Legalixa Law Firm provides advocacy, mediation, and consultancy services at all stages of its clients’ Turkish real estate law transactions including filing lawsuits to evict a tenant in Turkey.
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Our lawyers represent clients in rent increase lawsuits, eviction lawsuits due to non-payment of rent, eviction lawsuits due to necessity or rental law lawsuits and eviction lawsuits to be filed due to the reconstruction of the residential or commercial properties.
Reasons to Evict a Tenant in Turkey
- Due to non-payment of the rental
- Obtaining a written commitment to evict
- Housing and workplace needs of the lessor
- Reconstruction of the real estate
- 10 years of the lease contract
- 2 warnings for reasonable reason
Duration of Litigation in Eviction Cases
Different litigation deadlines are specified for almost each of the types of cases mentioned. If you file a lawsuit before or after the specified filing period, the lawsuit will be dismissed. In this case, it does not make sense for you to be right in the case, because there will be a procedural refusal before proceeding to the merits examination.
After that, you may have to wait for the next filing period to file a lawsuit again, which in some cases may take up to 6 months or 1 year. In this regard, it would be logical to work with a lawyer or law firm specializing in tenant eviction.
How Long Does It Take to Evict a Tenant in Turkey?
The time to remove the tenant varies according to the path to be followed. However, it should be noted that this period does not start at all before the evacuation process begins. Therefore, if you want to evict the tenant, starting the proceedings as soon as possible is essentially the fastest way to evict the tenant.
Responsibilities of the Lessor and the Tenant
According to Article 325 of the Code of Obligations, if the tenant leaves the house before the expiry of the period specified in the rental contract, he will be liable for the damage of the landlord for a reasonable period of time until the house is rented again.
A reasonable time is when the house can normally be rented out. The characteristics of the house, its location, and similar aspects are important in determining the reasonable time.
For example, if the tenant signs a 1-year lease and leaves the house after 10 months, he will be legally responsible for the remaining 2 months’ rent. However, if the house can be rented within 1 month due to its characteristics and location, the tenant is only responsible for 1 month’s rent.
Termination of Lease Agreement
Housing and roofed workplace rental agreements can be made for a certain or indefinite period. According to the law, for fixed-term contracts, the contract is deemed to be extended for one year under the same conditions, unless the lessee gives a 15-day notice.
The lessor cannot terminate the lease on the basis of the expiry of the contract period. In practice, landlords want to evict tenants with arguments such as “the contract expires, you must leave now” at the end of the first year. This is not possible by law.
Reasons for Eviction of a Leased Property
The Turkish Code of Obligations provisions are generally intended to protect the tenant. For this reason, if one of the reasons for eviction has not arisen to remove the tenant from the house, it will not be possible to remove the tenant from the house or workplace unless the tenant notifies that he will evacuate 15 days in advance. Due to the tenant’s protective nature of the law, one of the following reasons must be present.
Evacuation of a Tenant Who Doesn’t Pay Rent
Not paying the rent is one of the most important reasons for eviction. Delay and non-payment of even one rent is grounds for eviction, and if the tenant continues to fail to pay despite an order to pay, the tenant can be evicted. In case the rent is not paid, the fastest and most logical way is the evacuation of the leased properties without a verdict.
In this way, both the collection of the debt and the eviction of the tenant can be achieved at the same time. Therefore, there is no need to perform two separate operations. As a procedure, a payment order is sent through enforcement for unpaid rent. If the tenant does not object to the debt within 7 days, he must pay the rent within 30 days. If he does not pay, the judge decides to evict him.
Tenant Eviction with Written Eviction Commitment
If the tenant has given a written commitment to evict, then it is possible to evict the tenant based on this eviction commitment. However, the evacuation commitment from the tenant must be valid, it must contain some issues, otherwise the commitment will be deemed invalid and the case will be rejected. In order for the evacuation contract to be valid; It must be in writing.
It must be given by the tenant himself or by his representative. A specific date is required. The signing date of the eviction commitment must be within a certain period of time after the signing date of the lease agreement.
The purpose here is to prevent the tenant from signing a commitment under duress. If these conditions exist, the process must be started before the deadline for filing a lawsuit or applying for enforcement.
Two Notices of Tenant Eviction for Valid Reason
The lessor has the right to terminate the contract as a result of two justified warnings made to the lessee who does not pay the rent within the period specified in the Turkish Code of Obligations. The warning can be made through a notary public, by letter or telegram, or by a payment order. The notices must be for non-payment for different months in a rental year.
For example, the tenant does not pay his rent or is constantly late. In this case, the lessor has the right to evict by filing a lawsuit if he sends a warning to the lessee twice for each month.
Non-payment or delays need not occur in a row. There may also be two non-consecutive months, such as February and July, in 1 rental year. Pursuant to the Article 352 of the TCO, the eviction lawsuit must be filed within 1 month.
In this case, in order to evict a tenant in Turkey the lessor must file a lawsuit within 1 month from the end of the lease term or from the end of the lease year in which the notice is sent for leases longer than one year.
If the Tenant or Spouse Owns a Property in the Same City
If the tenant or his/her spouse has a residence that can be inhabited within the borders of the same district or town and the lessor does not know this when establishing the contract, he/she can evict a tenant in Turkey based on this.
The period for filing a lawsuit is 1 month from the end of the contract. Whether or not I knew this when concluding the contract can be proven with all kinds of evidence. There is no written proof requirement.
Termination of the Contract with the Death of the Tenant
According to the Code of Obligations, as a result of the tenant’s death, the deceased’s partners and those living in the same house with the deceased can become a party to the rental agreement as long as they comply with the agreement.
If these people declare that they are not responsible for the debts not paid by the tenant, it will be against the contract and the lease agreement will be terminated and the landlord can evict the tenants from the property.
Turkish Leasing Law Services
- Filing and follow-up of eviction proceedings
- Eviction of the new owner
- To evict a tenant in Turkey
- To file and follow up on a rent determination lawsuit
- To file and follow up on an eviction lawsuit due to the need
- Filing and follow-up of eviction lawsuit due to reconstruction
- Preparation of rental agreement
- Preparation of release commitment
- Opening and follow-up of enforcement proceedings for the collection of rent receivables
- Evacuation due to non-payment of rent
Within the scope of Law No. 6306 on Transformation of Areas Under Disaster Risk, our office provides all kinds of legal services related to urban transformation law.
Reach us to Evict a Tenant in Turkey
Legalixa Law Firm’s real estate law services cover all related to the development of real estate, including compliance with zoning legislation, obtaining necessary permits and licenses, development of management plans, and arrangement of lease agreements.
Our law firm is now one of the leading Turkish real estate law firms in Istanbul, Turkey. You may reach us to evict a tenant in Turkey through our Contact page.
