Lease disputes in Turkey are among the most common and commercially significant civil disputes in the Turkish legal system. They affect residential landlords, commercial tenants, investors, developers, family offices, retailers, office occupiers, and property managers alike. In Turkish law, lease conflicts are not limited to unpaid rent. They often involve eviction, rent adjustment, early surrender, damage to the leased premises, defects in the property, need-based termination, re-letting restrictions, and disputes over security deposits. The legal framework is built mainly on the Turkish Code of Obligations, which regulates lease contracts in Articles 299 to 356, together with the Code of Civil Procedure and the Mediation Law.
From a procedural perspective, lease disputes in Turkey now require more strategic planning than before. The Ministry of Justice states that Civil Courts of Peace hear disputes arising from lease agreements, except enforcement proceedings, and the Code of Civil Procedure likewise assigns to the Civil Court of Peace all disputes arising from lease relationships, including receivables, while preserving the separate non-judgment eviction route under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law. In addition, Article 18/B of the Mediation Law makes disputes arising from lease relationships subject to mandatory mediation before suit, except eviction of leased immovables through the special non-judgment enforcement mechanism. This means a lease dispute in Turkey is no longer just a matter of substantive rights; it is also about choosing the correct procedural path at the start.
The Basic Structure of Lease Law in Turkey
The Turkish Code of Obligations defines a lease contract in Article 299 as an agreement under which the landlord undertakes to leave the use, or use together with enjoyment, of a thing to the tenant, and the tenant undertakes to pay the agreed rent in return. Article 300 adds that lease agreements may be for a fixed term or an indefinite term. This matters because the rules on termination, renewal, and eviction often depend on whether the lease was fixed-term or indefinite and, in residential and roofed workplace leases, whether the special protective regime applies.
For residential and roofed workplace leases, Turkish law applies a more protective regime. Article 339 states that the special provisions on residential and roofed workplace leases apply to those leases and also to movable property left to the tenant together with the premises. The same article excludes, by nature, immovables allocated to temporary use for six months or less, and states that these provisions also apply to lease agreements made by public institutions and entities. This special regime is the core reason why Turkish lease litigation often focuses specifically on residential and roofed workplace leases, rather than on lease law in general.
The landlord’s central duty is also clear. Article 301 requires the landlord to deliver the leased property in a condition fit for the intended contractual use and to maintain it in that condition throughout the lease term. In residential and roofed workplace leases, this rule cannot be altered against the tenant. As a result, many Turkish lease disputes are not about the tenant’s conduct alone. They also concern whether the landlord fulfilled the duty to provide and maintain a usable property.
Which Court Hears Lease Disputes in Turkey?
Forum selection is crucial in Turkish lease disputes. The Ministry of Justice explains that Civil Courts of Peace hear disputes arising from lease contracts, excluding enforcement proceedings, and the Code of Civil Procedure confirms that Civil Courts of Peace hear all disputes arising from lease relationships, including lease-related receivables, except the eviction route handled through non-judgment enforcement. This gives lease litigation in Turkey a relatively clear judicial home, but it also preserves a parallel execution path for certain eviction claims.
That distinction is practically important. A landlord who wants rent, damages, or judicial eviction on one of the statutory grounds will usually proceed before the Civil Court of Peace after completing mediation where required. But a landlord seeking eviction through the special non-judgment enforcement mechanism follows a different route, and that route is expressly excluded from the mandatory mediation rule in Article 18/B. Turkish lease litigation therefore begins with a classification question: is this a court action, or is this an execution-based eviction?
Mandatory Mediation in Lease Disputes
As of April 2026, lease disputes in Turkey are generally subject to mandatory mediation before a lawsuit is filed. Article 18/B of the Mediation Law states that, except for eviction of leased immovables through non-judgment enforcement under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, disputes arising from lease relationships require prior mediation as a condition of action. The same article also states that if the parties settle, the settlement document must be prepared in compliance with statutory rules and that an enforceability annotation is mandatory; for agreements concerning immovables, that annotation is obtained from the Civil Court of Peace where the immovable is located, and for other agreements under Article 18/B, from the Civil Court of Peace where the mediator performed the task.
This is one of the most important recent changes in Turkish property practice. It means that many lease claims that previously would have gone directly to court now pass through mediation first. For landlords, this affects timing and claim design. For tenants, it creates an early settlement forum that can suspend limitation periods and rights-forfeiture periods during the mediation process. Article 18/A of the same law states that the period from the mediation application until the final report is not counted for limitation or forfeiture periods.
Rent Payment Default and Eviction for Non-Payment
The tenant’s most basic obligation is to pay rent. Article 313 states that the tenant is obliged to pay the rent, and Article 314 provides that, unless the contract or local custom states otherwise, rent and any side expenses are payable at the end of each month and at the latest by the end of the lease term. Article 315 then regulates tenant default after delivery of the premises: if the tenant fails to pay rent or a side expense that has become due, the landlord may grant a written period and notify the tenant that, if payment is still not made within that period, the contract will be terminated. The minimum period is ten days generally, but at least thirty days for residential and roofed workplace leases, and it starts on the day after the written notice is given.
This provision is one of the most frequently used tools in Turkish lease disputes. It is not just a payment rule; it is a procedural gateway to termination. The landlord cannot simply rely on informal complaint. Article 315 requires written notice and a statutory cure period. In practice, non-payment disputes often turn on whether that notice was correctly drafted and served, whether the amount demanded was actually due, and whether the statutory period was respected before termination or further action.
Turkish law also provides a special residential and roofed workplace eviction ground based on repeated default. Article 352 states that if, in leases shorter than one year, the tenant causes two justified written notices during the lease term because rent was not paid, or in leases of one year or more causes two justified written notices within one lease year or within a period exceeding one lease year, the landlord may terminate the lease by lawsuit within one month from the end of the term or of the lease year in which the notices were given. This is commonly known as the “two justified notices” ground and is one of the most important eviction routes in Turkish residential lease practice.
Eviction Based on Written Undertaking to Vacate
Another very important eviction ground is the written undertaking to vacate. Article 352 states that if, after delivery of the leased premises, the tenant has undertaken in writing to vacate on a specified date but does not vacate, the landlord may terminate the lease by starting enforcement proceedings or filing suit within one month from that date. This is a major rule in Turkish lease practice because it gives legal effect to a post-delivery written evacuation undertaking, but it also requires strict timing.
The timing requirement matters greatly. The landlord must act within one month from the promised vacation date. In practice, many disputes are lost not because the landlord lacked a written undertaking, but because the landlord failed to use it within the statutory window. Turkish lease law is formal on this point, and written undertakings should therefore be treated as time-sensitive enforcement instruments, not as open-ended promises.
Eviction for Need, Reconstruction, and New Owner Need
Turkish law also allows eviction on grounds arising from the landlord’s side. Article 350 states that the landlord may terminate the lease by lawsuit if the premises are needed for the landlord, the landlord’s spouse, descendants, ascendants, or other persons whom the landlord is legally obliged to support, either as a residence or workplace, or if substantial repair, expansion, change, reconstruction, or redevelopment is necessary and the premises cannot be used during those works. In fixed-term leases, the action must be filed within one month from the end of the term; in indefinite leases, within one month from the date determined according to the general termination rules.
Article 351 adds another important route for the new owner. A person who acquires the leased immovable later may terminate the lease if the property is needed by the new owner, the new owner’s spouse, descendants, ascendants, or other dependants for residence or workplace purposes. But the new owner must notify the tenant in writing within one month from the acquisition date and may then terminate the lease through a lawsuit to be filed six months later. Alternatively, the new owner may use the need-based termination right by filing suit within one month from the end of the lease term.
These provisions are especially important in investment and sale transactions. Article 310 states that if the leased property changes hands after the lease is concluded, the new owner becomes a party to the lease. That means acquisition does not itself erase the tenant’s rights. The buyer steps into the landlord’s position and, if it wants possession for statutory need, it must follow Article 351 rather than assuming that ownership transfer alone ends the tenancy.
Automatic Extension and No-Cause Termination Limits
One of the most distinctive features of Turkish residential and roofed workplace lease law is automatic extension in favor of the tenant. Article 347 states that, in fixed-term residential and roofed workplace leases, the contract is deemed extended for one year on the same terms unless the tenant gives notice at least fifteen days before the end of the term. The landlord cannot terminate merely because the fixed term expired. However, after the ten-year extension period, the landlord may terminate without giving a reason by notifying at least three months before the end of each subsequent extension year. In indefinite-term leases, the tenant may terminate at any time according to the general rules, while the landlord may do so only after ten years have passed from the start of the lease, again under the general termination rules.
This is why landlords in Turkey often discover that lease expiration alone is not enough. Turkish law strongly protects continuity in residential and roofed workplace leases. The tenant can prevent the end of the relationship simply by not giving a timely exit notice, and the landlord must rely on a statutory eviction ground or wait for the ten-year extension framework if it wants to terminate without cause.
Rent Adjustment Lawsuits in Turkey
Rent adjustment is one of the most litigated lease issues in Turkey. Article 344 of the Turkish Code of Obligations states that agreements on the rent to be applied in renewed lease periods are valid only if they do not exceed the change rate in the twelve-month average consumer price index for the previous lease year. If the parties made no agreement on increase, the judge sets the rent in equity, taking into account the condition of the leased premises, again not exceeding the twelve-month average CPI change for the previous lease year. Regardless of whether there was an agreement, in leases longer than five years or renewed after five years, and at the end of each subsequent five-year period, the judge determines the rent equitably by considering the twelve-month average CPI change, the condition of the premises, and comparable rents.
This is a crucial rule in modern Turkish lease practice. It means ordinary annual increases are tied to the twelve-month average CPI ceiling, but the five-year and subsequent five-year reviews allow a broader judicial reassessment that also considers the actual condition of the property and comparable market rents. So Turkish rent-adjustment litigation is not a single-type lawsuit. There is a difference between a routine annual increase dispute and a five-year rent determination case.
Article 345 then regulates timing and effect. A rent determination lawsuit may be filed at any time, but if it is filed at least thirty days before the beginning of the new rental period, or if the landlord gives written notice of intended increase within that period and the lawsuit is filed by the end of the new period, the rent determined by the court binds the tenant from the beginning of that new period. If the contract already contains an increase clause for the new period, a lawsuit filed by the end of that new period also takes effect from the beginning of that new period. In practice, this timing rule is one of the most important strategic issues in Turkish rent-adjustment cases.
The Code also addresses foreign-currency rent. Article 344 states that if the rent was agreed in foreign currency, then, subject to the rules on protection of the value of Turkish currency, the rent cannot be changed for five years, while Article 138 on excessive hardship remains reserved. After five years, the judge may determine the rent under the third paragraph while also considering changes in the value of the foreign currency. This is particularly relevant in high-value commercial leases.
Adaptation Versus Rent Determination
A point that matters greatly in practice is the distinction between ordinary rent determination under Article 344 and extraordinary adaptation under Article 138. Article 138 states that if an extraordinary circumstance unforeseeable by the parties arises after the contract and alters the original balance against the debtor to such an extent that demanding performance would violate good faith, the debtor may ask the judge to adapt the contract, or if adaptation is impossible, to terminate it in continuous-performance contracts. Lease disputes involving severe economic disruption, currency shocks, or exceptional market changes sometimes raise this issue.
That means Turkish lease litigation contains two different adjustment logics. The first is the lease-specific rent-determination regime in Articles 344 and 345. The second is the general excessive-hardship doctrine in Article 138. In practice, the choice between them can significantly affect pleading, evidence, and the court’s analysis.
Damages Claims by Tenants
Lease disputes in Turkey are not only about eviction or rent. Damages claims are also common, especially where the landlord delivers or maintains the premises defectively. Article 304 states that if the leased property is delivered with significant defects, the tenant may rely on the rules on debtor default or on the landlord’s liability for defects arising later. Article 305 states that if the leased property later becomes defective, the tenant may request removal of the defect, a rent reduction proportionate to the defect, or compensation of its loss, without prejudice to other elective rights; in the case of a significant defect, the tenant’s right to terminate remains reserved. Article 306 allows the tenant to require cure within an appropriate period and, if the defect is not cured, to have it cured at the landlord’s expense, deduct the resulting claim from the rent, or request replacement with a defect-free equivalent, while Article 307 gives a proportional rent-reduction right for the period between the landlord learning of the defect and the defect being cured. Article 308 then states that, unless the landlord proves lack of fault, the landlord must compensate the tenant for losses arising from the defect.
These rules are extremely important in residential and commercial leasing. They mean a tenant in Turkey does not have to treat the leased premises as a take-it-or-leave-it condition once serious defects appear. Depending on the seriousness of the problem, the tenant may seek cure, reduction, damages, self-help repair with deduction, replacement, or termination. In litigation, this often leads to technically driven disputes over usability, notice, causation, and the amount of the tenant’s loss.
The tenant may also have damages rights if a third party asserts an incompatible right over the leased property. Article 309 provides that if a third party claims a right incompatible with the tenant’s lease right, the landlord must, upon the tenant’s notice, take over the dispute and compensate all losses suffered by the tenant. This can become highly relevant in title conflicts, competing rights, or third-party claims interfering with possession.
Damages Claims by Landlords
Landlords also have important damages claims under Turkish lease law. Article 325 states that if the tenant returns the leased premises before the end of the term or without observing the termination period, the tenant’s obligations continue for the reasonable period during which the premises can be re-let under similar conditions. However, if the tenant finds a new tenant before that reasonable period expires and the new tenant is able to pay, ready to take over the lease, and can reasonably be expected to be accepted by the landlord, the original tenant’s obligations end. The landlord must also deduct expenses avoided and benefits obtained, or intentionally not obtained, by using the premises differently.
This provision is one of the most important damages rules in Turkish commercial leasing. It means early surrender does not usually wipe out the tenant’s liability immediately, but neither does it entitle the landlord to claim the entire remaining rent mechanically. The dispute often turns on what counts as a reasonable re-letting period, whether the tenant proposed an acceptable replacement tenant, and what savings or substitute benefits the landlord must deduct.
Landlords may also have damages rights in special termination contexts. Article 331 allows either party to terminate the lease at any time, with statutory notice, if important reasons make continuation unbearable, and the judge then determines the financial consequences of that extraordinary termination according to the circumstances. In addition, Article 355 creates a special landlord liability: where the landlord obtained vacancy on need grounds, the premises may not, without justified reason, be re-let to anyone other than the former tenant for three years; similarly, premises vacated for reconstruction or redevelopment may not be re-let in their old form for three years without justified reason. If the landlord breaches this rule, the former tenant is entitled to compensation of not less than one year’s rent paid in the last rental year.
Security Deposits and Other Monetary Claims
Security deposit disputes are also common in Turkish lease litigation. Article 342 states that if the tenant is required by contract to provide security in residential and roofed workplace leases, that security may not exceed three months’ rent. If money or negotiable instruments are used as security, they must be deposited in a bank and can be released only with both parties’ consent, with a finalized enforcement file, or with a final court judgment. If, within three months after the end of the lease, the landlord has not notified the bank in writing that it filed a lawsuit or started enforcement or bankruptcy proceedings against the tenant relating to the lease, the bank must return the security upon the tenant’s request.
This rule makes Turkish deposit disputes highly regulated. A landlord cannot simply keep the deposit indefinitely through silence, and a tenant cannot assume immediate release if there is an active claim. In practice, lawsuits over deposits often overlap with damage-to-premises allegations, unpaid rent claims, and disputes about whether the landlord gave timely notice to the bank after the lease ended.
Statute of Limitations and Interim Protection
Lease disputes also raise limitation and interim-protection questions. Article 147 of the Turkish Code of Obligations provides a five-year limitation period for rent claims and other periodical obligations. Article 18/A of the Mediation Law states that limitation periods and rights-forfeiture periods do not run from the mediation application until the final report is issued. And where urgent protection is needed, the Code of Civil Procedure allows interim injunctions: Article 389 permits injunctions where delay could make obtaining the right much harder or cause serious harm, while Article 390 requires the applicant to state the reason and type of injunction clearly and to approximately prove the claim.
In lease practice, interim relief may matter where possession, use of the premises, access, or rapid changes in the factual situation threaten to render the final judgment ineffective. Although not every lease case justifies interim relief, Turkish procedural law clearly allows urgent judicial protection where the statutory conditions are met.
Conclusion
Lease disputes in Turkey are governed by a sophisticated framework that combines substantive lease rules, special protection for residential and roofed workplace leases, mandatory mediation for many lease-related lawsuits, and a specialized court structure centered on the Civil Court of Peace. Turkish law regulates eviction for non-payment, written vacation undertakings, repeated justified notices, landlord or new-owner need, reconstruction and redevelopment, and no-cause landlord termination only after the ten-year extension structure. It also regulates rent adjustment through the twelve-month average CPI rule, five-year judicial reassessment, and, in extraordinary cases, general adaptation based on excessive hardship. Tenant and landlord damages claims are equally important, especially in cases involving defects, early surrender, re-letting restrictions, and security deposits.
For landlords and tenants alike, the practical lesson is simple: Turkish lease law is not won by instinct alone. It is won by choosing the correct procedural route, respecting short statutory windows, using the correct notice form, and matching the claim to the right article of the Code. In Turkish lease litigation, timing and classification are often as important as the merits themselves.
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