Eviction of 10-Year Tenants in Turkey: The 10-Year Extension Rule Explained
In Turkey, a landlord can end a residential or roofed-workplace tenancy with no fault and no stated reason only after ten extension years have run on top of the original lease term (TBK Art. 347) — in practice about eleven years from the day the tenancy started. To use this right you must serve written notice at least three months before the relevant extension year ends, and if the tenant stays you bring an eviction action at the Civil Court of Peace. The rest of this guide explains the calculation, the notice rules, the mandatory mediation step and the alternative grounds — written for foreign owners deciding how and when to recover their property.
Why Turkish Law Protects Long-Term Tenants
Turkish tenancy law leans strongly toward the tenant. Under the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK, Law No. 6098), a residential or roofed-workplace lease does not simply end when the agreed term expires. It automatically renews for successive one-year periods on the same terms unless the tenant gives notice that they are leaving.
A landlord, by contrast, cannot terminate just because the fixed term has ended (TBK Art. 347, first sentence). A foreign owner who buys an apartment or a commercial unit with a sitting tenant often discovers that, without a specific legal ground such as genuine personal need or rent default, there is no quick way to recover the property at the end of the contract year. The same logic runs through ordinary residential and commercial lease agreements in Turkey.
The 10-year extension rule is the main exception: it is the one situation where the law lets a landlord end the tenancy without proving any fault or need at all.
What the 10-Year Extension Rule Actually Says
The rule sits in TBK Art. 347, second sentence. The wording is technical and is often misread. It does not mean "ten years and the tenant must go."
The correct reading is this:
- A lease starts with its agreed term (for example, one year). This is the contract period.
- When the contract period ends, the lease moves into extension (renewal) periods, each one year long.
- Once ten extension years have passed after the end of the contract period, the landlord gains a no-fault termination right.
- From then on, the landlord may terminate at the end of each later extension year, provided written notice is given at least three months before that year ends.
So the landlord's no-fault right usually matures around eleven years after the tenancy begins (the initial fixed term plus ten extension years), not exactly ten. Getting this calculation right matters, because serving notice too early makes it invalid.
A simple worked example
Say a one-year lease begins on 1 January 2014. The contract period ends on 31 December 2014. Ten extension years then run from 2015 through to the end of 2024. The first extension year the landlord can terminate ends on 31 December 2025 — provided written notice reaches the tenant by roughly the end of September 2025 (at least three months earlier). If notice is missed, the landlord waits for the next year-end and serves again.
The Notice Requirement: Form and Timing
A valid termination under the 10-year extension rule turns on two things being right: form and timing.
Form of notice — writing is mandatory
Under TBK Art. 348, a termination notice for a residential or roofed-workplace lease must be in writing to be valid. This is not just an evidence rule — an oral demand, a phone call or a casual message has no legal effect at all. Written form is a condition of validity, full stop.
Timing of notice
The notice must reach the tenant at least three months before the end of the relevant extension year. Miss that window and the tenancy rolls over for another year; you then wait and serve again before the next year-end. Because the deadline is tied to the precise anniversary of the lease, check the calculation carefully against the original contract.
Eviction Grounds at a Glance
The 10-year route is one of several. The grounds differ on notice form, timing and — importantly — on whether a short filing deadline applies. The table below summarises the main routes for TBK-governed leases.
| Ground | Notice form | Notice timing | Filing deadline for the action | Court |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10-year extension (Art. 347) | Written (mandatory) | At least 3 months before the extension year ends, after 10 extension years | No special short limitation period is settled; file during that extension year (see note below) | Civil Court of Peace |
| Owner / family need or reconstruction (Art. 350) | Written | At lease-term or extension-year end | Within 1 month of the term's end (Art. 353) | Civil Court of Peace |
| New owner's need (Art. 351) | Written | Notice within 1 month of acquisition; then act within the timing below | Within 1 month of giving notice, or at the lease term's end | Civil Court of Peace |
| Two justified warnings / non-payment (Art. 352) | Written warnings | Two valid rent warnings within one lease year | Within 1 month of the lease year's end | Civil Court of Peace (or enforcement route) |
Mandatory Mediation Before You Can Sue
Since 1 September 2023, mediation has been a precondition to filing most lease and eviction disputes. The change was introduced by Law No. 7445 and codified in the Mediation Law (HUAK, Law No. 6325). You must attempt mediation first; the mediation final record (son tutanak) is then attached to your court filing. Without it, the court dismisses the case on procedure, so this step is not optional. For how the process works in practice, see our overview of how rental disputes and mediation work in Turkey.
One key exception for non-payment cases: eviction pursued through the enforcement office without a court judgment — ilamsız icra yoluyla tahliye under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (İİK, Law No. 2004) — falls outside the mandatory-mediation requirement. Many rent-default disputes start on this enforcement route precisely for that reason. Which path fits depends on the ground you are relying on, so take advice before you choose.
From Notice to Court: The Eviction Action
Serving a valid notice does not, by itself, remove a tenant who refuses to go. If the tenant stays past the termination date, the landlord must bring an eviction action (tahliye davası).
- Where: the claim is filed with the Civil Court of Peace (Sulh Hukuk Mahkemesi) for the location of the property.
- Mediation first: attempt mandatory mediation and attach the final record to the filing (see above).
- When to file: for the Art. 347 ten-year route, file the action during the extension year that follows the notice; there is no settled special short limitation period for this ground. For the need-based and warning grounds (Art. 350, 351, 352), a strict one-month filing window applies — let it lapse and you lose the right for that cycle.
- Evidence: the lease agreement, the notarised notice with proof of delivery, and a clear calculation of the extension years.
If the court is satisfied that the notice was valid and timely, it orders eviction. Where the tenant still does not leave, the judgment is carried out by enforcement through the icra office under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (İİK, Law No. 2004).
What documents you will need
- The signed lease agreement (and any renewals or addenda).
- The title deed (tapu) showing ownership.
- The written notice plus proof of delivery (the notary record).
- A dated calculation of the contract period and the elapsed extension years.
- The mediation final record (son tutanak), where mediation applies.
For how we run these matters end to end, see our service page on evicting a long-term tenant in Turkey or contact us to discuss your property.
Can the Tenant Fight a 10-Year Eviction?
Yes — and anxious owners search exactly this. The Art. 347 right is real, but it is not automatic, and a tenant who wants to stay has several arguments. Knowing them in advance is how you avoid losing a cycle.
- The notice date or calculation is wrong. If the lease start date is misread, or the three-month window was missed, the notice fails and the tenancy rolls over for another year.
- Ten extension years have not actually elapsed. The tenant may dispute the commencement date or argue the lease was a fresh contract rather than a continuous renewal.
- The mediation record is missing or defective. No valid final record means the case is dismissed on procedure, regardless of the merits.
- Form defects. An informal or unproven notice can be challenged for failing the written-form rule under TBK Art. 348.
None of these go to the landlord's underlying right; they go to whether this attempt was done correctly. Clean dates, a notary notice and a complete mediation file remove most of them before they start.
Other Routes to Eviction You Should Know
If your tenancy has not yet reached the ten-extension-year mark, other grounds may be open:
- Owner or family need / reconstruction (TBK Art. 350): the landlord genuinely needs the property for their own use, or that of a spouse, descendants or ascendants, or for major works that make occupation impossible.
- New owner's need (TBK Art. 351): someone who buys a property with a sitting tenant can claim it for their own genuine need. The timing is specific — the new owner gives written notice within one month of acquiring the property, then either sues within one month of that notice, or waits and acts at the end of the lease term. This matters greatly to foreign buyers acquiring tenanted real estate.
- Non-payment and the two-warnings rule (TBK Art. 352): if a tenant defaults on rent twice within one lease year after two valid written warnings, the landlord can seek eviction. We cover the mechanics in our guide to the two-justified-warnings rule (TBK 352).
If you are buying a tenanted unit
A point foreign buyers often miss: the ten-year extension clock attaches to the lease, not the owner. Extension years that ran under the previous landlord count toward your ten. So if you buy a unit where the lease has already run, say, eight extension years, you inherit a running clock and may be far closer to the Art. 347 right than you expect. Confirm the original commencement date and the renewal history before you complete the purchase. This applies equally to commercial units: a roofed business premises is inside the TBK regime, while an unroofed lot or bare land lease generally is not.
How Long It Takes and What to Expect
Foreign owners' first question is usually "how long will this take?" There is no guaranteed timetable — durations vary by court workload, the property's location and whether the tenant contests — but the sequence is predictable, and that is what you should plan around.
- Mediation: a matter of weeks once it starts; it must conclude (with a final record) before you can file.
- Court stage: the Civil Court of Peace action typically runs over several months and can take longer if the tenant raises defences or the matter goes to appeal (istinaf).
- Enforcement: if a judgment is needed and the tenant still does not leave, enforcement through the icra office adds further time.
Treat the process as a chain of dated steps rather than a single demand. Building in the three-month notice window, the mediation step and the court timetable from the outset is the single best way to avoid losing a whole extension-year cycle.
Practical Advice for Foreign Property Owners
- Audit the lease before you buy. Confirm the lease start date and how many extension years have already run — remember the clock follows the lease, not the owner.
- Diarise the notice deadline. The three-month window before the extension year-end is unforgiving. Calendar it well in advance.
- Always use a notary. A notarised notice (ihtarname) both satisfies the written-form rule and gives the cleanest proof of content and delivery.
- Do not self-evict. Changing locks, cutting utilities or removing belongings is unlawful in Turkey and can expose you to compensation claims and even criminal liability.
- Plan for mediation and the right deadline. Mediation is a precondition for most actions, and the one-month filing window applies to the need-based grounds — not, as it stands, to the Art. 347 route. Map the correct sequence to your facts.
Because lease wording and dates vary, and because the law leans toward tenant protection, have a Turkish lawyer review your specific situation before any notice is served.
Frequently asked questions
Can I evict my tenant in Turkey simply because the 10-year mark has passed?
Not automatically. The landlord's no-fault right arises only after ten extension years have run following the initial contract period, which usually means around eleven years from the start of the tenancy. You must then serve valid written notice at least three months before the end of the relevant extension year, attempt mandatory mediation, and if the tenant stays, bring an eviction action. The tenant does not have to leave until that process is correctly completed.
Does the notice have to go through a notary?
Written form is mandatory: under TBK Art. 348 a termination notice that is not in writing has no legal effect, so an oral or informal demand can never be enough. A notary notice (ihtarname) is strongly recommended on top of that, because it gives reliable proof of the content and the delivery date — proof that is often decisive if the dispute reaches court.
What happens if I miss the three-month notice deadline?
The lease automatically renews for another one-year extension period. You then wait and serve a fresh valid notice at least three months before the next extension year ends. Missing the deadline does not forfeit the right permanently, but it delays eviction by a full year.
Do I have to go to court if the tenant ignores my notice, and how soon must I file?
Yes. A valid notice ends the tenancy on paper, but if the tenant refuses to leave you must attempt mandatory mediation and then file an eviction action at the Civil Court of Peace. For the ten-year (Art. 347) route, no special short limitation period is settled, so you file during the relevant extension year. The strict one-month filing window applies to the need-based and warning grounds (Art. 350, 351, 352), not to the Art. 347 route — though some courts apply it by analogy, so confirm local practice with your lawyer.
I bought a tenanted property in Turkey. Do the previous owner's years count toward my ten?
Yes. The ten-year extension clock attaches to the lease, not the owner, so extension years that ran under the previous landlord count toward your ten. A new owner can also rely on their own genuine need under TBK Art. 351 — giving written notice within one month of acquiring the property — or on grounds such as repeated non-payment under Art. 352. The best route depends on the lease start date and the facts, so have the contract reviewed before you act.
