In short
Non-attachability is the reading together of the protection in the law with the purpose of use of the goods, their number, and their value. Not every item in the house is protected. A single home is not absolutely untouchable either. How the attachment act proceeds is in the article how does attachment happen. If the goods belong to someone else, the subject is an ownership claim. The procedure of lifting is under the heading lifting an attachment in enforcement.
If an attachment came to your house or to your workplace, first check one by one the goods that are wanted to be taken onto the attachment minutes. If there are goods necessary for basic living, necessary for the carrying on of the profession, or belonging to a third person, have this situation and your evidence written on the minutes. Neither "nothing in the house can be attached" nor "the officer can take whatever he wants" is correct.
| Kind of protection | What is examined | Not in this article |
|---|---|---|
| Full or partial non-attachability | The character of the goods, the need, the source of income | The order of the attachment officer's acts |
| A dwelling fitting the person's condition | The value, the family, a comparable | An action for cancellation of the title |
| A third person's goods | The evidence of ownership | The debtor's own goods |
The Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code sets a balance between the collection of the debt and a life and a right to work fitting human dignity. Some goods and rights are protected entirely, some in part. The number of the goods, their value, their purpose of use, and the debtor's social and economic situation can change the result. This text is for general information. A certain result of protection cannot be given without the attachment minutes and the concrete conditions of life being seen.
The basic logic of non-attachability
Attachment secures the debtor's goods and rights that have a monetary value, for the allocation of the claim. The system does not aim to leave the debtor entirely without the basic tools of shelter, of nourishment, and of work. For this reason the law protects some values.
The protection can be thought of in three main groups:
- Full non-attachability: goods or a payment that the law protects entirely by their character
- Partial non-attachability: income, such as a salary, of which only a certain part can be attached
- Protection tied to a concrete need: goods that require an examination of value and of use, such as a home fitting the person's condition or the goods of a profession
Non-attachability is an examination of protection made on the assumption that the goods belong to the debtor. If the goods actually belong to the spouse, to a housemate, to the lessor, or to another company, the subject is an ownership claim, that is, the third person's claim of ownership.
Basic household goods
Household goods necessary for the compulsory needs of the debtor and of the family members living under the same roof are, as a rule, protected. The aim is not to do away with the basic living function of the house for the sake of collection of the debt.
The goods that can enter the scope of protection in the concrete conditions are these:
- A bed, a cupboard, and basic seating goods
- A refrigerator, and a kitchen tool necessary for preparing food
- A washing machine
- A device necessary for heating
- A desk or a computer necessary in the children's education
- A basic device that meets the family's need for communication and for information
The list is not mechanical. If there are two or more items for the same purpose, one of them can be attached. For example, if there are two televisions in the house, more than one computer, or a spare refrigerator, an examination of the surplus is made. An antique, a collection, a sound system of high value, and luxury goods may not benefit from the protection of a basic need.
The value and the number of the goods
An item being used in daily life is not enough on its own. An economic value that far exceeds the basic need, the possibility of being replaced with a more suitable equivalent, and there being other goods in the same function, are taken into account. The attachment officer should write his assessment on the minutes.
The debtor can document that the goods are necessary because of health or of a disability. For example, a medical device, a special bed, or disability-access equipment has a ground of protection different from ordinary household goods. The prescription, the medical report, and the invoice should be kept ready.
Tools necessary for a profession and a craft
The tools and equipment necessary for the work of a debtor who provides his living by his bodily work or by his personal professional activity cannot be attached in certain conditions. The aim of the protection is not to destroy entirely the debtor's possibility of obtaining income while the claim is collected.
Examples, according to the concrete event, can be these:
- The tailor's basic sewing machine
- The carpenter's necessary hand tools
- The technician's measurement and repair set
- Certain tools necessary for the farmer's living
- The computer necessary for the work of a person in a liberal profession
- The tool a small tradesman uses in an activity based on his personal labour
Not every commercial vehicle is "goods of a profession". If the activity rests largely on capital, if there is more than one of the same machine, or if the vehicle is luxury and of high value, attachment may be possible. The goods of a company and the tool of the profession of a natural-person debtor are not assessed in the same way either.
How is necessity proved for a vehicle?
A car being used to go to and from work most often does not, on its own, provide the protection of a tool of the profession. An activity being carried out directly with the vehicle, such as a taxi, a shuttle, a mobile sale, or a technical service, is more different. The registration, the tax plate, the record of the professional chamber, the invoice, and the income documents can be presented.
The value of the vehicle is also important. If there is a possibility of carrying on the same work with a vehicle of a more reasonable value, solutions such as a sale and the setting apart of the price of a suitable vehicle can be discussed within the scope of the concrete legislation. Each vehicle file is examined in its own conditions.
The necessary goods of a farmer and a producer
The values, such as the land, the animals, the tools, and the seed, that are necessary for himself and for his family, of a debtor who provides his living personally by agricultural activity, can be protected in the statutory conditions. The aim is to prevent the production activity from being cut entirely.
The following matters matter in the examination:
- Whether the agricultural activity is the debtor's principal source of living
- The size of the land and the need of the family
- Whether the number of animals and of machines exceeds the necessary limit
- Whether the produce is for subsistence or is a commercial stock
- Whether the debt arose from the price of these goods
The whole of the machines and the stock in a large-scale commercial enterprise is not within the scope of protection. The debt arising in particular from the purchase price of the goods that are wanted to be protected can also create an exception. The farmer's records, the title, the animal records, and the income documents should be prepared.
Food, fuel, and necessary sources of living
The food and the fuel necessary for a certain period for the debtor and for his family can be protected within the scope of non-attachability. If there is cash, the setting apart of this as the equivalent of food and of fuel can also be discussed in the concrete conditions. The protection is limited to a reasonable need. A commercial stock, or an accumulation of a high amount, is not the same.
The food in the house having been stored for the purpose of sale changes the result. On the attachment minutes, the quantity, the purpose of use, and the size of the family should be stated. Especially as regards winter fuel, or produce stored in a rural area, a separation is made between use for subsistence and a commercial stock.
Salary, wage, and regular incomes
A salary and a wage are not entirely outside attachment. The law, observing the living of the debtor and of his family, permits the attachment of only a certain part. In ordinary money claims, a deduction of one quarter is often seen in practice. Maintenance and special claims may be subject to different rules.
The following separations are important in attachment of a wage:
- The bare salary
- A regular bonus and a gratuity
- Overtime
- A travel allowance and an equivalent of expense
- Seniority and notice compensation
- Leave pay
Not every item may be protected at the same rate. While more than one attachment of a wage most often enters an order and continues to run, a maintenance deduction that continues to run may be in a different position. The attachment of the wage with the employer, and the block in the bank account into which the salary was deposited, are separate acts.
If the source of the money in the salary account can be followed with the payroll and the bank explanation, a complaint may come onto the agenda for the protected part. The mixing of different moneys in the same account makes the proof harder.
Retirement pensions and social payments
Retirement pensions benefit from a broad protection against attachment under special laws. Exceptions such as maintenance, certain public claims, or a valid consent are examined according to the concrete legislation. A general approval the debtor gave in a loan contract should not be accepted automatically as valid for every attachment.
Among the other kinds of payment that can be protected, according to their legislation, the following can be found:
- Disability or care assistance
- Social-assistance payments
- Certain kinds of student scholarships
- Birth and family-support payments
- Certain payments because of a work accident or an occupational disease
- A maintenance claim
What is determinative is not the name of the payment, but which law and which purpose it rests on. The bank-account statement, the writing of the institution that makes the payment, and the document of entitlement should be presented. If other incomes were deposited into the account, the protected amount can be separated.
The debtor's home fitting his condition
The home fitting the social and economic situation of the debtor and of his family can be the subject of a claim of non-attachability. This protection is not absolute in the form "a single home cannot be attached in any way". If the value of the home exceeds the need to an important extent, a sale, and the leaving to the debtor from the price of an amount sufficient to acquire a more suitable dwelling, may come onto the agenda.
The following elements can be taken into account in the assessment:
- The number of the debtor and of the family members living together
- The state of health, of age, and of disability
- The income and the social conditions
- The size, the location, and the value of the dwelling
- The price of a suitable dwelling in the same area
- The mortgage and the other burdens on the immovable
The debtor establishing a mortgage in advance on the dwelling in favour of the creditor can affect the claim of non-attachability. Whether the mortgage was established because of a necessary loan or with free will, and which debt it secures, are examined.
The debtor who learns of the attachment should put forward, within the period, in the enforcement court, that the dwelling fits his condition. Population records, residence, income, health documents, and the values of comparable dwellings can be added to the application.
Rights that have a moral value or a special purpose
Rights tightly tied to the person, and some values that cannot be transferred economically, are not the subject of attachment. Besides this, claims paid for a certain purpose, such as maintenance, are subject to a special regime on the ground of protecting the person's living.
Saying that an item carries only a moral value does not provide protection in every situation. Gold jewellery, a collection, or a valuable family keepsake can be attached because of its economic value. Against this, a personal health device, an official document, or a right that cannot be transferred is different. The legal protection is determined over the statutory character and the necessary use, more than over the emotional value.
Goods belonging to a third person
The goods of the spouse, of a family member, of a housemate, of the lessor, or of another company should not be sold for the debtor's debt. When the goods are in the debtor's house or workplace, an attachment act can be carried out because of the presumption of ownership. The real owner should put forward an ownership claim.
Evidence useful for the third person:
- An invoice from before the attachment
- A bank or credit-card payment record
- The title and the registration
- A lease, a leasing, or a bailment contract
- The company's fixture record
- The warranty document and the delivery minutes
The property regime between spouses, in whose name the invoice is on its own, and the common use are assessed separately. If the owner of the goods is present during the attachment, he should have his claim written on the minutes. The power of proof of a document prepared later may be weaker.
How is non-attachability put forward?
The attachment officer may not see the goods within the scope of protection and may take them onto the minutes. The debtor directs the complaint of non-attachability to the enforcement court. For the application, the date of learning of the attachment and the statutory period are important. Waiting can lead to the goods passing to the sale stage.
Preparation step by step:
- Take a copy of the attachment minutes.
- Determine openly for which goods or income protection is requested.
- Document the purpose of use, the family need, or the source of income.
- Keep the record that shows the date of learning.
- Make a complaint within the period to the suitable enforcement court.
- If there is a risk of sale, assess separately the conditions of a request for a stay.
A complaint does not stop the sale act automatically in every situation. An interim decision, or a final decision, may need to be taken and entered on the enforcement file. If the protection is accepted, the sending of a writing to the bank, to the land registry, to the traffic register, or to another institution, for the lifting of the attachment, is followed.
A waiver or a consent before the attachment
The validity of records given in general, when the debt arises, in the form "I waive my right of non-attachability" is limited. A waiver that does away in advance with the protective aim of the law may not be accepted. Against this, the effect of a consent given after the attachment has taken place, as regards certain goods or income, can be assessed differently.
Especially the set-off and appropriation records in a retirement pension, in a salary account, and in loan contracts should be examined carefully. The bank's contractual block or set-off act, and an enforcement attachment, are not the same. The date of the consent, its open content, and whether it was given with free will matter.
The attachment practice in Ankara
In the attachments in Ankara as well, which goods will be protected is determined according to the national legislation. The district, or the enforcement office, being different does not change the basic rules of non-attachability. Together with this, regional price differences within the same city, in the valuation of a dwelling, can affect the calculation of a home fitting the person's condition.
When a comparable is prepared for a dwelling in Ankara, it should not be enough to use the name of the same district. The neighbourhood, the size, the age of the building, and the transport conditions should be compared. In a claim of a tool of the profession, reaching the records of the relevant chamber, of the tax, and of the registration is important. The density of the office does not extend the complaint period.
Where the attachment protection is read from
This article reads the claim of protection with the minutes, the purpose of use of the goods, and the number. This article does not add a deduction rate and a wage fraction that are not written in the file. An Ankara lawyer separates, from the attachment minutes, that the office being in Çankaya does not choose the competent authority. This article does not put the list in the place of the frame of enforcement and bankruptcy law. The basis is the text of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code in the sources.
The following wrong assumptions are often seen on the subject of non-attachability:
- Thinking that all the goods in the house are protected
- Assuming that a single home cannot be sold in any condition
- Counting every car that is gone to work in as a tool of the profession
- Accepting that all the money entries in the retirement account are protected
- Not presenting evidence of ownership, instead of non-attachability, for goods belonging to the spouse
- Waiting without having the objection written on the attachment minutes
- Thinking that the complaint will stop the sale automatically
For how the attachment is applied, the contents how does attachment happen?, and for the options of lifting, lifting an attachment in enforcement can be examined.
A last assessment
Goods that cannot be attached are not a fixed and unlimited list of household goods. The basic living need, the carrying on of the profession, the source of the income, the value of the goods, and the family conditions are assessed together. While a salary is protected in part, a retirement pension and social payments are subject to special laws. A home fitting the person's condition is subject to an examination of need and of value.
If goods belong to a third person, the route of an ownership claim, not of non-attachability, comes onto the agenda. In both situations, the attachment minutes, the date of learning, and the evidence should be prepared without delay. This article carries the purpose of general information. The current legislation and the concrete attachment act should be examined together.
Conclusion
Protection is not a list of household goods from memory. The minutes, the need, and the value stand together. The salary deduction is in an attachment on my salary. The account block is in my bank account was attached. A complaint does not stop the sale automatically in every file.