Inherited property in Turkey: partition and sale

If you have inherited property in Turkey together with other heirs and you cannot agree on what to do with it, the legal route is a partition lawsuit (ortaklığın giderilmesi davası) before the civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) where the property is located. Since 1 September 2023 you must go through mediation first; only if mediation fails can the lawsuit be filed. If the property belongs only to heirs, since 31 July 2026 the first auction is held among the heirs alone.

This often concerns families where the parents left a house, flat or plot of land in Turkey and some of the heirs live in Germany, the Netherlands or elsewhere in Europe. The process can be run from abroad; you do not have to travel to Turkey.

Joint ownership under Turkish law

The Turkish Civil Code (Türk Medeni Kanunu, TMK) has two forms of joint ownership. In co-ownership by shares (paylı mülkiyet) each owner holds a defined share, for example 1/4 in the land register (Art. 688 TMK). In joint ownership (elbirliği mülkiyeti) there are no defined shares; each owner's right extends to the whole property (Art. 701 TMK).

An estate with several heirs is joint ownership. Until the estate is divided, the heirs own it together and can only dispose of it together (Art. 640 TMK). One heir alone cannot sell the inherited house.

The way out is partition:

Each heir may ask for the estate to be divided at any time, unless a contract or the law obliges them to keep the community going (Art. 642(1) TMK).
Each co-owner by shares may also ask for partition (Art. 698(1) TMK). This right can be excluded by agreement for no more than ten years; for real estate, such an agreement must be made in official form (Art. 698(2) TMK).

Any co-owner or heir can file the lawsuit; the consent of the others is not required. Because the judgment binds all owners, the case is conducted against all the other co-owners. This follows from the rule on compulsory joinder in Art. 59–60 of the Turkish Code of Civil Procedure (HMK).

Mandatory mediation before the lawsuit

This is the first of two recent changes; the second concerns the auction and is explained below. Under Art. 18/B(1)(b) of the Turkish Mediation Act No. 6325 (HUAK), added by Act No. 7445, applying to a mediator before filing is a procedural precondition (dava şartı) in disputes on the division of movable and immovable property and the ending of joint ownership. The rule has applied since 1 September 2023; it does not apply to cases that were already pending on that date (provisional Art. 3 HUAK).

The procedure under Art. 18/A HUAK:

You apply to the mediation office at the seat of the competent court, which for partition is where the property is.
The mediator concludes the process within three weeks of appointment; in compelling cases this may be extended by one week at most.
If there is no agreement, a final report (son tutanak) is drawn up. The claimant attaches it to the statement of claim. A lawsuit filed without mediation is dismissed on procedural grounds.
A party who misses the first meeting without a valid excuse is ordered to pay half of the other side's litigation costs, even if they later win the case in whole or in part (Art. 18/A(11) HUAK).

If the parties settle, an enforceability annotation must be obtained for the agreement from the civil court of peace where the property is located (Art. 18/B(3) HUAK). Since 14 November 2024 (Act No. 7531), any party to a settlement on the transfer of real estate can then apply directly to the land registry, which registers the transfer after its own review without an official deed (resmî senet) (Art. 18/B(5) HUAK).

Mediation fees are governed by Art. 18/A(12)–(13) HUAK and an annual tariff, so I do not give amounts here.

Where and how is the partition lawsuit filed?

Subject-matter jurisdiction. The civil court of peace hears partition cases regardless of the value in dispute (Art. 4(1)(b) HMK).

Venue. The court where the property is located has exclusive jurisdiction (Art. 12(1) HMK). If several properties are involved, the case may be brought where one of them is located for all of them (Art. 12(3) HMK). Living abroad does not change this.

Applicable law. Turkish law applies to real estate in Turkey even if the deceased was a foreign national (Art. 20(1) of the Turkish Private International Law Act No. 5718, MÖHUK). Ownership of the property is also governed by the law of the place where it is located (Art. 21(1) MÖHUK).

Procedure. Cases before the civil court of peace follow the simplified procedure (Art. 316(1)(a) HMK).

Proof of heirship. Who the heirs are, and their shares, is shown by a Turkish certificate of inheritance (mirasçılık belgesi) (Art. 598 TMK). See Certificate of inheritance in Turkey for how to obtain one from abroad.

Division in kind or sale?

The law sets an order. Partition is done either by dividing the property in kind or by selling it by private sale or auction and dividing the proceeds (Art. 699(1) TMK). If the owners cannot agree, the judge first orders division in kind, with cash payments to balance unequal parts (Art. 699(2) TMK). If division is not suitable, in particular because the property would lose considerable value, the judge orders a sale by auction (Art. 699(3) TMK). If all owners are heirs, the first auction is held among them only; details below.

In an inheritance, at the request of one heir the judge looks at the estate as a whole and, where possible, allots each property in its entirety to one heir, with cash payments to balance the values (Art. 642(2) TMK). If immediate division would considerably reduce the value, the judge may postpone it (Art. 642(3) TMK).

For a sale, the judge appoints an officer, and the sale follows the Turkish Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act (Art. 322(2) HMK).

First auction among the heirs: the change of 31 July 2026

This is the newest rule on the sale. Act No. 7589 added sentences to Art. 114 of the Turkish Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act (İcra ve İflas Kanunu, İİK). Under them, if all owners acquired the property by inheritance and nobody other than the heirs owns any part of it, then when the court orders a partition by sale, the first auction is held only among the heirs who own the property. This procedure is used only once (Art. 114(2) İİK; for real property through Art. 126(1) İİK). The change has applied since 31 July 2026.

The sale then works like this:

Only the co-heirs take part in the first auction. A bid must exceed 100 per cent of the estimated value (muhammen kıymet) plus the costs of the sale and distribution (Art. 114 İİK).
If there is no sale, the second auction is public and third parties can bid too. Here a bid must exceed 50 per cent of the estimated value (or, if higher, the total of prior-ranking claims secured by a mortgage on the property) plus the costs (Art. 114 İİK).
A winning bidder who does not pay the price on time loses the deposit. After the costs are deducted, it is paid to the co-owners in proportion to their shares. If the defaulting bidder is a co-owner, the whole deposit goes to the other co-owners. The bidder is also fined 5 per cent of the bid (Art. 114 İİK).

If someone who is not an heir owns a share, for example because one heir sold their share to an outsider, this rule does not apply. The last sentence of Art. 699(3) TMK then applies: an auction limited to the co-owners requires the consent of all co-owners, and if even one objects, the auction is public.

Instead of going to court, you can sell your share. If a co-owner sells their share in real estate to a third party, the other co-owners may exercise their statutory right of pre-emption (önalım hakkı) (Art. 732 TMK). The latest change came with Act No. 7571 and has applied since 25 December 2025:

The right lapses three months after the sale is notified to the holder and in any case one year after the sale; previously this outer limit was two years (Art. 733(4) TMK). The change does not apply to sales made before it entered into force (provisional Art. 1(1) TMK).
The right cannot be exercised in forced auctions or in sales under the State Procurement Act No. 2886 (Art. 733(1) TMK).
In a pre-emption lawsuit the judge sets the market value of the share; if the holder does not deposit this amount and the buyer's land registry costs within the final time limit set by the judge, the share cannot be registered in their name (Art. 734(2) TMK). This rule also applies to cases filed before the change (provisional Art. 1(2) TMK).

Pre-emption concerns co-ownership by shares. While the estate is still undivided joint ownership, it may first have to be converted into shares (see Art. 644 TMK below).

How long does it take?

The law sets no duration for the lawsuit. The only fixed period is for mediation: three weeks, plus one week in compelling cases (Art. 18/A(9) HUAK). How long the court case lasts depends on expert valuation, the number of owners, service of documents abroad and the sale itself. I cannot give a reliable figure.

Practical points if you live abroad

You do not need to travel. Mediation and the lawsuit can be handled by a lawyer under a power of attorney. Unless expressly authorised, the lawyer may not settle, accept the claim or use alternative dispute resolution (Art. 74 HMK), so the power of attorney should say so.
Take the first mediation meeting seriously. Missing it without a valid excuse has cost consequences (Art. 18/A(11) HUAK). The mediator informs the party in person as well, even if they have a lawyer (Art. 18/A(7) HUAK), so keep your contact details in Turkish records up to date.
Converting to shares is a separate route. An heir can ask the judge to convert joint ownership into co-ownership by shares (Art. 644 TMK); the heirs can also agree to this in a written partition agreement (Art. 676 TMK). Each owner can then sell their share (Art. 688(3) TMK), but the property as a whole stays jointly owned.
Considering renunciation? See Renouncing an inheritance in Turkey. More on the topic under inheritance law.

Tax and inheritance questions under the law of your country of residence are outside this article; please consult a lawyer or tax adviser admitted there.

Frequently asked questions

Is mediation mandatory before a partition lawsuit in Turkey?

Yes. Since 1 September 2023 it is a procedural precondition (Art. 18/B(1)(b) HUAK). A lawsuit filed without it is dismissed (Art. 18/A(2) HUAK).

Which court hears a partition lawsuit in Turkey?

The civil court of peace where the property is located (Art. 4(1)(b) and Art. 12(1) HMK). This jurisdiction is exclusive.

Can inherited property in Turkey be sold if the other heirs refuse?

Yes. Each heir can demand partition (Art. 642(1) TMK). If the property cannot be divided in kind, the court orders a sale by auction (Art. 699(3) TMK). If all owners are heirs, the first auction is held among them only (Art. 114 İİK).

Which law applies to inherited property in Turkey?

Turkish law, for real estate located in Turkey (Art. 20(1) MÖHUK).

Sources

Questions about your case

If you would like to discuss how a property in Turkey that you inherited or own jointly could be divided, what the mediation stage involves or what an auction would mean in your situation, you can choose a date for an online video, telephone or in-person meeting in Düsseldorf on the appointment page. Written questions can be sent through the contact form. Meetings are held in Turkish and cover Turkish law only (§ 206 BRAO). It helps to have ready:

the land register details of the property (province, district, block and parcel),
the Turkish certificate of inheritance or a list of the heirs,
any correspondence with the other owners and, if available, the mediation report.