Turkish Property Partition Lawsuit (İzale-i Şüyu): Complete Guide for the Diaspora | Doğru Kanzlei

It starts as a practical problem. A parent or grandparent passes away, leaving behind a house or apartment in Turkey. The property goes to several heirs — siblings, cousins, or other relatives — and suddenly a piece of family history becomes a legal puzzle. Some want to sell. Some want to keep it. One is difficult to reach. Another has been living there for years without paying rent to the others. Everyone has rights on paper, but nobody can actually do anything with the property.

This is one of the most common situations Turkish diaspora families face across Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. The good news: Turkish law has a direct answer to it. It is called İzale-i Şüyu (pronounced approximately *ee-za-lay shoo-you*) — and it is the legal tool that ends a co-ownership deadlock, with or without the agreement of the other parties.

This guide explains what İzale-i Şüyu is, who can use it, how the process works step by step, what it costs, and how you can start it from anywhere in Europe without travelling to Turkey.

What Is İzale-i Şüyu?

İzale-i Şüyu (full Turkish name: *Ortaklığın Giderilmesi Davası*) is the Turkish court process for dissolving joint ownership of real estate. It is roughly equivalent to a partition lawsuit in US law, a Teilungsversteigerung in German law (§ 180 ZVG), or a forced sale under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TLATA) in England and Wales — though the Turkish procedure has its own specific rules.

The legal basis is Articles 698–699 of the Turkish Civil Code (Türk Medeni Kanunu, TMK):

TMK Art. 698/1 gives every co-owner the right to demand dissolution of the co-ownership at any time — unless a valid agreement or legal provision prevents this.

TMK Art. 698/2 allows co-owners to agree in writing to maintain the joint ownership for up to 10 years. This agreement must be registered in the Turkish land registry (Tapu Sicili) to be binding on successors or third parties.

TMK Art. 699 requires the court to appoint an expert and then either order a physical division of the property (if feasible) or order a compulsory public auction.

The key point: any single co-owner can file the lawsuit, regardless of how small their share is. A person who inherited a 1/20 share can start the entire process. The other co-owners are named as defendants. They cannot permanently stop the proceedings.

⚠️ Important: Unless there is a valid, land-registry-registered agreement to maintain the co-ownership for a specific period, no co-owner can permanently block an İzale-i Şüyu lawsuit. The court will proceed — and will reach a final decision, either dividing the property or ordering an auction.

Two Types of Co-Ownership in Turkey

Before filing, it helps to understand which type of co-ownership applies. Turkish law distinguishes between two:

Müşterek Mülkiyet (Tenancy in Common)

Each co-owner holds a defined fractional share — for example, one-third or two-fifths — which is registered in the land registry (Tapu). Each share can in principle be sold or mortgaged separately. İzale-i Şüyu cases are most straightforward in this form of ownership.

A co-owner in this type of ownership also has a statutory right of first refusal (Önalım Hakkı, TMK Art. 732): if another co-owner voluntarily sells their share to a third party, the remaining co-owners can purchase it at the same price. This right does not apply to court-ordered auction sales under İzale-i Şüyu.

Elbirliği Mülkiyeti (Joint Tenancy / Undivided Estate Ownership)

This form typically arises from inheritance. When several heirs inherit a property together, none of them holds a defined separate share — the estate is held collectively as an undivided mass. No heir can sell or mortgage "their part" separately. This is similar to an English estate in undivided co-ownership or a German *Erbengemeinschaft*.

İzale-i Şüyu is available in this type of ownership too, but the process often requires establishing the heirs' identities and shares first.

⚠️ Important: If you inherited the property and do not yet have a Turkish Certificate of Inheritance (Veraset İlamı), you will need one before or alongside the lawsuit. This can be obtained from a Turkish consulate in your country or from a Turkish court.

How Does the İzale-i Şüyu Process Work?

The process has two distinct phases: the court phase, and the enforcement/auction phase.

Phase 1: Court Proceedings at the Sulh Hukuk Mahkemesi

Which court? The case is filed at the Sulh Hukuk Mahkemesi (Civil Court of First Instance) in the district where the property is located. If the property is an apartment in Istanbul's Kadıköy district, the case goes to the Kadıköy Sulh Hukuk Mahkemesi — not the court where the owners live.

Filing the lawsuit: The petition names all co-owners as defendants. It is accompanied by the current land registry extract (Tapu), the Certificate of Inheritance (if applicable), proof of ownership shares, and the lawyer's Power of Attorney (Vekâletname).

Expert appraisal (Bilirkişi): The court appoints a certified expert (Bilirkişi) who physically inspects the property and addresses two questions: (1) What is the current market value? (2) Is a physical partition (dividing the property into separate units) feasible without disproportionate loss of value?

For a standard apartment, the answer to question (2) is almost always no — you cannot turn a two-bedroom flat into two legally separate units. For a large plot of agricultural land, physical partition may well be possible.

Judgment: Based on the expert's findings, the court orders one of two outcomes:

Phase 2: Compulsory Public Auction (İcra Satışı)

Once the judgment is final, the İcra Müdürlüğü (Turkey's equivalent of a bailiff/enforcement authority) takes over:

Costs and Timeline

⚠️ Note: Court fees and enforcement costs are typically deducted from the auction proceeds before distribution. Lawyer's fees are paid upfront under a separate fee agreement.

*Courts in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir tend to be busier. Contested cases can take longer.*

Can I Stop the Sale — Or Influence the Outcome?

Option 1: Ortaklığa Devam Sözleşmesi (Agreement to Continue Co-ownership)

The only way to temporarily block an İzale-i Şüyu filing is a written agreement, registered in the land registry, in which all co-owners agree to maintain the co-ownership for a specific period — up to a maximum of 10 years. Without land registry registration, this agreement does not bind successors or third parties. And it requires unanimous agreement from all co-owners.

Option 2: Reach a Settlement During Proceedings

Once the case is filed, the parties can still settle at any point — for example, by one co-owner buying out the others at an agreed price, or by all parties agreeing to a voluntary private sale. The ongoing litigation often creates the pressure needed to get there.

Option 3: Bid at the Auction to Keep the Property

If you want to keep the property, you can bid at the public auction. Your existing share is credited against the purchase price — so you only need to pay the portion attributable to the other co-owners' shares. Your Turkish lawyer can attend and bid on your behalf.

What About the Right of First Refusal?

In a tenancy-in-common (Müşterek Mülkiyet) arrangement, co-owners have a statutory right of first refusal (Önalım Hakkı, TMK Art. 732) when another co-owner *voluntarily* sells their share to a third party. This right does not apply to a court-ordered auction under İzale-i Şüyu proceedings.

Does Turkish Law Apply Even If I Live in the UK or Germany?

Yes — and this is often misunderstood. Many people assume that because they live in Germany or the UK, their national law governs questions about property they co-own in Turkey.

It does not. The internationally recognised lex situs principle — the law of the place where property is physically located — applies. For property in Turkey, Turkish law governs all questions of ownership, division, and sale. This is consistent with EU Private International Law, UK private international law, and Turkish law itself.

In practice this means:

If your family is dealing with a Turkish estate that includes property in Turkey, you will need Turkish legal proceedings for the Turkish assets, regardless of where the heirs live.

Do I Need to Travel to Turkey?

No. The entire İzale-i Şüyu process — from filing the lawsuit through to receiving the proceeds — can be handled remotely from Europe. What you need is a notarised Power of Attorney (Vekâletname) that authorises your Turkish lawyer to act on your behalf.

You can obtain this from:

The Power of Attorney must expressly authorise the lawyer to: file the İzale-i Şüyu lawsuit, represent you at all hearings, and participate in any auction on your behalf.

Step-by-Step: Filing from Abroad

How Doğru Kanzlei Handles İzale-i Şüyu Cases

Doğru Kanzlei holds dual bar membership with the Ankara Bar Association (registration no. 47068) and the Karlsruhe Bar Association in Germany (§ 207 BRAO). This means we have direct authority to practice in both countries — we do not outsource to local correspondent lawyers in Turkey.

Our clients live in Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and across Scandinavia. Not one of them needed to travel to Turkey to file or manage an İzale-i Şüyu case. The Power of Attorney is issued in their home country; we handle every step from there. We communicate in Turkish, German, and English — including by video call.

Before the first consultation, we review the land registry entry, check whether any co-ownership continuation agreement is registered on the title, and give you a realistic assessment of the likely duration, cost structure, and options for your specific situation.

Request a Free Initial Assessment with Doğru Kanzlei →

This guide is also available in Turkish:

İzale-i Şüyu (Ortaklığın Giderilmesi) Davası – Almanya'dan Nasıl Açılır? →

And in German for German-speaking family members or advisers:

İzale-i Şüyu Türkei: Teilungsklage bei gemeinsam geerbten Immobilien →