INKO LEGALATTORNEYS AT LAW
REAL ESTATE AND LAND LAW

Annulment of Title Deed and Re-registration

The core action of Turkish property law, brought where the title register does not reflect the true legal position. When it succeeds the effect is direct: the entry is cancelled and the property is registered in the name of the true owner.

IN SHORT

An action for annulment of the title deed and re-registration cancels a register entry created contrary to the true legal position and has the property re-registered in the name of the rightful owner. The competent court by subject matter is the civil court of first instance; territorially it is the court where the property is located. An action based on wrongful registration is as a rule not subject to a limitation period, but the acquisition of third parties who relied on the register in good faith is protected, so delay weakens the file.

When the action arises

The Turkish land register is presumed correct until the contrary is proved. Where the entry does not reflect the true legal position, article 1025 of the Turkish Civil Code allows correction of the register to be sought. In practice the action is most often brought on the following grounds.

Forgery. Transfers made with a forged identity document, a forged power of attorney or a forged signature. A forgery allegation can run in parallel with a criminal investigation, and the expert report in the criminal file is strong evidence in the civil file.

Lack of capacity. The owner lacked legal capacity at the time of the transfer. This arises with advanced age, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, serious psychiatric conditions, or heavy medication. In such files the court collects medical records from around the date of the transfer and obtains a report from the Council of Forensic Medicine. What matters is the condition on the date of transfer, not on the date of the action.

Abuse of a power of attorney. The attorney transfers the property to himself or to a person close to him, or sells it far below market value. The representative must act in the interests of the principal; a transfer that plainly conflicts with those interests can be set aside.

Wrongful registration for other reasons. Errors in cadastral works, duplicate registration, transfers based on an invalid inheritance document.

The good-faith third party

This is the point on which the file most often turns. If the property has passed on to someone else after the disputed transfer, and that person relied on the register without knowing of the defect, article 1023 of the Civil Code protects the acquisition. The claimant then has to show that the third party was not in good faith: an unusually low price, a family or business connection between the parties, a sale made unusually soon after the first transfer.

This is also why time matters in an action that is otherwise not time-barred. Each further transfer makes the file harder.

Evidence

  • Title register extract and the deed of conveyance for every transfer in the chain
  • Bank records showing whether the stated price actually moved
  • Medical records and expert reports where capacity is disputed
  • The notarial power of attorney and its scope where an attorney acted
  • Witness evidence, which is admissible in claims of collusion

The court and the procedure

The action is brought before the civil court of first instance where the property is located, and that jurisdiction is mandatory. A note of the pending action can be entered on the register as an interim measure so that the property is not transferred on during the proceedings. The court will normally order a site inspection and appoint experts; in capacity files a forensic medicine report is usually decisive.

This page is general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Prepared in line with the Union of Turkish Bar Associations’ advertising restrictions. This English text is a courtesy translation; in case of any discrepancy the Turkish text prevails.