Partition of
Jointly Owned Property

In co-ownership in shares, even though each co-owner’s share is defined, that share does not mean sole ownership of a particular room or physical part of the immovable. In joint ownership, on the other hand, entitlement depends on the relationship among the joint owners; an heir’s share in the estate and the power of disposition over a particular immovable are not the same.

• Joint examination of the current title, the ground of acquisition, share transfers and heirship records.
• Separating out succession transfer deficiencies, erroneous records or the need to convert joint ownership into co-ownership in shares.
• Comparing dissolution of co-ownership of a specific asset with a request for partition of the whole estate.

Under Article 698 of the Turkish Civil Code (TMK), a request for partition may be restricted because of a valid legal transaction, because the asset has been dedicated to a continuing purpose, or because it is raised at an inappropriate time. As a rule, the right to request partition may be restricted for at most ten years; for immovables, the official form of the relevant contract and its annotation in the land registry are assessed separately.

Living in the immovable, holding a small share or not wanting a sale does not, on its own, prevent the action. On the other hand, a purpose of common use, a valid contract and restrictions in special laws may be raised with concrete evidence. Common areas tied to condominium ownership cannot be made the subject of a separate partition like an independent land share.

Because the judgment affects all the co-owners, all of them must take part in the proceedings. The heirs of a deceased co-owner, an owner who acquired later and identity discrepancies in the land registry are investigated from current records. An incomplete composition of the parties and improper service can prolong the process.

• Statutory representation of a minor or restricted co-owner, conflict of interest and, where needed, the conditions of a curator (kayyım) or court permission.
• Address, population registry record, certificate of inheritance and the need for service abroad.
• A separate examination of the authority and legal interest of the creditor of a debtor co-owner under Article 121 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law.

Being a creditor does not give a right to bring a direct and unlimited partition action over all the co-owned assets of the debtor.

In actions concerning the partition of movable or immovable property and the dissolution of co-ownership, the court with subject-matter jurisdiction under Article 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure (HMK) is the civil court of peace. In an action concerning an immovable, the court at the place where the immovable is located has exclusive territorial jurisdiction.

Where there are several immovables, different judicial districts, the estate as a whole or a separate ownership dispute, the nature of the claim and the relevant provisions, including Article 12 of the Code of Civil Procedure, are examined separately. Before the action is brought, the applicable mediation as a condition precedent to litigation is completed; the examination of subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction is carried out from the preparation stage.

In actions brought on or after September 1, 2023 for the partition of movable and immovable property and the dissolution of co-ownership within the scope of Article 18/B of Law No. 6325, applying to mediation is a condition precedent to litigation. Actions brought earlier and special situations are assessed under the transitional provisions. The mediator does not decide; an agreement depends on the will of the parties.

• Correct identification of the current rights holders and of the assets in dispute.
• Negotiating the options of taking over a share, a payment schedule, security, a joint sale or partition in kind.
• Preparing the settlement document in accordance with official form, land registry requirements and statutory limits.

For an agreement within this scope, obtaining an enforceability annotation (icra edilebilirlik şerhi) is mandatory. For an immovable, the civil court of peace at the place where the immovable is located issues the annotation. For an agreement aimed at registration, the land registry procedures after the annotation are followed separately. Our firm keeps the role of party counsel in mediation separate from the role of the neutral mediator.

If all the relevant rights holders agree, the transfer of a share to one or several co-owners, a joint sale of the immovable to a third party, or a reciprocal allocation of suitable assets can be considered. The existence of several assets does not mean that a court can distribute them as it pleases, independently of the parties’ will.

• Determining which asset or share will be transferred to whom, at what price and on what date.
• Regulating payment security, delivery, rental income, expenses, taxes and fees.
• Completing official form, land registry registration, representation and, where needed, permits.

Oral understanding or a simple written text is not sufficient for every immovable transaction. The effect of the agreement on the lawsuit and on the sale file is also regulated expressly.

In co-ownership in shares, the sale of a share to a third party may, if the conditions are met, bring the other co-owners’ statutory right of pre-emption into play. The status of the buyer, the true nature of the transaction, notification and time limits are examined. Transferring an inheritance share and transferring a share in an immovable recorded in the land registry are not the same transaction.

The statutory right of pre-emption cannot be exercised in a sale by compulsory auction (Article 733 of the Turkish Civil Code). For this reason, buying a share by private agreement, a pre-emption action and taking part in the auction should not be confused with one another. The effect of the transfer on party status in a pending action and on the sale regime specific to heirs is also checked separately.

Partition in kind is the division of an asset into parts that can be used independently, physically and legally. If one of the parties requests this method, the request is assessed in terms of surface area, number of co-owners, share ratios, access, zoning and agricultural rules, and significant loss of value.

• Examining divisibility on the basis of the subdivision (ifraz) sketch and the opinion of the relevant administration.
• Comparing the economic and functional values of the parts that will result.
• The possibility of equalization by adding money for parts that are not of equal value.

Areas of use that have been divided in practice do not on their own create separate ownership. If division is not legally possible or would cause significant loss of value, the option of sale comes into play.

Under Article 10 of the Condominium Ownership Law, in a suitable building, co-ownership can be ended at the request of one of the co-owners by allocating the independent units. The completion status of the building, the number and characteristics of the independent units, the possibility of allocating a unit to each co-owner and value differences are examined together.

• The approved architectural project, the occupancy permit and the documents under Article 12.
• Land shares, the values of the independent units and equalization in money.
• Separating technical deficiencies that can be remedied from legal deficiencies that prevent establishment.

Not every building is considered suitable for this route simply because it has several floors. A sale should not be assumed to be inevitable without assessing the workable request and the documents.

The plan decision, minimum parcel size, road frontage, building conditions and existing buildings can determine the possibility of partition in kind. The word “land” on the title does not by itself mean free divisibility. Cadastral, municipal and relevant administrative records are considered together with the on-site examination and the expert review.

If there are protected site, conservation, coastal, forest boundary, expropriation, zoning implementation or public-use areas, their effects are investigated separately. Annulment of administrative acts or compensation claims are not matters that an action for dissolution of co-ownership would resolve by itself.

For agricultural land, the minimum and sufficient-income land sizes in Law No. 5403, economic integrity and the rules on transfer tied to inheritance may apply. In addition to the nature of the parcel in the land registry, its actual and legal agricultural status is also examined.

The date on which the inheritance opened, the class of the land and the opinion of the relevant administration are especially important. Not every field can be divided into equal parts; transfer to one of the heirs or other options in the special law may be assessed separately from the general partition rules. Irrigation, crops, trees, facilities and the integrity of the operation are made the subject of the valuation.

Dissolution of co-ownership is not limited to immovables. For vehicles, machinery and other movables in co-ownership as well, divisibility of the asset, registry records and the conditions of sale can be examined.

A company share, a membership right, an intellectual property right, a receivable or business assets are not automatically subject to the same regime as an immovable. The nature of the right, the company agreement and the special liquidation provisions are assessed. Liquidation of rights in a community of heirs and dissolution of a company are also separate legal processes.

Component parts on an immovable such as a house, building, facility and trees are, as a rule, sold together with the land. The claim that they were created by a particular co-owner is assessed on the basis of the land registry record, the parties’ admissions, construction and planting records, payment documents and, where necessary, a separate action for determination.

• Where ownership of the improvements is disputed, examining whether determination before the competent court and a stay pending a preliminary question (bekletici mesele) are needed.
• Showing clearly the separate values of the land and the improvements, their ratios to the total value and to whom they fall.
• Separating the portion of the sale price attributable to the improvements from the remaining land price to be distributed.

Having had the building built does not by itself increase the land share in the land registry. Recognition of the claim, the contribution to the increase in value and the calculation of the ratio are verified in the specific file; a fixed construction cost and the ratio to be set aside from the sale price are not the same thing.

The valuation is reviewed in terms of suitable comparables, location, surface area, zoning rights, actual use, building characteristics, depreciation, encumbrances and the relevant valuation date. The listing price and the actual sale price are not the same data; the reasons for the comparisons and adjustments should be visible in the report.

• Incomplete technical research on divisibility and condominium ownership.
• Selection of comparables, measurement, land, building and tree values, and unreasoned deductions.
• Inconsistency in the ownership of improvements, double counting and distribution ratios.

An expert report served during the proceedings can, as a rule, be objected to within two weeks under Article 281 of the Code of Civil Procedure. If the conditions are met, an additional period, a supplementary report or a new expert is requested within the time limit. A complaint against the valuation at the sale stage is subject to a separate time limit and procedure; these two steps are not confused.

Dissolution of co-ownership ends the existing ownership relationship; it does not, by itself, decide a claim of an erroneous land registry record, a simulated transfer or to whom a share actually belongs. An action for annulment and re-registration of title, correction of the certificate of inheritance or another action may be needed.

If the outcome of the separate action will affect the rights holders and the shares, the conditions of a stay pending a preliminary question are examined. A request for an injunction is also not accepted automatically; the claim, evidence, legal interest and concrete risk are set out together.

A co-owner’s use of the immovable, collection of rent or bearing of maintenance expenses may give rise to claims for receivables and accounts that are separate from the partition action. The agreement on use, the obstruction of enjoyment, notices, the income period and payment documents are examined.

In compensation for unjust occupation, wrongful use and, where needed, the condition of exclusion from use (intifadan men) and the exceptions are assessed separately. Dissolution of co-ownership does not by itself settle past rent and expense accounts. The eviction of a tenant or a co-owner who lives there does not take place merely because an action has been filed either; the lease relationship and the special procedures at the auction and delivery stage are kept apart.

A respondent co-owner is not limited to opposing the sale. He or she may raise the option of partition in kind or condominium ownership, valid grounds restricting partition, missing parties, a claim to improvements and errors in the report. It is important that evidence and requests are submitted properly and on time.

Because of the bilateral nature of this action, the claimant’s waiver of the claim does not in every case end the proceedings if the other co-owner wishes to continue the action. Waiver of the claim, withdrawal of the action, settlement and merely not attending the hearing have different consequences. Ignoring a notice of service is not a method that protects rights.

The method of partition, the proper composition of the parties, the technical review and the distribution ratios are reviewed together with the judgment. Under Article 345 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the time limit for appeal (istinaf) is, as a rule, two weeks from the proper service of the judgment. In implementing a judgment concerning the right in rem over an immovable, the condition of finality is observed.

Whether an appeal to the Court of Cassation is available is determined by examining together the nature of the judgment, the civil court of peace limitations in Article 362 of the Code of Civil Procedure and the provisions added in 2026 on a renewed decision on the merits. It is not assumed that an appeal to the Court of Cassation is open for every judgment or that every appeal decision is final. A complaint against acts of the sales office (satış memurluğu) and annulment of the auction (ihalenin feshi) are separate from the legal remedy against the judgment on the merits.

Attachment, mortgage, usufruct, easement, injunction and annotations are examined according to whether they relate only to the debtor’s share or to the whole immovable. It cannot be said that all the records will be deleted by the sale without assessing the creation, scope, rank of the right and its effect on the sale specifications.

One co-owner’s personal debt does not automatically turn the other co-owner’s sale proceeds into payment of that debt. The continuation of a usufruct over the asset or the sale proceeds is assessed under special conditions, including Article 700 of the Turkish Civil Code. Notification of the rights holders, payment from the price and deletion procedures are followed file by file.

For foreign individuals who hold an immovable in Türkiye and Turkish citizens living abroad, heirship, party status, foreign documents, international jurisdiction and service are planned in advance. Restrictions on acquiring land and the special provisions on companies and foreign legal entities are also checked separately.

• The authority and form of a power of attorney to be issued before a consulate or a foreign authority.
• Depending on the type of document, apostille or certification, translation and, where needed, the conditions of recognition.
• Addresses abroad and service, online consultation and a secure flow of documents.

Pursuit through an attorney can make it possible to carry out most procedures without traveling to Türkiye; procedures requiring personal attendance, the authority of representation and the practice of the institution are verified in the specific file.

In an inherited immovable, it is first determined who the heirs and owners are, the status of succession transfer (intikal), disclaimer of the inheritance, the will and disputes affecting the shares. If the heirs cannot agree, dissolution of co-ownership of the specific immovable or partition of the estate according to the scope of the estate may come into play.

The surviving spouse’s claims and rights over the family residence, estate debts, and transfer provisions specific to an agricultural holding or land are examined separately. Whether all the heirs are owners also affects who can take part in the first auction. Liquidation of a community of heirs and liquidation of a company are not subject to the same procedure.

After the sale decision becomes final, the procedures are carried out through the sales officer appointed by the court, under Article 322 of the Code of Civil Procedure and the applicable provisions of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law. Filing the action or the sale decision does not, by itself, mean that the auction has been held.

• The sale request, necessary expenses, current valuation and service of notices.
• The announcement, specifications, the rights and burdens of the immovable and the electronic auction schedule.
• Participation and security conditions, authority to bid, payment of the price and delivery and registration procedures.

Being a co-owner does not automatically give an exemption from the rules on bidding or paying the price. Under Article 114 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, the auction price must be paid within seven days of the announcement of the result record on the portal. Under the current rules, failure to pay on time can result, in addition to forfeiture of the security, in an administrative fine of five percent of the bid amount. The regime that applies is checked against the date of the announcement.

There are two separate regimes: for a sale restricted to the co-owners only under Article 699 of the Turkish Civil Code, the consent of all the co-owners is required. By contrast, the special auction for inheritances in Article 114 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law limits the first auction to the heirs who are owners once its statutory conditions are met.

• All the owners must have acquired the immovable by inheritance, and there must be no third-party owner other than the heirs.
• This special first auction is applied once. The bid must exceed the whole estimated value or the total of the preferential claims, whichever is higher, plus the costs of conversion into money and distribution added to it.
• In the second auction, fifty percent of the estimated value or the total of the preferential claims, whichever is higher, and additional costs are taken as the basis. Covering only fifty percent of the value is not sufficient in every case.
• Under the transitional provision of Law No. 7589, the previous provisions apply to auctions announced before July 31, 2026.

This rule does not guarantee that the immovable will necessarily stay in the family or be transferred to a co-owner at a fixed price. If the first auction is unsuccessful, the participation and sale conditions of the next stage are assessed separately.

In the distribution, the land registry or inheritance shares, the ratios of improvements that have been admitted or decided by judgment, sale expenses, fees and payments to rights holders are considered together. The price allocated to the improvements and the price attributable to the land share are calculated separately.

• Consistency between the final judgment and the distribution schedule or the account statement.
• Which share or price is affected by attachment, mortgage and other rights.
• Review of payment records, deductions, authority of representation and time limits for applications.

The party that brings the action does not receive the whole price. The net payment depends on the price actually realized in the sale and on deductions specific to the file. A simple multiplication of the shares may not, on its own, give the correct result in a file with improvements or encumbrances.