TOKI operates under a public policy mandate of the Turkish government and the strategic direction of the Prime Minister's office. Established by the Mass Housing Law with no. 2985 in 1984, TOKI is legally a public agency, with no share capital.
Since the introduction of the Emergency Action Plan in 2003, tasks assigned to TOKI have expanded in line with its key role as the leading provider of housing and slum transformation projects in cooperation with local municipalities.
Accordingly, the central government has increased to 1.2 million the target number of housing units to be built by TOKI by 2023.
*As of February 2017; the number of houses started to be produced by TOKI is 767.383.
Nearly 3 Million people (who are mostly low and middle incomed) benefitted from the projects of TOKI.
Additionally, employment for 900 thousand people has been ensured, either directly or indirectly.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The Mass Housing Law (Law No. 2985, on ’public housing’) is a framework law defining the fundamental principles, which give direction to the solution of the housing problem in Turkey. The Law also determines the tasks of the Housing Development Administration (TOKİ).
TOKİ, which is one of the leader official institutions of Turkey in terms of dealing with housing and settlement issues, has acquired essential knowledge and experience on developing different finance models regarding housing production throughout its 32 year-activity period.
For its mass housing projects produced on its own lands, TOKİ has the target group of low and middle-income families, who are not able to own a housing unit within the existing market conditions in Turkey.
TOKİ has been effective in developing housing technology and housing finance in Turkey between 1984 and 2002, total of 43 thousand 145 houses were produced and credit support was provided for 940 thousand houses within 19 years.
In 2001, Housing Development Fund was removed along with some other funds. On elimination of the Housing Development Fund, the articles regarding the incomes, expenditures, duties, authorities and responsibilities of the Administration included within the Housing Development Law have been re-regulated.
With time, TOKİ has been affected by various legal arrangements; like in 2001 T. Emlak Bank’s assets and real estate unrelated to its banking operations are all transferred to TOKİ, within the framework of “housing production and planned urbanization” objective included in the Emergency Action Plan of the Government, tasks and liabilities of Urban Land Office were transferred to TOKİ and upon this ransfer, 64,5 million m2 land was passed into the ownership of TOKİ, on December 2004.
A great expansion was achieved via various legal regulations and arrangements in public management made as of 2003 within the framework of TOKİ’s field of duty and activity, starting a “planned urbanization and housing leap” so great for the first time in the history of Turkey.
In this context;
1. All activities of T. Emlak Bankası apart from banking upon its being closed down,
2. All duties of Housing Undersecretariat of Turkey after its being closed down,
3. The duties of Immigrant Houses Coordination Office Ahıska Turks Settlement Coordination Office,
4. All duties and responsibilities of National Land Office, upon its being closed down,
5. The duties of the abolished Ministry of Public Works and Settlements (Ministry of Environment and Urbanism)- Department of Dwelling Afairs,
6. The ongoing duties of the Prime Ministry Project Implementation Unit, after its being closed down;
have been assigned to TOKİ.
With these regulations, the duties and authorities of TOKİ have been increased with regard to housing production and decision making mechanism has been gathered under a single roof. The bureaucracy has also been diminished accelerating work flow, an efficient structure was formed towards problem solving and production.
With these regulations, TOKI acquired a big land portfolio and has been assigned to finance its projects by developing new projects on these land using new & innovative financial models. (as Housing Development Fund was eliminated legally along with some other funds in 2001)
The most important model is the financial model which is named as the “income (revenue) sharing model” which provides housings to high income groups. (which is explained above, in article 4)
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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TOKI is directly reporting to the Prime Ministry.
The key stakeholders in TOKI projects are:
• Public Sector: Prime Ministry & some Ministries (legal approvals and decision making process)
• Local governments: Governorships, District Governorships and Municipalities (Decision making process, collecting demand for social housing, urban renewal projects’ implementations)
• Private sector: Private contractors, consulting firms (constructions) & Public and private banks (only for the banking operations), real estate appraisal companies.
• Affiliates of TOKI: TOKI, within the framework of the expansion in its activities, and the companies in the portfolio of the entities transferred to the Administration, pursues its activities along with its 7 affiliates. These affiliates offering service in the fields of project management, real estate marketing, undertaking, management services, real estate evaluation, restoration, finance, trade and counseling.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ), continues its activities to realize presentation of an adequate number of quality housing in healthy urban environment of the country. In line with the Turkish Government Programs and legal assignments, since the year 2002, TOKİ has been assigned to focus on developing mass housing projects for the middle and low income target groups, due to the existing demand for qualified and affordable houses in several regions.
TOKİ, aims to meet 5% -10% of the housing need of Turkey, which currently has been realized as 9%.
The social housing program of TOKİ targets mainly the low and middle-income people who cannot own a housing unit under the existing market conditions. Social housing program consist the projects targeting poor groups, low-income families, middle-income families and urban transformation projects, and additionally the housing projects under the title of disaster management and restructuring.(which we call disaster housing projects)
(The other activities are mainly the “agricultural village projects”, “migrant dwellings”, “restoration of buildings of historical-cultural importance”, “cooperative credits, and housing credits for victims of war”)
Since 2002; the number of houses started to be produced by TOKI is 767.383.
652.931 of the houses produced (85.66%) are SOCIAL type housing units.
The number of sold houses is 614.833 & the number of delivered houses is 595.449. 5.664 tenders amounting to 85,56 Billion TL. has been finalized at construction and project stages.
(See the supporting documents for details)
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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TOKİ aims fundamentally at producing solutions to the problems with regard to housing and urbanization in Turkey at national scale and naturally facing problems during the implementation stage.
The basic obstacles are as follows:
• Providing the beneficiaries of the urban renewal projects to be persuaded about the results and the advantages of the project.
• Solving the property rights problems during the urban renewal procedure.
• During the sales stages, controlling the banking operations via banks, relationship with the banks, managing all the procedure due to the Protocols signed with the Banks. (public banks)
• Covering the problems caused by the current legal framework, relationship with the beneficiaries, answering their questions and solving their problems related with different stages of the project.
• Managing the contracts signed with the contractors and the consulting firms.
• Relations with the municipalities, controlling their responsibilities during the construction of substructure of the projects. Covering all the technical defects and being a facilitator of the whole construction as the owner of the project.
TOKİ, with the models it has developed, functions as an umbrella rather than a competing body in the housing sector of Turkey in awareness of its responsibility as a guiding, supervising and educating organization and undertakes a significant role in production prioritizing the demands and solvency of the target masses in need.
The medium-term (2016-2019) target of TOKI is to put 250 thousand houses to tender. Its target for 2016-2023 is to produce 500 thousand new houses with enhanced quality and characteristics.
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