Eviction Without a Court Judgment: Eviction from Leased Property Through Enforcement and Objection

What Is Eviction Without a Court Judgment? Legal Basis

Eviction from leased immovable property through enforcement without a judgment is governed by Article 315 et seq. of the Turkish Code of Obligations and Article 269 et seq. of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law. This route, by which the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law allows the landlord, where certain conditions are met, to request eviction from the leased property through enforcement proceedings, is a special type of enforcement proceeding. Where the conditions laid down in the Law are fulfilled, eviction from the leased property is possible as a result of the enforcement proceedings.

In eviction from leased property through enforcement without a judgment, the document with which the proceedings are initiated varies according to the ground for eviction:

We have covered the other types of enforcement proceedings in our article on enforcement proceedings and their types in our article.

Non-Payment of Rent: Form 13 Payment Order

Under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, the Form No. 13 payment order is the payment order used in enforcement proceedings without a judgment initiated on the ground of non-payment of rent.

Where the tenant fails to pay on the due date rent arising from the lease agreement that has become due, the landlord may resort to these enforcement proceedings in order to collect the rent receivable. Moreover, because the rent has not been paid on time, the landlord may request not only the collection of the rent that has fallen due but also eviction from the leased property.

We examined the attachment procedures at the stage of collecting rent receivables in our article on attachment ; for disputes concerning the determination of rent, see our article on the action for determination of rent .

Enforcement Proceedings Based on an Undertaking to Vacate: Form 14

Under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, the Form No. 14 eviction order is the eviction order used in enforcement proceedings without a judgment initiated on the ground of expiry of the lease term or the arrival of the date in a written undertaking to vacate.

The eviction order is an enforcement route based on enforcement proceedings initiated by the landlord against the tenant in order to secure eviction from the leased property within the scope of the lease relationship.

Where the term of the lease agreement has expired or there is a written undertaking to vacate duly given by the tenant, the landlord may resort to this enforcement route in order to secure eviction from the leased property.

The Objection Period in Enforcement Proceedings for Eviction Without a Court Judgment

The tenant may object in writing or orally within seven days of the date on which the payment or eviction order is served on them. The objection may be directed at the lease agreement or the undertaking to vacate, or at the signature on the agreement or undertaking. Such an objection stays the enforcement proceedings.

• Objection to the lease agreement
• Objection to the undertaking to vacate
• Objection to the signature

If no objection is made to the eviction order (Form No. 14), the property must be vacated within the 15 days specified in the eviction order. At this point, the landlord may request the enforcement office to secure the eviction, and the enforcement office will then carry out the eviction by force.

Legal Consequences of the Objection: The Distinction for Objections to Signature

In enforcement proceedings without a judgment initiated on the basis of a lease agreement or undertaking to vacate made in ordinary written form, where the tenant objects to the payment or eviction order, the nature of the objection is important as regards the legal remedies available in the course of the proceedings.

Where the objection does not concern the signature

If the tenant’s objection is not to the effect that the signature on the ordinary written lease agreement or undertaking to vacate is not theirs, the creditor/landlord may apply to the Enforcement Court and request removal of the objection and eviction from the property.

Where the objection concerns the signature

By contrast, if the tenant’s objection is that the signature on the ordinary written lease agreement or undertaking to vacate on which the proceedings are based is not theirs, in other words, if it concerns the authenticity of the signature, the Enforcement Court, whose power of review is limited, cannot examine on the merits whether the signature belongs to the debtor.

In this case, since the dispute requires a determination of the authenticity of the signature on the ordinary written document, the creditor must bring an eviction action before the Civil Court of Peace under the general provisions in order to have the merits of the dispute resolved.

Accordingly, in proceedings initiated on the basis of an ordinary written lease agreement or undertaking to vacate, whether or not the objection concerns the signature is decisive as regards the legal remedy available to the creditor. If the objection does not concern the signature, removal of the objection and eviction may be requested from the Enforcement Court; if the objection is directly that the signature does not belong to the debtor, the dispute will have to be resolved through an eviction action brought before the Civil Court of Peace under the general provisions.

The Difference Between the Enforcement Court and the General Courts

It should be noted that the fundamental difference between the enforcement court and the general courts lies in the scope of the proceedings and the assessment of evidence.

Proceedings before the enforcement court and the general courts

The enforcement court acts mainly as an authority for objections, and proceedings are, as a rule, conducted summarily on the basis of written documents. The powers of the enforcement court are limited. As a rule, no witnesses are heard, no oath is tendered and no expert examination is ordered. Proceedings before the general courts, on the other hand, are more comprehensive. Various types of evidence such as witnesses, oath, expert examination and on-site inspection may be used. The court’s power to assess and investigate evidence is broader. For this reason, proceedings before the general courts are conducted in a more comprehensive and detailed manner than before the enforcement court.

The Mediation Requirement in Lease Disputes

There is a mediation requirement for actions brought before the Civil Court of Peace for annulment of the objection and eviction. Under the amendment made by Law No. 7445 to Law No. 6325 on Mediation in Civil Disputes, since 1 September 2023, recourse to a mediator before bringing an action has been made mandatory in actions concerning disputes arising from a lease relationship.

We explained how the mediation process works in our article on arabuluculuk .