In residential and covered commercial leases, tenants are strongly protected by the Turkish Code of Obligations. Even when the lease term expires, a landlord can evict a tenant only where one of the grounds listed by law exists, and often only by complying with short deadlines.
Main grounds for eviction
- Personal need: The landlord needs the property as a home or workplace for themselves, their spouse, descendants, ascendants or dependants (Art. 350).
- Reconstruction: Major repair, extension or reconstruction is required and use of the property is impossible during the works.
- Need of a new owner: The need of a person who acquired the property later; written notice must be given within one month of acquisition and the case filed after six months (Art. 351).
- Undertaking to vacate: A written undertaking to vacate given by the tenant after the property was handed over; proceedings must be started within one month of the undertaken date (Art. 352/1).
- Two justified notices: The tenant caused two justified notices for unpaid rent within one lease year (Art. 352/2).
- Ten-year extension period: After the ten-year extension period, the landlord may end the lease without cause by giving notice at least three months before the end of each extension year (Art. 347).
Unpaid rent
If the tenant does not pay rent, in residential and covered commercial leases the landlord may send a written notice giving at least thirty days to pay, and terminate the lease if payment is not made. In practice this is usually done through enforcement proceedings: a payment order with a thirty-day payment period is served on the tenant, and if payment is not made in time, eviction can be requested from the enforcement court.
Mandatory mediation
Since 1 September 2023, applying to a mediator before filing a lawsuit is a precondition for disputes arising from lease relationships. Eviction requests made through enforcement proceedings are outside this requirement. Which route will produce a faster result should be assessed case by case.
This article is for general information only; we recommend consulting a lawyer about your specific situation.