The absence of a title deed record does not mean that expropriation compensation can never be received. However, actually using the property does not by itself entitle a person to the full compensation either. Under Article 19 of Law No. 2942, it is investigated whether the property is public property and whether the possessor met the conditions for acquiring ownership on the date of expropriation. If entitlement is disputed, payment is subject to a separate procedure.
Is Property Without a Title Deed the Same as Property Whose Title Deed Is in Someone Else’s Name?
A person not holding a title deed does not show that the property is not registered in the land registry. The record may be in the name of the decedent, another person or the Treasury. A cadastral determination may also have been made but not yet become final. The first step is to determine the legal identity of the property through a land registry and cadastre search.
The place name used in the village, the old parcel number and the area actually enclosed may differ from one another. The boundaries must be applied on a map. The family’s statement “it has been ours for years” is not sufficient without explaining which area is used on which legal basis. Matching the expropriation map sheet against old records is therefore important.
Does an informal sale document replace a title deed?
For places without a title deed, a transfer document may be evidence of from whom and when the use was taken over. However, not every document creates ownership by itself. Whether the property is really without a title deed, the nature of the transfer and the conditions of acquisition are investigated. It is not correct to treat the sale of a registered property in breach of the official form as the same as the transfer of possession of a property without a title deed.
Tax, electricity, water or agricultural support records are also not ownership documents on their own. They may support the date and manner of use. If there are conflicting records, these should be explained in the file; an entitlement conclusion should not be drawn from a single record that appears favorable.
What Investigation Does the Administration Carry Out Under Article 19?
The administration first investigates whether the property is among the public properties specified in Article 16 of the Cadastre Law. Once it is understood that it is not public property and that there is a claim of acquisition by possession, an on-site inspection is carried out. The surface area of the property, the identity of the possessor, the tax record, the start of the use and the conditions for acquiring ownership are shown in the record.
At the end of this investigation, the documents are submitted to the civil court of first instance (asliye hukuk mahkemesi) of the place where the property is located, with a request for determination of the compensation and registration in the name of the administration. The record kept by the administration does not make the court’s review unnecessary. If the person claiming a right has been written with the wrong identity or the area has been shown incompletely, this must be reported in time.
If my name is not on the administration’s list, does my right end?
Not being included on the list does not by itself mean that all rights have ended. However, failing to follow the process may allow the announcement and payment stages to proceed in the name of another person. The claim of right should be communicated with its documents both to the administration and, if an action has been filed, to the relevant court. The application records and the date on which the attachments were delivered should be kept.
Submitting a petition only to the administration, without learning in which court the file is pending, may not be sufficient. The court’s announcement, the expert report and interim orders on payment are followed separately. Correspondence with the administration does not automatically stop the time that is running for a judicial application or objection.
Which Characteristics of Possession Must Be Proved?
Possession is actual control; but possession that confers ownership requires more than that. Within the scope of Article 713 of the Turkish Civil Code, for property without a title deed, twenty years of possession as owner, without dispute and without interruption, together with the other statutory conditions, is important. The property must also be capable of being acquired.
The capacity in which a tenant, sharecropper or person using the property with permission uses it is different. Use while recognizing another person’s superior right is not the same as use in one’s own name as owner. If the period of a previous possessor is to be relied on, the link by transfer or inheritance must be shown. Twenty years having passed on the calendar should not be regarded as sufficient on its own.
Which date is taken as the basis?
For purposes of Article 19, it is important to assess whether the possessor had acquired the property on the date of expropriation. It is not correct to complete a missing condition of acquisition by automatically adding the time that has passed after the expropriation. It is useful to show the expropriation decision, the start of the earlier use and the dates of any interruptions in a single table.
If the use has continued by inheritance, it is investigated since when and in what capacity the decedent used the property. Where there are several heirs, it does not follow that the person actually working the land is entitled to receive the entire compensation. Representation, inheritance shares and personal-right claims are addressed separately.
How is the investigation conducted where public property or forest is alleged?
If the property has the nature of forest, pasture (mera), road or other public property, long use cannot be accepted as creating ownership. At the same time, the real and historical nature of the property is examined as much as the name in the record. Forest and pasture documents, old aerial photographs, cadastral map sheets and neighboring records must be applied to one another.
In the decision of the Civil General Assembly of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay Hukuk Genel Kurulu) dated 15 February 2012, E.2011/714, K.2012/78, it was not found sufficient merely to determine that the properties were not pasture. The decision of persistence (direnme kararı) was reversed because of deficient investigation as to forest nature, acquirability by possession, the application of title deeds and related files. This is not a decision that directly awards expropriation compensation; it is important for the scope of the investigation into entitlement. Reasoning and result of the reversal.
How Are the Announcement and Objection Periods Monitored?
Under Article 19, an announcement is required in a local newspaper, an internet news site and a newspaper published nationwide. The statutory process is not considered complete merely because the matter was announced orally in the place where the property is located. In the file, it is checked in which medium, with what content and on what date the announcement was made.
The law provides a period of ten days from the date of announcement for notifying defenses and evidence. For the objection of rights holders and the payment stage to the possessor, the last announcement date is separately important. Since the expressions one month and thirty days appear in different sentences of the text, a calendar-month calculation and a thirty-day calculation should not be used interchangeably without checking them. In a specific file, safe tracking of time limits should be done on the basis of the earliest date on which they may expire.
If no objection is made in time, can another rights holder no longer bring an action?
The law expressly provides that payment of the compensation to the possessor does not extinguish the right of those claiming rights to bring an action for entitlement to the compensation (bedele istihkak davası) against the possessor under the general provisions. Therefore, missing the announcement objection is not the same as the loss of all substantive rights. However, the conditions, time limit, proof and collection risk of an action brought later are separate matters.
For this reason, it is not correct to fail to follow the announcement stage on the thinking that “I can sue later.” After the money has been paid to another person, the dispute may continue with different parties and claims. When a claim of right is learned of, the file and bank transactions should be examined without delay.
What Happens to the Compensation If the Treasury or a Third Party Objects?
In the event of an objection, under the special procedure in the law, the compensation is deposited in a term account at a bank, to be paid to the person who later proves entitlement, and the process of registration in the name of the administration may proceed. A dispute over entitlement does not mean that all acts relating to the public service necessarily stop. On the other hand, it should not be expected that the money will be paid directly to the person on the list.
Two reviews are separate here: the value of the property and who is entitled to receive the compensation. A possessor who argues that the compensation was calculated too low must not neglect evidence of entitlement. The determination of a higher compensation does not by itself guarantee that it will be paid to that person.
Where only an easement is to be established on property without a title deed
If an easement is to be established instead of the transfer of full ownership to the administration, the registration relationship must be resolved separately. In the decision of the Civil General Assembly of the Court of Cassation dated 2 February 2000, E.2000/18-48, K.2000/38, the need to resolve the entitlement and title registration problem for establishing an easement on property without a title deed was discussed, and the decision of persistence was reversed. Full account of the decision.
This decision belongs to the period before the 2001 amendment of Article 19. The old paragraph numbers and the procedure of that time should not be applied unchanged to a present-day file. The limited conclusion that can be drawn from the decision is that an easement on property without a title deed cannot be treated like an ordinary registered parcel transaction without resolving the ownership and registry issue.
How Is the Action and Evidence File Prepared?
| Document or investigation | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Land registry and cadastre replies | Determining whether the property is really without a title deed |
| Old aerial photographs and maps | Examining the start and nature of the use |
| Transfer documents and heirship records | Showing the legal link with the previous possessor |
| Tax and agricultural production records | Supporting the claim of actual use |
| Forest, pasture and public allocation documents | Investigating whether the property is capable of being acquired |
| Copies of announcements and service documents | Determining when the time limits start |
| Bank and court payment records | Seeing in whose name and on what condition the compensation is held |
Witnesses must be able to describe from their own direct knowledge in which years and within which boundaries the use took place. Instead of the general statement “everyone knows this place belongs to him,” the concrete events of use and transfer are investigated. It is checked that the technical expert’s application of the boundaries and the witness account relate to the same property.
In an independent ownership, cadastral or entitlement dispute, the competent court, the parties and the applicable time limits are determined according to the nature of the claim. A new file should not be opened on an assumption of general jurisdiction while a cadastral action is pending. An administrative action concerning the lawfulness of the expropriation act is separate from these private-law disputes.
Can the Compensation for Buildings and Trees Be Requested Separately?
Even if the conditions for acquiring ownership of the land have not been met, the provision on compensation for buildings and trees in the last paragraph of Article 19 may be examined separately. For this, the person who created the improvements (muhdesat), the nature of the element and the applicable private law must be determined. The rejection of the land compensation is not the same as the rejection of all claims for improvements.
For a building, the minimum necessary equipment value (asgarî levazım bedeli) and the value of the trees within the scope of Article 11 are subject to different calculations. Clearly separating these claims also makes it clear which alternative legal assessment is requested if the claim of ownership of the land is not accepted. Duplicate payment for the same loss should not be requested.
Conclusion
In the expropriation of property without a title deed, the basic question is not only the length of the use. The legal nature of the property, the capacity of the possession, the conditions of acquisition on the date of expropriation and the announcement process are examined together. The amount of the compensation and entitlement should be followed separately; before payment is made, the claim and evidence should be submitted to the file. When land, improvement and easement claims are separated on the correct legal footing, the dispute becomes easier to review.
Related articles: Acquisitive Prescription by Possession and Title Registration; Compensation for Buildings, Trees and Improvements; Determination of Expropriation Compensation and Title Registration Action; Expropriation of Co-Owned and Inherited Property
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I receive compensation for every piece of land I have used for twenty years?
No. In addition to use as owner, without interruption and without dispute, the capacity of the property to be acquired and the other conditions are required.
Does a tax receipt replace a title deed?
No. It may be evidence supporting the use; on its own it does not prove ownership and the right to payment.
If the Treasury objects, does the expropriation stop completely?
Not in every case. The special procedure under which the compensation is held in a term account until entitlement is resolved may apply.
If the compensation was paid to another user, do I have no rights left?
The law reserves the action for entitlement to the compensation under the general provisions. The conditions of the action and the time limits must be examined separately.
If I have no title deed, can I not receive the compensation for the trees either?
Ownership of the land and compensation for trees are assessed separately. The conditions of the last paragraph of Article 19 should be investigated.
Sources
- Expropriation Law No. 2942: Articles 9, 10, 14, 18 and 19.
- Turkish Civil Code No. 4721: Article 713 and the provisions on possession.
- Court of Cassation Civil General Assembly, E.2011/714, K.2012/78, 15.02.2012: account of the decision on possession and the nature of the property.
- Court of Cassation Civil General Assembly, E.2000/18-48, K.2000/38, 02.02.2000: historical decision; the pre-2001 procedure has not been accepted as directly current.
Date of legislation and source check: 15 October 2026.