What this area covers
Property disputes are among the most document-heavy areas of Turkish law. Four different routes may be open on the same set of facts, and three of them can come back years later on limitation or standing. That is why every file starts in the same place: examination of the register and the deeds.
The minimum set of documents examined:
- The title register extract and the deed of conveyance (stated price, transaction date, declarations of the parties)
- The cadastral record for the property and its sheet / block / parcel references
- The zoning status certificate from the municipality, plus any amendments to the zoning plan
- In inheritance matters, the certificate of inheritance and the deceased's history of title transactions
- In construction-for-land-share files, the contract, the power of attorney and the building permit
Once that examination is finished, in most files the type of action determines itself.
Common file types
| Dispute | Typical action | Competent court |
|---|---|---|
| Wrongful registration, forgery, lack of capacity | Annulment of title deed | Civil court of first instance |
| Transfer by the deceased to defeat an heir | Collusive transfer (muris muvazaasi) | Civil court of first instance |
| Co-owners unable to divide the property | Dissolution of co-ownership | Civil court of peace |
| A share sold to an outsider | Pre-emption (onalim / sufa) | Civil court of first instance |
| Administration taking the land, price unpaid | Expropriation | Civil court / administrative court |
| Plan amendment, permit, building restriction | Zoning law | Administrative court |
| Developer failing to deliver the flat | Construction for land share | Civil / commercial court |
| Unauthorised use, occupation | Occupation compensation (ecrimisil) | Civil court of first instance |
What makes land files different
Disputes over undeveloped land differ from disputes over built property in three respects.
Shared title. Land is usually bought through co-ownership. The more co-owners there are, the more both sale and use lock up; and when one co-owner sells a share to an outsider, a right of pre-emption arises for the others. Before buying into a shared title you must establish whether the co-owners have a written or de facto agreement dividing use of the land. Where such a de facto division exists, the pre-emption right may not be exercisable.
Zoning status against physical reality. Land described as "zoned" in a sales conversation is frequently something else on the plan: agricultural designation, a strip surrendered for road widening, a public-share deduction, an area reserved for public use. A deposit paid before reading the zoning certificate and the plan notes can turn into a loss that cannot be recovered.
Cadastral and physical boundary conflicts. A boundary on the sheet that does not match the boundary on the ground, a structure encroaching on the neighbouring parcel, rights of way: these appear in most land files and make a site inspection and expert examination unavoidable.
Time limits: the right most often lost
Some property actions are not subject to any limitation period. Others run against a forfeiture period, and once it passes the substance of the right cannot even be argued.
- Pre-emption: three months from notification of the sale through a notary, and in any event two years from the sale (Turkish Civil Code art. 733).
- Action against an expropriation decision: thirty days from service (Expropriation Act no. 2942, art. 14).
- Objection to a zoning plan: within the one-month display period; and sixty days before the administrative court once the objection is rejected.
- Collusive transfer and annulment based on wrongful registration: as a rule not time-barred, but the acquisition of third parties who relied on the register in good faith becomes protected over time. Waiting always works against you.
How the file proceeds
- Initial consultation. We listen to the facts and look at the documents you hold; we identify what is missing.
- Register examination. Title, cadastral and zoning records are obtained; the real legal character of the file is established.
- Route map. Litigation, mediation or settlement options, with the likely duration, cost and risks set out in writing.
- Conduct of the file. Pleadings, evidence, site inspection and expert stage, with the client informed at each step.
- Outcome and follow-up. Judgment, assessment of appeal, and enforcement.
The stage-by-stage account is on the How we work page.