How to Evict a Tenant in Turkey?

In Turkey, as in many other countries, the relationships between landlords and tenants are regulated by specific laws. These laws are designed to balance the rights and responsibilities of both parties. One of the issues that is always important for landlords is finding solutions to evict tenants who do not pay rent and are legally required to vacate the property but do not do so!

In this article, we will examine the legal ways to evict a tenant in Turkey, as well as the landlord’s duties in this process, and explain some important points that should be considered when drafting a rental contract. By thoroughly understanding these laws, future disputes and legal problems can be prevented.

Types of Methods for Evicting a Tenant and Vacating the Property

In general, the law always seeks to protect the tenant’s rights, but in cases where the tenant violates the rental contract commitments or conditions are such that the landlord has the right to evict the property and remove the tenant, the law intervenes to protect the interests of landlords who rent out houses in Turkey. These cases are the same for renting various residential, administrative, and commercial properties and include:

• Evicting a tenant due to the landlord’s need and lack of another property
• Evicting a tenant due to the new landlord’s need and lack of another property
• Evicting a tenant with a notarized eviction commitment letter from the tenant
• Evicting a tenant who does not pay rent
• Evicting a tenant who does not pay building maintenance fees
• Evicting a tenant with two justified warnings
• Evicting a 10-year tenant
• Evicting a tenant due to major reconstruction
• Evicting a tenant due to damage to the house
• Evicting a tenant who disturbs neighbors
• Evicting a tenant who does not have a rental contract

If any of the conditions listed exist, the landlord can obtain an eviction order for the tenant. In the following, we will explain each of these situations separately:

Evicting a Tenant Due to the Landlord’s Need

If the genuine need of the landlord and his close relatives (child, spouse, sister and brother, mother and father of the landlord) for the property is proven, this matter, after filing a legal lawsuit, cancels the rental contract and removes the tenant from the property. The steps for filing a lawsuit are explained in detail in the article “Tenant and Landlord Laws in Turkey.”

Evicting a Tenant Due to the New Landlord’s Need

The new landlord (buyer of the property with a tenant) can use the following legal methods to evict the tenant of the purchased property:

Genuine Need for the Property

If the new landlord or his close relatives, including his child, spouse, father and mother, sister and brothers, need the property, he must notify the tenant through official notary offices (Noter) within a maximum of one month from the date of transfer of the title deed and new ownership, informing the tenant of his need for the property and requesting eviction. If after notification, the tenant does not leave the property, the new landlord has the right to file a complaint within 6 months.

In this stage, deciding whether the new landlord genuinely needs the property is up to the court. In case of eviction of the tenant, there is a 3-year rental prohibition. However, if the new landlord does not comply with the prohibition and rents the property to a third party, the former tenant will be entitled to compensation.

Tenant Has a Property in His Own Name

If the tenant has another suitable property for residence within the same municipality area, the new landlord can file an eviction case.

Two Justified Warnings from the Previous Landlord

If the previous landlord has given two justified warnings to the tenant during the contract period due to non-payment of rent, in this case, the new landlord can file a complaint for eviction within one month after the end of the lease.

Evicting a Tenant with an Eviction Commitment

To evict a tenant due to an eviction commitment, the landlord must, within one month from the date specified in the eviction commitment, refer to the execution office or file an eviction lawsuit in the Civil Peace Court. If the landlord refers to the execution office within the legal deadline, an execution order is issued by the execution office and sent to the tenant to vacate the property within 15 days.

The tenant has the right to object to this execution order within a maximum of 7 days from the date of notification. The commitment must be in writing with the tenant’s or his representative’s signature and must be made after signing the contract and handing over the rented property, and the eviction date must also be specified in the commitment. If even one of these conditions does not exist, eviction is not possible.

Evicting a Tenant Who Does Not Pay Rent

In cases where the tenant does not pay the rent, before doing anything, you must decide whether you only want to collect the rent but not evict the tenant or whether you want to collect the rent and evict the tenant at the same time.

For a tenant who does not pay rent, you can refer to the Execution Office and follow up solely for collecting the rent. If, in addition to collecting the rent, you also want to evict the tenant, the law offers several options, each with its own specific details.

Which of these will be the most reasonable method depends entirely on your case’s conditions. Therefore, consulting with a lawyer or real estate specialist will be beneficial in such situations.

Evicting a Tenant Who Does Not Pay Building Maintenance Fees

If the landlord wants to use this method to evict the tenant, he must first pay the building maintenance debt through the bank and then send an execution request for collecting the debt and evicting the tenant and then file an eviction lawsuit.

Evicting a Tenant with Two Justified Warnings

In this method, two notarized justified warnings are given to the tenant for non-payment of rent during a one-year contract and the landlord has the right to complain and file a lawsuit within one month at the end of the contract. Both warnings must be written and official, but it is not necessary to include a termination clause of the rental contract in case of non-payment on the due date or to specify the deadline and date for paying the debt.

Evicting a 10-Year Tenant

Most contracts for commercial properties in Turkey are written for 10 years and for residential properties, according to the law, if the tenant does not create any problems, he has the right to use the property for up to 10 years. If the rental contract period is fixed, to evict a 10-year tenant, an eviction notice must be sent in the 3 months before the end of the contract, and after the contract ends, an eviction lawsuit can be filed.

If the rental contract period is indefinite, every 6 months is calculated as a period, and at least 3 months before the end of the last 6-month period, an eviction notice must be sent, and at the end of the period, an eviction lawsuit can be filed.

Evicting a Tenant Due to Reconstruction

The reconstruction must be at the level of major repair, replacement or renewal. In other words, demolition and reconstruction or renovation must be carried out in such a way that using the rented property becomes absolutely impossible; the landlord can file an eviction lawsuit. Reinforcement or demolition and reconstruction of an old building is one of the main reasons for evicting a tenant due to construction.

Even if the building is not demolished, eviction of the tenant can be requested in case of reconstructions that affect the apartment’s usage area, such as combining two apartments or adding a new floor to the apartment. Simple or purely aesthetic renovations are not considered necessary.

Evicting a Tenant Due to Damaging the House

If the tenant damages the house, the landlord must give a warning to the tenant and give at least 30 days to repair the damage caused. If the tenant does not repair the damage within the given time, the landlord can evict the tenant by filing a lawsuit.

Evicting a Tenant Without a Contract

In this case, the landlord must first prove that the persons residing in the house have a tenant relationship, and in this regard, providing rent payment receipts to the landlord is sufficient. If the rent has been paid in cash, the landlord can, through the title deed that is in his name, request the eviction of the tenant through an unnecessary possession lawsuit.

How to Obtain an Eviction Order for a Tenant in Turkey?

In cases where, for any reason, the tenant does not vacate the property, you must proceed through legal means. According to Article 98 of the Notary Public Regulations, in such cases, an official notice must be issued and sent to the tenant through NOTER offices.

According to the law, in case of the tenant’s violation of any of the matters we explained in the previous section, a notice is issued to him once. After the first notice is sent to the tenant, he has 30 days to take the necessary actions to solve the problem or vacate the property.At the end of the mentioned period, if the tenant has not taken action, the second justified notice will be issued. After issuing these two notices, the right to file an eviction lawsuit is given to the landlord. The cost of sending a notice is determined based on the number of pages and the attached advertisement.

This amount is on average between 600 to 10,000 liras.
The notice is sent and delivered through the notary public’s office and has legal validity. The notice sent through the notary public’s office reaches the tenant on average between 1 to 15 days later.
When sending a notice through the notary public’s office, you must obtain the tracking number of the shipment from the notary. With the help of this code, you can track the status of the notice.

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