Ankara Property Lawyer: Land Registry, Rent and Eviction

What is property law?

Property law governs rights in rem over immovable property, and also leases and construction contracts. The land register, acquisition in good faith and the requirements of form are at the centre of this field.

In Çankaya and the surrounding parts of Ankara, disputes over a lease, construction in return for flats, and actions to cancel or rectify a land-registry entry are often seen.

Which disputes over land sit on this page?

• A promise to sell immovable property, and a contract of sale
• An increase in the rent, determination of the rent, and a claim for the rent
• Eviction, and the return of the leased property
• Cancellation of a registration, rectification of the register, and cadastral disputes
• Construction in return for flats, and a promise to sell real property
• A review of a mortgage, an annotation and other encumbrances

Whose papers do the land registry and a lease call for?

• People who want to buy or sell a home or business premises
• Tenants and landlords
• Landowners, or contractors, who are a party to a project of construction in return for flats
• Owners whose land-registry entry is wrong, or is in dispute
• Heirs who want to divide immovable property left by inheritance

What should be looked at before a transfer at the land registry?

Before the transfer, the land-registry entry, the encumbrances, the planning position and the actual use should be checked. The price, the plan of payment and the conditions of handover should be written clearly.

• A mortgage, an attachment, an interim measure and annotations
• The municipality’s planning information, and the building permit
• Arrears of service charge, and debts owed to the estate management
• Whether the area on the ground matches the area on the title
• The seller’s authority (a check of the power of attorney)

The statutory frame for an increase in the rent

On a residential lease, the rate of increase can be limited by legislation that applies for a period. On a lease of business premises, freedom of contract is wider, but the general limits in the Turkish Code of Obligations still apply.

An action to determine the rent can be brought to fix the market rent where a lease has expired or has been renewed. Each contract is examined on its own.

How does an eviction proceed?

Grounds such as the landlord’s own need, rebuilding, default in payment and an undertaking to vacate each follow a different procedure. Choosing the wrong ground can lead to the claim being dismissed.

1. 1.Identifying the legal basis of the ground for eviction
2. 2.Giving the notices or warnings that are required
3. 3.Asking for eviction by a court action, or through enforcement
4. 4.Carrying the eviction out once there is a decision

Contracts for construction in return for flats

Under a model of construction in return for flats, what the landowner must do and what the contractor must do are mutual. How the independent units are shared, the period, liability for defects and the securities should be made clear in the contract.

The requirement of form, and the practice of placing an annotation on the title, affect how secure the file is. If performance is late or incomplete, the party can have a choice of remedies.

Confusion often seen at the counter, and in a lease

• An incomplete check of the encumbrances
• An oral promise to sell, or a notarial step that was left incomplete
• Keeping no proof that the rent was paid
• Taking an undertaking to vacate in a form that does not follow the rules
• Problems of handover, and of the occupancy permit, in construction in return for flats

Why do the block and parcel, and the start of the lease, belong in the petition?

• Current copies of the land-registry entry and of the contracts should be obtained
• The periods for a notice, and the rules of service, should be checked
• In a dispute over a lease, it should be seen whether mediation is a precondition
• Whether an interim measure is needed should be considered

The court process, and the alternatives

The civil court of peace or the civil court of first instance can be the competent court, depending on the subject. In some disputes over a lease, and in disputes between neighbours, mediation is a precondition to a case.

A route by agreement is always open. A waiver, and an undertaking to vacate, should nevertheless be written so that they do not give birth to a new dispute later.

Is determination of the rent a ground for eviction?

A residential lease, a lease of business premises and the land-registry entry are separate doors. The lease, the notice and the list of encumbrances are what separate them. Determination of the rent is not a copy of a ground for eviction.

At a first look, the land-registry entry, the date the lease began and the record of payments are enough. An undertaking to vacate is open to an allegation that it was given under pressure. In construction in return for flats, a handover date is not discussed until the independent unit and the security have been written down.

Which step does the retainer carry in a dispute over land?

The work is the notice, the question whether mediation is a precondition, the action for eviction or for determination of the rent, and the petition to cancel the registration and rectify the land register. The retainer does not promise a day of eviction. Release of a mortgage is not an automatic part of the sale. A measured frame does not hide a market rent that is still uncertain.

A promise to sell does not create a right in rem. An annotation strengthens the personal right. Arrears of service charge may not block the land registry, but they leave a liability towards the management. Eviction for the landlord’s own need calls for proof that is separate from the route of an undertaking to vacate.

What is not promised in a land-registry or lease file?

Property law in Ankara rests on the reliability of the land register, on the balance of the rent and on keeping to the contract. In an assessment based in Çankaya, the register entry of each property, and its condition on the ground, are read separately.

A definite result is not promised. The legislation in force, and the decisions of the courts, are the guide.