Unofficial English translation for information only. In case of discrepancy, the Turkish text prevails. This translation is not legal advice.
Turkish source: Law No. 634, Official Gazette 02/07/1965, No. 12038. Turkish text as published on mevzuat.gov.tr, checked on 26 October 2026: https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=634&MevzuatTur=1&MevzuatTertip=5
CHAPTER THREE – Rights of Condominium Owners and Holders of Construction Servitudes
Article 15 – I - Over the independent section
Subject to the relevant provisions of this Law, condominium owners shall have all the rights and powers granted to owners by the Civil Code over their independent sections.
Article 16 – II - Over common areas
Condominium owners shall own all common areas of the main immovable property in proportion to their land shares, in accordance with the provisions on co-ownership.
Condominium owners shall have the right to use common areas; unless otherwise agreed by contract, the extent of that right in places such as common coal storage rooms, garages, terraces, laundries and clothes-drying areas shall be in proportion to the land share belonging to each condominium owner.
Article 17 – B) Rights of holders of condominium easements
Holders of condominium easements are mutually entitled to demand and bring an action for the performance of the obligations incumbent upon them so that the building to be constructed on the common plot is commenced and completed within the period specified in the contract.
(Amended: 13/4/1983 -2814/7 art.) Holders of condominium easements may appoint one or more persons from among themselves or from outside as manager for the completion of the building. The provisions concerning the duties, powers and responsibilities of the manager of a condominium shall also apply to that manager.
(Added: 13/4/1983 - 2814/7 art.) In immovable properties on which condominium easements have been established, if the building has in fact been completed and two-thirds of the independent units have in fact begun to be used, the provisions on condominiums shall apply to the management of the main immovable property even if it has not been converted into condominium ownership.
CHAPTER FOUR – Obligations of Condominium Owners and Holders of Construction Servitudes
Article 18 – I - General rule
Condominium owners are mutually obliged, when using both their independent units and their appurtenances and common areas, to comply with the rules of good faith, in particular not to disturb one another, not to infringe one another’s rights, and to comply with the provisions of the management plan.
The provisions of this Law concerning the obligations of condominium owners shall also apply to tenants in independent units, holders of a right of residence (sükna), and persons who continuously benefit from such units in any manner; those who fail to perform these obligations shall be jointly and severally liable together with the condominium owners.
Article 19 – II - Maintenance and preservation of the main immovable property and liability for damage
Condominium owners are obliged to maintain the main immovable property and carefully preserve its architectural condition, beauty and soundness.
(Amended second paragraph: 14/11/2007-5711/8 art.) A condominium owner may not have construction, repairs or installations carried out in the common areas of the main immovable property, or have its exterior whitewashed or painted in a different colour, without the written consent of four-fifths of all condominium owners. However, where a court has determined that a defect in a common area or installation has caused damage to the main structure or to one or more independent units and must be repaired urgently, or that strengthening the main structure is necessary, the consent of the condominium owners is not required for such repair or strengthening to be carried out in accordance with the project and technical requirements. A condominium owner may not carry out repairs, installations or alterations in their own independent unit that could damage the main structure. Repairs, installations and alterations that do not damage the main structure may be carried out, with the common consent of the owners of the relevant units, in the connected parts of independent units joined by a ceiling, floor or wall.
Each condominium owner is liable to the other condominium owners for damage caused through their fault to the main immovable property or other independent units.
Article 20 – III - Participation in the general expenses of the main immovable property
(Amended first paragraph: 13/4/1983-2814/9 art.) Unless otherwise agreed among them, each condominium owner:
a) equally to the expenses for the doorman, heating attendant, gardener and watchman, and to the advance collected for them;
b) in proportion to their land share to the insurance premiums of the main immovable property; the expenses for maintenance, preservation, strengthening and repair of all common areas, and other expenses such as the manager’s fee; the operating expenses of common installations; and the advances collected for these expenses;[4]
is obliged to contribute.
c) A condominium owner may not avoid paying their share of these expenses and advances by waiving the right to use common areas or installations, or by claiming that, due to the condition of their own independent unit, there is no need or reason to benefit from them.
(Amended: 13/4/1983-2814/9 art.) An action may be brought, or enforcement proceedings may be initiated, against a condominium owner who fails to pay their share of expenses or advances, by any of the other condominium owners or by the manager, pursuant to the management plan, this Law and general provisions. A condominium owner who fails to pay the full share of expenses and advances is obliged to pay default compensation at a rate of five per cent per month for the days of delay in payment.[5]
If the expenses referred to in the first paragraph were caused by the faulty conduct of a condominium owner or of a person benefiting in any manner from that owner’s independent unit, the persons who contributed to the expenses have a right of recourse against that condominium owner or the persons who caused the expenses for the payments they made.
Article 21 – IV - Insurance agreement
The condominium owners’ assembly may decide to insure the main immovable property at a value to be determined by that assembly.
If insurance is taken out, condominium owners are obliged to contribute to the insurance expenses in proportion to their land shares.
If the entire main immovable property is destroyed, the insurance proceeds shall, unless otherwise agreed, be distributed among the condominium owners in proportion to their land shares.
If only one or more independent units or appurtenances, or part of the common areas, are damaged, the insurance proceeds shall be spent on repairing the damaged areas in proportion to the land shares.
Condominium owners may separately insure their own independent units in their own names and for their own account to cover their losses that cannot be compensated by the insurance of the main immovable property; in that case, the insurance proceeds shall belong solely to them, without prejudice to their respective shares in the insurance proceeds for the main immovable property.
Mandatory provisions concerning insurance are reserved.
Article 22 – V - Security for common expenses
(Amended first paragraph: 13/4/1983 - 2814/10 art.) Persons who continuously benefit from an independent unit on the basis of a lease, a right of residence (sükna) or another cause shall also be jointly and severally liable for the condominium owner’s share of the expenses and advance payments under Article 20 and for default compensation. However, a tenant’s liability is limited to the amount of rent they are obliged to pay, and any payment they make shall be deducted from the rent debt.
If the condominium owner’s debt cannot be collected in this way either, a statutory mortgage right for the amount of that debt shall be registered on the independent unit of the condominium owner who fails to pay the debt determined by the court, in favour of the other condominium owners, upon the written request of the manager, if any, or otherwise of one of the condominium owners. (Amended final sentence: 14/11/2007-5711/10 art.) The provision of the final paragraph of Article 893 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 shall also apply here.
(Amended: 13/4/1983 - 2814/10 art.) The claims of condominium owners against a condominium owner who fails to pay the expenses or against other persons liable for them shall have priority.
Article 23 – VI - Obligation to permit access
If it is necessary to enter another independent unit to repair or remedy damage or a defect occurring in the independent unit of a condominium owner or in installations in that unit, to reconstruct the installations, or to conduct technical inspections deemed necessary in connection with building safety, the owner of that unit or persons residing in it in another capacity are obliged to permit entry and to tolerate the necessary work being carried out in the unit.[6]
If part of the main immovable property is destroyed and it is necessary to make use of the interior or exterior of the independent units that remain sound in order to reconstruct the destroyed independent unit and its appurtenances, common areas or installations in the independent unit, the owners of those units or persons residing there in another capacity are obliged to permit this.
The owners of the independent units for whose benefit permission is granted are obliged to immediately compensate the damage suffered by condominium owners or other persons residing there as a result of the permission specified in the preceding paragraphs.
Article 24 – VII - Prohibited activities
Establishments such as hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, polyclinics and pharmaceutical laboratories may not be set up in an independent unit of the main immovable property designated in the register as a residence, workplace or commercial premises; agreements by condominium owners to the contrary are void; consulting rooms that are not in the nature of a dispensary, clinic or polyclinic are excluded from this provision.
Places of entertainment and assembly such as cinemas, theatres, coffeehouses, music halls, nightclubs, bars, clubs and dance halls, and food and catering establishments such as bakeries, restaurants, patisseries and dairies, as well as places such as workshops, dyehouses, printing houses, shops, galleries and bazaars, may be opened in an independent unit of the main immovable property designated in the register as a residence only by a unanimous decision of the condominium owners’ assembly.
(Added paragraph: 13/2/2011-6111/194 art.) Until regulations concerning law offices and legal offices are made in the Attorneyship Law No. 1136, attorneyship and legal office activities in residences may continue. This period is two years from the date this Article enters into force. This provision shall also apply to offices opened by members of the profession until the relevant regulations are made in the Law on Certified Public Accountancy and Sworn-in Certified Public Accountancy No. 3568.
Upon the request of the manager or one of the condominium owners, this decision shall be annotated on the pages in the condominium register for all independent units.
Article 25 – VIII - Obligation to transfer condominium ownership
If one of the condominium owners, by failing to perform the obligations incumbent upon them under this Law, infringes the rights of the other condominium owners to such an extent that continued coexistence becomes unbearable for them, they may request the judge to order the transfer to them of the ownership right over that condominium owner’s independent unit.
(Amended second paragraph: 14/11/2007-5711/12 art.) In such a case, bringing an action for the ownership of the independent unit to be transferred to the other condominium owners, in proportion to their land shares, against payment to that condominium owner of the value of the unit as of the date closest to the judgment, shall, unless otherwise decided, require a decision by a majority of the other condominium owners in number and land shares. If, despite this decision, some of the condominium owners do not wish to bring the action, the other condominium owners shall bring it, and before giving judgment the judge shall grant the claimants an appropriate period, to be determined ex officio, to deposit in a bank account with successive three-month terms the transfer price for future payment to the person entitled to it and to submit the receipt. If a document showing that the transfer price was deposited within the prescribed period is submitted and the action is upheld, the judge shall order the ownership of the defendant’s independent unit to be transferred to the condominium owners who brought the action in proportion to their land shares, and the transfer price, together with accrued interest, to be paid to the defendant.
In the following circumstances, the unbearable condition referred to in the first paragraph shall in any event be presumed to exist:
a) Causing enforcement or court proceedings to be initiated against them three times within two calendar years because they failed to pay their share of common expenses and advances;
b) Persisting for one year in infringing the rights of the other condominium owners by failing to perform the obligations set out in this Law, despite an order issued under Article 33 by the civil judge of peace for the place where the main immovable property is located;
c) Engaging in conduct contrary to morality and good manners by using their independent unit as a brothel, gambling house or similar premises.
(Amended fourth paragraph: 14/11/2007-5711/12 art.) The right to bring an action under this Article shall lapse if it is not exercised within six months from the date on which the decision of the condominium owners to bring an action for transfer became known and, in any event, within five years from the date the right to bring the action arose, or if the ground for the action has ceased to exist.
Article 26 – B) Obligations of holders of condominium easements
Holders of condominium easements are mutually obliged to perform in due time the obligations incumbent upon them to complete, in accordance with the contract and plan, the building to be constructed on the common plot subject to that right for subsequent conversion into condominium ownership, and to facilitate the construction work in accordance with the rules of good faith.
(Amended second paragraph: 14/11/2007-5711/13 art.) If one of the holders of condominium easements fails to perform their obligations within two months from the date of a notice served through a notary public, the judge shall, upon the written request of the others, order the transfer of that person’s land share and condominium easement to the other co-owners in proportion to their land shares, in return for their value as of the date closest to the judgment.
If the condominium easement lapses because the building could not be constructed within the statutory period due to the fault of one of its holders, the party at fault is obliged to compensate the others for the damage they have suffered as a result.
Notes
[4] By Article 9 of Law No. 5711 dated 14/11/2007, the phrase “, strengthening” was added after the word “protection” in this subparagraph.
[5] By Article 9 of Law No. 5711 dated 14/11/2007, the phrase “ten per cent” in this paragraph was changed to “five per cent”.
[6] By Article 11 of Law No. 5711 dated 14/11/2007, the phrase “and technical examinations deemed necessary in relation to building safety” was added after the phrase “reconstruction of the facilities” in this paragraph.