Family residence in Turkey: annotating and removing it

If the family residence (aile konutu) in Turkey is registered to one spouse only, the other spouse can ask the land registry office (tapu müdürlüğü) to enter an annotation (aile konutu şerhi) on the title deed register (Article 194(3) of the Turkish Civil Code, TMK). The annotation does not make the property a family residence. If it already is one, the owner cannot sell it, mortgage it or terminate its lease without the other spouse's express consent (Article 194(1) TMK). What the annotation does is make that visible to anyone who checks the register.

This article covers how the annotation is entered and removed, sales and mortgages without consent, enforcement by creditors, and whether a home in Turkey owned by spouses living in Germany or the Netherlands counts as a family residence at all. The provisions cited were checked in November 2026 against the current text in the official UYAP Mevzuat system.

What Article 194 TMK protects

Without the other spouse's express consent, a spouse may not terminate the lease of the family residence, transfer it, or restrict rights over it (Article 194(1) TMK). If consent cannot be obtained, or is refused without good reason, the spouse can apply to the court (Article 194(2)). If the home is rented, the spouse who is not a party to the lease becomes a joint tenant by notifying the landlord (Article 194(4)).

The Grand Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay Hukuk Genel Kurulu) follows a settled line on this. The restriction exists because the home is the family residence, not because an annotation was entered; the annotation is declaratory, not constitutive. Consent needs no particular form but must be express and given for a specific transaction, and the party who disposed of the home has to prove it (Yargıtay HGK, E. 2023/707, K. 2025/240, decision of 16.04.2025; Yargıtay HGK, E. 2025/678, K. 2026/489, decision of 16.09.2026).

So the protection exists even without an annotation. Once the annotation is there, however, a buyer or a bank cannot claim not to have known the home was the family residence. A third party who relies on the register in good faith is protected; one who knew or should have known that the entry was wrong is not (Articles 1023 and 1024 TMK).

Entering the annotation: application and documents

The annotation is requested by the spouse who is not the owner, at the land registry office (Article 194(3) TMK; Article 17(2) of the Land Registry Regulation, Tapu Sicili Tüzüğü). Under Article 49(1)(c) of the Regulation the office asks for:

a certificate of residence (yerleşim yeri belgesi) from the central population register or the civil registry office,
a civil registry extract (nüfus kayıt örneği) showing marital status.

The office verifies identity. If a representative applies, they need a power of attorney drawn up under the Turkish Notaries Act that authorises this transaction (Article 18(2) and (4) of the Regulation). From Germany or the Netherlands you can grant one at a Turkish consulate or before a local notary with an apostille.

If the owner disputes that the home is the family residence, the annotation has to be sought by a claim before the family court (aile mahkemesi). Cases arising from the family law book of the TMK fall to the family courts (Article 4 of Law No. 4787).

e-Devlet and fees. The Regulation allows some transactions that do not require official form to be applied for electronically, as determined by the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (TKGM) (Article 13). I could not confirm from an official source whether the family residence annotation can be requested through e-Devlet or Web Tapu. Tariff (4) of the Fees Act No. 492 does not list it as a separate item, but I could not confirm officially whether a fee or service charge is collected in practice either. Ask the land registry office or the TKGM line Alo 181 before applying.

Spouses living abroad: is the home in Turkey a family residence?

The law does not define "family residence". In a case concerning spouses who had lived abroad for years, the Grand Civil Chamber said that continuous use is not required: if a family living abroad has a single home that it uses when in Turkey and that is the centre of family life, it can be a family residence. In that case, however, the husband's parents lived in the flat permanently, his father paid the bills, and the couple stayed only 10 to 15 days a year, so the Chamber held that it was not a family residence (Yargıtay HGK, E. 2011/2-447, K. 2011/556, decision of 28.09.2011). The decision was by majority. The dissenting opinions saw the flat as the centre of the spouses' life in Turkey and accepted that there could be more than one family residence; the majority took the view that there is only one.

This question is contested. There is no express statutory provision on homes in Turkey owned by spouses who live abroad, and the decision above shows that the outcome depends on the facts: who uses the home, whether the spouses have another home in Turkey, how long they stay. My own assessment: where the spouses actually live in Germany and use the home in Turkey only on holiday, it is not certain that the land registry or a court will treat it as a family residence. How a court would decide a particular case cannot be predicted.

If the owner sells or mortgages the family residence without the other spouse's express consent, the Court of Cassation treats the transaction as invalid, and the other spouse can sue to have the register corrected. The Grand Civil Chamber upheld this in a case where the flat had been transferred without the wife's consent first to a third party and shortly afterwards to the couple's own child: the last buyer knew it was the family residence, and the defendants had acted together. The argument that the wife had tacitly consented because she knew of the sales was rejected (Yargıtay HGK, E. 2025/678, K. 2026/489, decision of 16.09.2026).

The same applies to mortgages. The 2nd Civil Chamber dealt with a flat sold at auction to the creditor on the basis of a mortgage granted without consent. Because the mortgage itself was invalid, the creditor's registration after the auction was also wrongful, and the flat had to be registered back to the former owner spouse. In that case the annotation had been entered only after the mortgage (Yargıtay 2. HD, E. 2024/762, K. 2025/6711, decision of 30.06.2025).

This does not mean every acquisition is reversed. Where there is no annotation and the buyer neither knew nor should have known that the home was the family residence, good-faith protection under Article 1023 TMK comes into play, and the court assesses it case by case. This is where the annotation matters in practice.

Can an annotated home be sold in enforcement proceedings?

Yes. Article 194 TMK limits what a spouse can do by contract; it does not stop creditors from enforcing. The 12th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation held expressly that the provision does not prevent attachment and sale of the family residence for the owner's debts. Only the debtor can rely on the exemption for a "home suited to the debtor's circumstances" (Article 82(1)(12) of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act, İcra ve İflas Kanunu, İİK); the spouse in whose favour the annotation was entered cannot, and "family residence" and "home suited to the debtor's circumstances" are different concepts. The Chamber also noted that a Constitutional Court (Anayasa Mahkemesi) finding of a rights violation on this point concerned only that application (Yargıtay 12. HD, E. 2025/3649, K. 2025/5359, decision of 17.09.2025).

The debtor-owner can invoke Article 82(1)(12) İİK. The exemption does not apply if the debt arises from the price of the home itself; if the home is worth more than is suitable, it is attached and sold, and a suitable part of the proceeds is left to the debtor to meet their needs (Article 82(2) and (3) İİK). Article 82 İİK was last amended in 2023 by Law No. 7445 (household goods). According to the amendment list in UYAP Mevzuat, Law No. 7589, in force since 31.07.2026, changed only Article 114 of the İİK; that concerns auctions to end co-ownership among heirs and does not affect the family residence.

If a mortgage was granted with express consent, the home can be sold in proceedings to enforce the mortgage. Where consent was missing, the 2nd Civil Chamber decision above becomes relevant.

Removing the annotation

Under the Land Registry Regulation, an entry is cancelled at the request of the person it benefits or on the basis of a court decision (Article 69(1)). That gives two routes:

Application by the spouse in whose favour it was entered, at the land registry office.
Court claim. If that spouse does not agree, the owner can sue in the family court for removal, for example because the home is not, or is no longer, the family residence.

When a divorce becomes final, the marriage ends and with it the home's status as family residence. A case reviewed by the Court of Cassation is instructive for couples divorced in Germany: the spouses had been divorced by the family court in Friedberg, but the judgment had not been recognised in Turkey, so the marriage still appeared in the Turkish registers. The regional appeal court noted that the annotation could then be removed only on application of the spouse it benefited or through the claim. Once recognition became final, the removal claim became moot; the Court of Cassation set the judgment aside only on the question of costs (Yargıtay 2. HD, E. 2024/10461, K. 2025/5411, decision of 28.05.2025).

Who may stay in the home after divorce is a separate matter: where fairness requires, the court can give one spouse a time-limited right to remain, which is annotated in the register (Article 254 TMK). Who owns the home depends on the matrimonial property regime; see division of property on divorce in Turkey.

Frequently asked questions

Does the annotation prevent a sale?

Not on its own. With the other spouse's express consent the owner can sell; if consent is refused without good reason, the owner can apply to the court (Article 194(1) and (2) TMK). The annotation stops a buyer from claiming ignorance.

What documents are needed for the annotation?

A certificate of residence and a civil registry extract showing marital status (Article 49(1)(c) Tapu Sicili Tüzüğü); a representative also needs a power of attorney covering the transaction (Article 18(4)).

Is there a fee?

The annotation is not listed as a separate item in the fee tariff. I could not confirm officially whether a fee or charge is collected in practice; ask the land registry office.

Yes. According to the Grand Civil Chamber, the annotation is declaratory; if the home is the family residence, express consent is required even without it (HGK, E. 2025/678, K. 2026/489).

Sources

Questions about your case

If you would like to have assessed whether a family residence annotation can be entered for your home in Turkey, how an existing annotation can be removed, or what can be done about a sale or mortgage made without your consent, you can choose a date for a video call, a phone call or a meeting in Düsseldorf on the appointment page. Written questions can be sent through the contact form. Useful to have ready:

the title deed or the block and parcel (ada/parsel) details,
your civil registry extract and certificate of residence,
who has used the home, since when, and for how much of the year,
any divorce judgment and the Turkish recognition decision.

Consultations are held in Turkish and cover Turkish law only (§ 206 BRAO); for questions of German or Dutch law, please consult a lawyer admitted in that country. More topics under family law and real estate law.