Real estate law in Turkey covers actions arising from the ownership, possession, use, transfer and sharing of immovable property; the main ones are actions for the annulment and registration of title, partition actions, actions to prevent interference and claims for compensation for unlawful occupation, rent and eviction actions, actions arising from construction contracts in return for units, and expropriation actions. This guide summarizes the main types of cases and transactions in real estate law by subject group and links to our detailed articles; articles marked "(in Turkish)" are currently available only in Turkish.
What Is an Action for Annulment and Registration of Title, and When Is It Filed?
An action for annulment and registration of title is an action in which the annulment of a registration in the land registry that does not reflect the real legal position (an invalid registration) is sought, together with the registration of the property in the name of its real owner. It can be filed where the land registry record does not reflect the real legal position; collusive transfer by the decedent, abuse of a power of attorney, a contract to provide care until death and legal incapacity are among these situations.
- Action for Annulment and Registration of Title (in Turkish)
- Action for Annulment and Registration of Title Due to Legal Incapacity (in Turkish)
- Action for Annulment and Registration of Title Due to Abuse of a Power of Attorney (in Turkish)
- State Liability for Damages Due to Incorrect Keeping of the Land Registry (Article 1007 of the TCC) (in Turkish)
How Is Joint Ownership in Property Held in Shares or in Common Resolved?
Co-owners may end the joint ownership by agreement; if no agreement is reached, a partition action (izale-i şuyu) is filed. In that action, the court first considers partition in kind and, if this is not possible, sale and distribution of the sale price in proportion to the shares.
- Partition Action (Sale of Jointly Owned Property): Conditions and Court of Cassation Decisions (in Turkish)
- Action for Annulment and Registration of Title Based on the Right of Pre-emption (in Turkish)
- Joint Ownership in Common (İştirak): Elements and Management (in Turkish)
- What Is a Usufruct? Conditions, Registration in the Land Registry and Release of the Registration (in Turkish)
Which Actions Are Filed When Ownership or Possession Is Violated?
Where a right in rem or a personal right such as ownership, usufruct, right of residence or rent is violated by an unlawful interference, an action to prevent interference (müdahalenin men'i) can be filed to end it. If damage has occurred, a separate claim for compensation for unlawful occupation (ecrimisil) or for damages may also arise.
- Action to Prevent Interference (in Turkish)
- Action for Compensation for Unlawful Occupation: Conditions, Features and Court of Cassation Decisions (in Turkish)
- Right of Way Action: Conditions, Current Information and Practice (in Turkish)
- Action for the Determination of the Ownership of Structures and Permanent Improvements (in Turkish)
What Matters in a Home Purchase, a Promise of Sale and Condominium Ownership?
In a home purchase, the main issues are the preliminary-contract nature of the promise of sale agreement for immovable property, its execution before a notary in the form of an official arrangement, its annotation in the land registry and compelling registration; when buying a home off-plan, relations with the contractor and the landowners and the construction contract in return for units; and the establishment of a construction servitude and condominium ownership, their differences and the correction of the land share.
- Promise of Sale Agreement for Immovable Property: Validity Conditions and Precedent Court of Cassation Decisions (in Turkish)
- What Does It Mean to Buy a Home Off-Plan or from a Construction Project, and What Should Be Considered? (in Turkish)
- What Is a Construction Servitude? What Is Condominium Ownership? How Are They Established and How Do They Differ? (in Turkish)
- Can Foreigners Buy Property in Turkey? Rules, Limits and Process
What Disputes Arise from Construction Contracts in Return for Units?
The main disputes arising from a construction contract in return for units may concern the annulment and registration of title, delay damages, damages for incomplete or defective performance, receivables, authorization to complete the work in the name of the contractor and termination of the contract.
- What Is a Construction Contract in Return for Units (Land Share) and How Is It Made? (in Turkish)
- Delay Damages and the Contractor's Default (Late Delivery) in Construction Contracts in Return for Units (in Turkish)
- Security Mortgage in Construction Contracts in Return for Units and Its Realization (in Turkish)
- Termination of Construction Contracts in Return for Units (in Turkish)
What Cases Concern Eviction and Rent in a Lease Relationship?
Eviction actions rest on the limited grounds listed in the law; need, reconstruction and redevelopment, the new owner's need, an eviction undertaking, two justified warnings and the tenant or their spouse having another dwelling are among these grounds. An action for determination of rent aims to set the rent according to current market conditions; if the rent is not paid, eviction through enforcement proceedings can also be sought.
- Eviction of Leased Immovable Property through Litigation or Enforcement Proceedings (in Turkish)
- Eviction Action on the Ground of Need: Conditions and Court of Cassation Decisions (in Turkish)
- Action for Determination of Rent and Increase of Rent: Conditions and Court of Cassation Decisions (in Turkish)
- What Is an Eviction Undertaking? Precedent Decisions on Eviction Undertakings (in Turkish)
Which Cases Concern Expropriation and Occupation without Expropriation?
Expropriation becomes the subject of an action for the determination of the price and registration; if the parties cannot agree, the administration files this action before the Civil Court of First Instance (Asliye Hukuk Mahkemesi). Where there is occupation without expropriation, actions to prevent the occupation and to recover the price of the property occupied can be filed, and claims for compensation for unlawful occupation may also arise.
- What Is Expropriation and How Is It Carried Out? Expropriation Practices and Cases (in Turkish)
- Action for Determination of the Expropriation Price and Registration (in Turkish)
- What Is an Action for Occupation without Expropriation, and How and Where Is It Filed? (in Turkish)
- Urgent Expropriation: Practice, Conditions, Annulment of Urgent Expropriation and Precedent Decisions (in Turkish)
How Are Zoning Practices and Urban Transformation Decisions Reviewed?
Unlawful zoning plans can be challenged within the applicable period or an action for annulment of the zoning plan can be filed before the administrative courts. A risky building assessment can be challenged, and an action for annulment of the assessment report can be filed.
- Urban Transformation and Risky Buildings: Application, Assessment, Objection, Demolition and More (in Turkish)
- Objection against the Risky Building Assessment Report and Action for Annulment (in Turkish)
- Action for Annulment of a Zoning Plan and the Objection Route against a Zoning Plan (in Turkish)
How Does a Collusive Transfer by the Decedent Become the Subject of an Action for Annulment and Registration of Title?
A collusive transfer by the decedent is the transfer of an asset that the decedent in fact intended to donate, presented as if a sale or a contract to provide care until death had been made, to prevent the heirs from receiving their shares. Because this creates an invalid registration contrary to the real legal position, it becomes the subject of an action for annulment and registration of title.
- Action for Annulment and Registration of Title Due to Collusive Transfer by the Decedent (in Turkish)
- What Is Collusive Transfer by the Decedent (Hiding Assets from an Estate), and in Which Actions Can It Be Raised? (in Turkish)
How Do the Family Home Annotation and the Sharing of an Estate Affect Immovable Property?
Even if there is no family home annotation, the spouse who owns the property cannot transfer the family home to third parties or restrict the rights over it without the explicit consent of the other spouse. In the distribution of an estate, the family home and the household goods may be allocated to the surviving spouse.
- What Is a Family Home Annotation? How Is It Placed on the Land Registry Record? (in Turkish)
- Estate Partition Agreement and Action for Distribution of the Estate (in Turkish)
Which Procedural Steps Matter in Immovable Property Disputes?
In an action for annulment and registration of title, an interim injunction can be requested; if it is granted, an annotation can be placed on the land registry record. Where evidence will be lost or its submission will be significantly hindered unless it is preserved immediately, a legal interest is presumed to exist. The scheduling order (tensip zaptı) sets the date of the first hearing and the procedural periods; decisions of civil courts that are open to appeal are reviewed by the Regional Courts of Appeal.
- What Is an Interim Injunction, How Is It Obtained and How Much Is the Security? (in Turkish)
- Request for the Preservation of Evidence, Known as the Preservation of Evidence Action (in Turkish)
- What Is a Scheduling Order? What Does It Mean That the Scheduling Order Has Been Prepared? (in Turkish)
- What Is the Appeal Route in Civil Cases and How Is an Appeal to the Regional Court of Appeal Filed? (in Turkish)
Is There a Separate Title of Real Estate Lawyer?
No. There is no separate title of real estate lawyer, land registry lawyer or real estate agent lawyer; any attorney registered with a bar association can handle immovable property cases.
Article 35 of the Attorneyship Law No. 1136 gives attorneys registered with a bar association the authority to file actions and to handle judicial proceedings without dividing this authority by area of law. A search for a "real estate lawyer in Ankara" therefore does not point to a title but to attorneys who handle immovable property disputes before the courts in Ankara.
In actions concerning a right in rem over immovable property, such as annulment and registration of title, Article 12 of the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 gives exclusive jurisdiction to the court where the property is located. If the property is in Ankara, the action is filed in Ankara; those searching for a "land registry lawyer in Ankara", a "land lawyer in Ankara" or a "property lawyer in Ankara" are also looking for an attorney who handles these cases before the courts in Ankara.
Actions arising from a lease relationship, such as determination of rent and eviction, and partition actions are heard by the Magistrates' Court in Civil Matters (Sulh Hukuk Mahkemesi) under Article 4 of the same Code. Searches for a "rent lawyer in Ankara" or a "rent and eviction lawyer in Ankara" likewise point to attorneys who handle these cases.
Phrases such as "the best real estate lawyer" have no legal basis either; the Advertising Ban Regulation of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations allows attorneys to describe their areas of practice on their websites only "without implying specialization".
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice.