I. What is an Eviction Commitment –Tahliye Taahhütnamesi– in Turkey?
An eviction commitment is a promise to vacate a rented home or workplace on a certain date. It is regulated under Article 352 of the Turkish Code of Obligations. Many Supreme Court precedents also apply.
II. What is the Purpose of an Evacuation Commitment?
In Turkey, eviction reasons for rented homes and workplaces are limited. The biggest advantage is that landlords can ensure eviction without a time limit. Landlords cannot evict a tenant based on the lease term ending alone. Without a violation, landlords can’t evict for at least ten years.
Eviction reasons for rented homes and workplaces in Turkey:
- Eviction due to an evacuation commitment
- Non-payment of rent
- Non-payment of dues
- Eviction due to two valid warnings
- Eviction due to need
- Tenant having another home
- Eviction due to care and respect for neighbors
- Eviction for mandatory repair or renovation
- Eviction due to new owner’s need
The importance of an evacuation commitment comes from this strict law. It is the easiest, fastest, and least costly way for eviction.
III. Validity Conditions of an Evacuation Commitment in Turkey
Knowing the validity conditions of an evacuation commitment is crucial. Article 352 of the Turkish Code of Obligations mandates these conditions.
1. The Evacuation Commitment Must Be in Writing.
The first condition is that it must be in writing. It doesn’t have to be notarized. An ordinary written agreement between parties is sufficient.
A tenant’s verbal commitment in court is also valid.
2. The Commitment Must Be Made ‘After the Property is Delivered.’
A commitment made before the delivery of the property is invalid. The tenant cannot give an evacuation commitment before the lease starts. Even if signed before, an empty commitment can be filled with a future date.
An evacuation commitment has two dates: issuance and evacuation. The issuance date is when the commitment is made. The evacuation date is when the tenant agrees to vacate.
A commitment made on or before the lease start date is invalid. Such a commitment violates the law, making the eviction case for the landlord unsuccessful.
Therefore, it is often signed as an empty document or dated after the lease start.
3. All Tenants Must Sign the Eviction Commitment.
If there are multiple tenants, all must sign the commitment. One tenant’s signature is not enough.
At the lease start, a non-signing spouse can become a party to the lease. (Turkish Civil Code 194, Turkish Code of Obligations 349)
4. Only a Specially Authorized Agent Can Sign the Commitment.
Many leases are signed by agents. While signing the lease by an agent is acceptable, an agent must have specific authority to sign an evict commitment.
5. If the Commitment is Conditional, the Condition Must Occur.
If conditional, the condition must be met. lf not met, the tenant is not obligated to vacate. Investigating the condition’s occurrence is subject to objection. For example, “if rent is unpaid for 30 days” must be proven if disputed by the tenant.
6. Invalidity of the Evict Commitment in Turkey
The court must consider invalid dates on the commitment and lease. Objections are necessary during the enforcement process.
If conditional, highlight unmet conditions during enforcement. The court will investigate during the trial.
After giving an evict commitment, tenants can invalidate it. Methods include a notarized notice, unauthorized agent signing, or involving a non-signing spouse.
I do not believe fraud, duress, or misrepresentation alone can cancel the commitment. Even if known as a ‘family home,’ the lack of the spouse’s signature alone does not invalidate the commitment.
III. Eviction Commitment Sample in Turkey
IV. Tenant Eviction Case Due to Eviction Commitment in Turkey
An eviction commitment is a written document. The tenant agrees to vacate the property by a specific date. There are two methods to initiate eviction. First, start an enforcement proceeding. Second, file a lawsuit. Starting with enforcement is usually sensible. If the tenant does not object, eviction follows. This avoids a lengthy and costly court process.
Therefore, seeking help from a rental law attorney is wise. Mistakes can be irreversible. Before initiating, check if the eviction commitment is valid.
The commitment must be in writing. It must be signed after receiving the rented property. All tenants must sign it. The commitment can be conditional. However, the burden of proof for the condition lies on the landlord.
Signing an empty commitment and filling it later is valid. The tenant must prove any violation in writing.
The spouse’s signature is often debated. However, the spouse’s signature is not required if they are not a party to the lease.
Moreover, only the landlord can initiate eviction. Even if the owner and landlord are different, the lessor in the lease must start the process.
V. Tenant Evacuation Process by Applying for Enforcement Due to Eviction Commitment in Turkey
1. Time to Initiate Enforcement Proceedings
There must be two dates in the eviction commitment in Turkey. One of these is the release date. The other is the date on which the eviction commitment is issued.
Enforcement proceedings based on the eviction commitment must be initiated within 1 month at the latest after the date of release. 1 month is the qualifying period.
2. Follow-up Request with Evacuation Request
Enforcement proceedings are initiated with a follow-up request. Enforcement proceedings can be initiated at the enforcement office where the leased property is located and/or at the residence address of the tenant. When initiating enforcement proceedings based on a letter of eviction commitment, in a follow-up request; It will be necessary to write the name, surname and address of the tenant, information regarding the eviction undertaking and the fact that an eviction request has been made.
When filing a lawsuit with the enforcement office, fees and expenses will also need to be paid. About enforcement fees and expenses; You can access our article on Judicial Fees and Advances.
The follow-up request will need to coincide with the evacuation order. Matters that do not request follow-up cannot be included in the evacuation order. Detailed information about the follow-up request with an eviction request; You can access our article on Execution Follow-up with Request for Evacuation.
3. Issuance of Eviction Order and Notification to the Tenant
After the evacuation order and the supporting documents in accordance with the procedure and law are submitted to the enforcement office, the enforcement directorate will issue the evacuation order. This eviction order must be notified to the tenant. According to Article 10 of the Notification Law, the last address known as the tenant’s address must be written. This address will be the address specified in the rental agreement. If the notification is returned, the enforcement office will be asked to send a new notification.
The stage of notification of the notice to the tenant is very important. Because the notification is served in violation of the law or regulation, this gives the tenant the right to complain about the enforcement officer’s treatment. You can find detailed information about notification and irregularity of notification in our article Notification and Irregularity of Notification.
4. Objection to Evacuation Order
After the notice is served in accordance with the procedure and law, the tenant may object to the eviction order within 7 days. The tenant objects;
- to the rental relationship,
- The dates were filled in later,
- The lessor gives time to use the leased property,
- The signature on the eviction letter does not belong to him,
- There is more than one tenant in the rental agreement,
- The person who initiates enforcement proceedings is not the lessor,
- The condition specified in the eviction commitment has not been met,
- will be able to raise objections.
The tenant may object by submitting a written petition to the enforcement office to which the eviction order was sent. Depending on the tenant’s objection, it will be clear how the lessor will continue the process. Because, for the issues that require trial in the objection, it will be necessary to file a lawsuit for annulment of the objection and eviction in the civil court of peace. If there are no objections requiring trial; A lawsuit for annulment of the objection may be filed in the enforcement court.
The tenant’s objections to the dates being filled in later, the signature, and the tenancy relationship will require trial. Similarly, a lawsuit will need to be filed in the civil court of peace to object to whether the condition specified in the letter of undertaking has been met or not.
5. Removal of Objection and Evacuation in the Enforcement Court
If the objection made by the tenant does not require trial, the removal of the objection from the enforcement court can be provided by EBL Article 272 and following articles. As a rule, the enforcement court will conduct a formal review. It makes judgments only based on written documents. The objection removal and eviction case will be heard in a hearing. If the tenant proves that his objection is justified with written evidence, the case will be rejected. If the tenant cannot prove his objection, it is decided to remove the objection. Follow-up continues by submitting the reasoned decision to the enforcement office. A separate eviction order does not need to be sent to the tenant. However, most enforcement offices investigate whether the reasoned decision has been notified to the tenant and whether ten days have passed.
The finalization of the decision is not required for the removal of the objection from the enforcement court and/or the removal of the objection and the execution of the eviction decision. In fact, according to the Supreme Court, postponed enforcement is not possible against the decisions made by the enforcement court regarding the eviction commitment in Turkey. Because postponement of execution – postponed execution – is only possible in accordance with Article 36 of the Execution and Bankruptcy Law. There is no reference article for postponed enforcement in Article 272 and subsequent articles of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, which regulates the procedure for removing the objection against the eviction commitment.
6. Cancellation of Objection and Discharge in the Civil Court of Peace
If the tenant’s timely objection to the eviction order requires trial, the case will need to be filed in the civil court of peace. However, before lawsuits will be filed due to rent disputes, the mediation process must be fulfilled.
The litigation requirement for mediation in rent disputes began to be implemented after September 1, 2023. In all disputes other than removal of objection and eviction cases specified in Articles 269 and 272 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, the mediation process must be completed before filing a lawsuit. You can find detailed information in our article on Mediation in Rental Disputes.
The civil court of peace is responsible for matters that require trial, such as the tenant’s objection to the signature on the eviction notice or objection to the fact that the eviction dates were filled later. Te civil court of peace conducts trials subject to the simple trial procedure. The principles governing the trial in civil procedural law are also taken into account in the hearing of this case.
If the civil court of peace finds the plaintiff right, it will have to decide to cancel the objection and release him. The decisions of the civil court of peace regarding the eviction of the tenant do not have to be final. In other words, the creditor can continue the enforcement proceedings by submitting the reasoned decision to the enforcement file. The creditor may also initiate a new enforcement proceeding upon the court’s decision.
If the tenant has an eviction order issued by the civil court of peace; The person can initiate the process of postponing the execution by applying for an appeal with a request for postponed execution. If the decision to postpone the execution is made against the eviction decision of the civil court of peace, the tenant will not be evicted during the appeal review process.
7. Evacuation Process If There is No Objection to the Evacuation Order or If the Evacuation Decision Becomes Final
If the tenant does not object to the eviction date; The tenant must vacate the rented property within 15 days. However, if the tenant does not vacate voluntarily; A date must be set for eviction by making a request to the enforcement office. Most enforcement offices give the tenant another day to evict, instead of directly evicting. Although there is no legal basis for this practice, it is in the favor of the lessor in terms of costs for the tenant to evacuate the leased property himself.
If there is no objection to the release commitment, release can be granted without a separate decision from the court / judge. The only exception to evacuating the tenant without a court order is an eviction undertaking.
If the tenant does not vacate despite the time given to the tenant, the rented property is forcibly evacuated and the situation is recorded by the bailiff. The tenant’s belongings are taken to the licensed trustee’s storage facility. The tenant will be responsible for all expenses incurred. However, these must be paid in advance by the creditor.
VI. Evacuation Process by Filing a Lawsuit Due to the Evacuation Commitment
1. Mediation Process
Instead of applying for enforcement, the lessor may initiate the eviction process by filing a lawsuit based on the eviction commitment. If the tenant does not evacuate the leased property even though the eviction date specified in the eviction commitment has passed, the lessor must first apply for the lease dispute mediation process within a certain period of 1 month.
The mediation process is a condition of litigation; Filing a lawsuit directly without the mandatory mediation process will result in the rejection of the case due to procedural reasons.
If an agreement is not reached during the mediation process, it is possible for the lessor to file an eviction lawsuit in the civil court of peace where the leased property is located or where the tenant resides.
2.Litigation Process in the Civil Court of Peace
The lawsuit will be filed in the civil court of peace with a petition. In the lawsuit, termination of the lease agreement and return/evacuation of the rented property should be requested. The burden of proof in the case is on the plaintiff. For this reason, the plaintiff lessor will prove the existence of the validity conditions of the eviction commitment and other issues. On the other hand, the defendant tenant must submit his objections based on the eviction letter with a response petition at the latest.
In an eviction case due to an eviction undertaking; The civil court of peace in the place where the lease is located or where the tenant resides is authorized.
The case value will be determined according to the one-year rental price of the leased property. The case value is important both in terms of the prepaid part of the decision and judgment fee and the remaining decision and judgment fee and attorney fee to be paid by the losing party. If the fee is calculated and deposited incompletely, this will prolong the litigation process.
The case will proceed according to the simple trial procedure. For this reason, the prohibition of expanding the claim and defense will begin with the lawsuit and response petitions. After the petitions are exchanged, the investigation will begin. During the investigation phase, the evidence will be evaluated and the oral trial will begin. If there is no other issue that needs to be investigated, the judge makes the decision. After the judge announces his summary judgment at the hearing, he writes his reasoned decision.
The decision of the civil court of peace regarding termination of the lease and eviction will not need to be finalized for its execution. For this reason, the decision may be subject to enforcement proceedings. However, the tenant may file an appeal requesting the postponement of the execution. Following this; It will be able to suspend the execution of the eviction decision during the appeal period by completing the suspension of execution process.
Instead of Conclusion
Due to the eviction commitment in Turkey, it is logical to start the eviction process with enforcement proceedings. Because if the tenant does not object, there may be no need to enter into a long and costly litigation process. Even so; This is the only way to evict the tenant without a court order. However, depending on the situation, an eviction lawsuit may be filed in the civil court of peace after the mediation application is required. The important thing is that both processes are started within a certain period of 1 month at the latest.
I recommend that you get support from lawyers who are experts in following legal processes and resolving disputes in Turkey.
Memduh Remzi BAL
Attorney at Law | Lawyer in Turkey
Landlord Tenant Attorney Services
Call us : +90 212 909 86 34
Send mail : info@ballawfirm.com
