Possessing land for many years, paying the tax on it or building on it does not in every case lead to title. Registration based on possession requires that the property be legally capable of acquisition, that the use be continued in the capacity of owner, and that the other conditions of the relevant law be met. Land that is not registered and land registered in someone else’s name are not governed by the same regime.
Article 713 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 (TMK) generally requires twenty years of uninterrupted possession, without litigation, held in the capacity of owner. Article 712 TMK, by contrast, is a different institution: it concerns ten years of good-faith possession by a person who appears as owner in the land register without a valid legal ground. On state forests, pastures, coastlines or land allocated to public services, the mere passage of time does not create private ownership. 12
First Establish the Registry and Public-Property Status of the Property
No Entry in the Land Registry at All
TMK Article 713(1) allows an application for registration in respect of all, part or a share of a property that is not recorded in the land register. However, the absence of registration is not the same as ownerlessness or eligibility for acquisition. It must be investigated why the land was left outside the cadastral determination, for example because it is a road, a watercourse, rocky ground, forest or pasture.
This investigation is not complete when the land registry office simply answers that there is no record. The cadastral map sheet, the reason for exclusion from the determination, forest and pasture records, the zoning plan and documents from the relevant public bodies must be read together. Of two apparently empty plots, one may be suitable for private ownership while the other may be public property. The article on annulment of title on the basis of Treasury and public-property claims can also be used for comparison.
When the Property Is Registered in Someone Else’s Name
For registered property, the narrow conditions of TMK Article 713(2) are important. The current provision addresses situations in which the owner cannot be identified from the land register, or in which a declaration of absence (gaiplik) was issued twenty years earlier. The owner’s address being unknown, the owner living abroad or the heirs being unreachable is not the same as the owner’s identity being impossible to determine from the register. 1
It is particularly wrong to treat land registered in the name of a deceased owner as “ownerless”. Heirs may acquire rights under the law. The absence of a transfer of the registration to the heirs does not, by itself, pass the property to the neighbour who uses it. For more detail, the article on registration of property acquired without a formal title transfer may also be read.
| Legal situation | Governing regime | Why the period alone is not enough |
|---|---|---|
| The registered owner’s entry is not based on a valid legal ground | TMK Article 712 | Ten years, good faith and other conditions are required |
| Unregistered land suitable for acquisition | TMK Article 713(1) | Uninterrupted use in the capacity of owner and special statutory conditions are required |
| Registered property whose owner cannot be identified from the register | TMK Article 713(2) | A genuine uncertainty in the register must be proven |
| Registered property in the name of a missing person | TMK Article 713(2) | The declaration of absence and the possession conditions are examined separately |
| Forest, pasture or coast | Special public-property regime | The length of use does not remove the bar on private ownership |
What Characteristics Must Twenty Years of Use Have?
Possession in the Capacity of Owner
Possession in the capacity of owner means holding the property as one’s own, not as a tenant, a borrower or a permitted user who acknowledges another’s superior right. A person who pays rent cannot years later present the same period as use in the capacity of owner. Where it is claimed that the legal basis of the use has changed, it must be explained when and how that change occurred.
Cultivation of a field by one person within a family does not automatically extinguish the shares of the other heirs. The existence of a partnership or of a family permission for the use must be investigated. A very long period of factual use does not make the question of the capacity in which it was held unnecessary.
Uninterrupted Continuation Without Litigation
Possession must continue for the full statutory period. Using the land in line with a seasonal farming cycle is not the same as abandoning it for years. Adding the period of a predecessor also depends on a lawful transfer of possession and on the predecessor having met the possession conditions. TMK Article 996, which regulates the addition of periods, does not by itself make incomplete or unsuitable use valid. 1
The effect of disputes and interventions on the period depends on the nature of the dispute. TMK Article 714 provides that the rules of the law of obligations apply by analogy to the calculation, interruption and suspension of the period. Simply subtracting the starting year from today is therefore not a sufficient legal calculation.
Area Limits Under the Cadastre Law and the Development–Reclamation Requirement
Article 14 of the Cadastre Law No. 3402 sets total area limits for undocumented acquisition of unregistered property within the same survey area: forty dönüm of irrigated land and one hundred dönüm of dry land. These are not unlimited rights that can be used separately for each parcel. Total acquisitions within the same survey area and the distinction between irrigated and dry land must be investigated. For the part exceeding the limit, the documents the law requires gain particular importance. 2
Under Article 17, development and reclamation (imar and ihya) means making land suitable for agriculture through labour and expense. It is not the same concept as obtaining a building permit or a municipality carrying out zoning implementation. Occasional ploughing, clearing scrub or fencing the land does not in every case show a completed reclamation.
Where reclamation is relied on, the date from which twenty years of use may be counted is linked to the date on which reclamation was completed. The land must also be non-forest, not allocated to a public service and suitable for the application of the provision. The Act states that this reclamation provision does not apply to places within the zoning plans of provinces (il), districts (ilçe) and towns (kasaba). The current and historical planning status of the parcel must therefore be included in the file. 2
Can Title Be Obtained Today on the Basis of a Deceased Owner’s Entry?
The word “deceased” (ölmüş) that appeared in TMK Article 713(2) was annulled by the Constitutional Court (AYM) in its decision of March 17, 2011, E.2009/58, K.2011/52. The current text of the law shows this annulment expressly. It is therefore not possible to act today as if a new acquisition rule exists merely because the registered owner died twenty years earlier. 13 On this topic, the article on certificate of inheritance may also be consulted.
The Debate over Vested Rights Before 2011
In its decision of October 1, 2019, E.2017/1671, K.2019/973, the Civil General Assembly of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay Hukuk Genel Kurulu) examined the exceptional situation in which the conditions were completed before the annulment. The majority accepted that if the conditions for acquisition were completed before March 17, 2011, the acquired right must be assessed; it did not find it appropriate to refuse on the basis of the annulled provision alone, and it reversed the lower court’s decision of insistence (direnme kararı). 4
The dissenting opinion in that decision emphasized that the annulled provision cannot be applied in a later case and that the ownership of known heirs should be protected. Dates in older matters must therefore be examined carefully. Even the majority’s approach does not mean that “if the owner died before 2011, title is obtained”: the twenty-year period and the other acquisition conditions must have been completed before the critical date.
This historical exception must also not be confused with a claim concerning land whose owner is unknown. If the owner’s identity can be established through the register and population records, the condition that the owner cannot be determined from the register may not be met, even if the address is unknown. The factual basis of the claim must be clearly set out.
Why Do Different Rules Apply to Forests, Pastures and 2/B Areas?
The length of use on public property does not remove the rule that such land cannot pass into private ownership. In areas such as state forests and pastures, removing trees, converting land into a field or paying taxes does not create title. Article 18 of the Cadastre Law provides that certain public property cannot be acquired by acquisitive prescription, whether or not it is registered. 2
2/B areas, although not in the same current status as forests, do not produce the result that “anyone can acquire them after twenty years of use”. The provisions of Law No. 6292 on sale, return and the prohibition of acquisition by possession apply. User registration and the rights of holders may be part of the sale process; it is not a direct private-ownership document. For details, see the guide on forest and 2/B land.
Which Evidence Proves Possession?
Witness statements are important, but they must be verifiable in terms of time and place. The statement “I have used it since my childhood” must explain which year, which parcel and which form of use it describes. The position of independent local witnesses who have no interest in the outcome of the case is also assessed.
Aerial photographs, orthophotos, old local maps and satellite images help compare the dates of use. A single current satellite image does not prove the situation twenty years earlier. The dates and resolution of the images, and whether they show the same land, must be explained by an expert. Linking historical images to fixed points on the ground prevents incorrect parcel matching.
| Evidence | What it shows | What it does not show on its own |
|---|---|---|
| Tax record or payment | Declaration and payment history | Definitive ownership right |
| Electricity or water subscription | Connection to use at a specific location | Possession of the whole land in the capacity of owner |
| Old aerial photograph | Historical surface and use | The identity and legal capacity of the user |
| Witnesses and a local expert | Transfer, use, boundary and timing information | An error-free technical measurement of the boundary |
| Survey and agricultural report | Location, area, agricultural character and reclamation | The final legal interpretation of the acquisition conditions |
Consistency between the evidence is as important as its strength. If the tax record points to a different location, the witness account extends to the entire land, and the imagery shows that only a small part was cultivated, such a contradiction must be explained before registration is requested. A separate assessment is in the article on witness evidence in civil lawsuits.
Parties, Public Notice and Judgment in a Registration Action
TMK Article 713 provides that the action must be brought against the Treasury and the relevant public legal persons or, where they exist, against the heirs of the person registered as owner. The necessary parties must be determined according to the status of the specific property. Where the registered owner has died, the inheritance and representation position is investigated rather than directing the action at the deceased person. As to territorial jurisdiction, the location of the property is decisive. 15
The public-notice process is also a special element of the action. The current provision requires the notice to be published in one newspaper and one internet news site, and also at least three times at the location of the property by suitable means and at suitable intervals. The absence of objections within three months of the last notice is not sufficient for registration by itself; the claimant must still prove the claim. If an objection is made, its merits are examined. 1
The judgment must state the nature, location, boundaries and surface area of the property, and a sketch (kroki) containing the technical information must be attached. If the area requested is not specific, the judgment upholding the claim may prevent its application in the land registry. Where there is a separate time-limit problem based on the finality of the cadastral determination, the distinction made in the article on objection to a cadastral determination must also be drawn. A separate guide is the article on steps following an annulment of title and a registration judgment.
Conclusion
In title registration based on possession, the question is not only “for how many years has it been used?”. The legal acquirability of the property, the status of the register, the capacity of use, the starting date and whether the evidence points to the same area are examined together. The annulment of the deceased-owner provision and the bans on public property must be given particular attention. Even if the period appears to be complete, a registration result cannot be reached without establishing the legal and technical conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is paying taxes for twenty years enough to obtain title?
No. Tax payment may serve as supporting evidence, but it does not replace the acquirability of the property and the other conditions of possession in the capacity of owner.
Can I count the period I used the land as a tenant toward ownership?
A tenant uses the property while accepting another’s ownership. That period is not counted as possession in the capacity of owner. If a different legal relationship arose later, it must be proven separately.
The owner died and the heirs did not take the title; is the land ownerless?
No. Heirs may acquire ownership under the law. The lack of a transfer in the register does not make the property ownerless.
Does “the owner is unknown” mean that the address is unknown?
No. The condition in TMK Article 713(2) is that the owner cannot be identified from the register. An unsuccessful address search alone is not sufficient.
Can I add my father’s period of use to my own period?
Where the transfer of possession was lawful and the earlier use met the required conditions, adding the periods may be considered. An abstract family relationship does not remedy every deficiency.
Can I acquire a forest or pasture if I turn it into a field?
Changing the use does not remove the public-property regime. In places where acquisition is prohibited, such as state forests and pastures, twenty years of use do not confer title.
If nobody objects to the public notices, is the case certain to be won?
No. Completion of the notice process must be accompanied by proof of the legal conditions. The court does not issue a registration judgment merely because there has been silence.
Sources and legal bases
- Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 (4721 sayılı Türk Medeni Kanunu), Art. 599, 705, 712–715, 973 and 996; Constitutional Court annulment note on Article 713.
- Cadastre Law No. 3402 (3402 sayılı Kadastro Kanunu), Art. 12–18; Law No. 6292 (6292 sayılı Kanun), in particular Art. 6, 7 and 10.
- Constitutional Court (Anayasa Mahkemesi), March 17, 2011, E.2009/58, K.2011/52. The effect of the annulment on current legislation was verified against the official TMK text; its historical rationale and scope were also examined in the Civil General Assembly decision below.
- Civil General Assembly of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay Hukuk Genel Kurulu), October 1, 2019, E.2017/1671, K.2019/973. The full text and the dissenting opinion were reviewed via Consülto; it is a secondary source.
- Law No. 6100 on Civil Procedure (6100 sayılı Hukuk Muhakemeleri Kanunu), Art. 2, 12, 190 and 266 et seq. Sources last accessed: October 13, 2026.