Termination of residential and rooted workplace rental contracts

Lease agreement in Article 299 of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098; "It is a contract in which the lessor undertakes to leave the use of something or benefit from it along with use to the lessee, and the lessee undertakes to pay the agreed rental fee in return." It is defined as.

Provisions regarding the lease agreement are in the fourth chapter of the TBK; General Provisions are organized under three headings: Residential and Roofed Workplace Rentals and Product Rental.

As can be understood, in addition to the general provisions, the legislator has resorted to regulating some special provisions regarding residential and roofed workplace rents (with the idea that the tenant, who is a party to the contract, is economically weak). Therefore, the provisions that will be primarily applied in such contracts will be the provisions regulated in Article 339 Vd of the Turkish Code of Obligations, and if there is no regulation in the special provisions, the general provisions will find application.

Special provisions regarding residential and roofed workplace leases protect the tenant, especially in terms of terminating lease agreements. In Articles 347 and 350 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, the provisions regarding the termination of residential and roofed workplace lease agreements are regulated under two headings: "by notification" and "by eviction lawsuit". TBK 347/3. The article is; It is envisaged that unless there is a regulation to the contrary and in cases required by the situation (violation of the contractual obligation), the tenant and the lessor have the possibility of termination in accordance with the general provisions of the lease agreement.

As a result, "termination of the lease agreement in residential and workplace leases through notice of termination" will be the subject of this article. The issue of termination of the lease through litigation in residential and workplace rentals will be discussed in a separate article titled "Eviction Case".

TERMINATION OF THE RENTAL AGREEMENT THROUGH TERMINATION NOTIFICATION

Termination of residential and workplace lease agreements through notification is regulated in Article 347 of the Turkish Code of Obligations. The law does not require the existence of any justifiable reason to terminate the lease agreement through a termination notice. However, the validity of the termination notice depends on it being made in writing. Therefore, by paying attention to the periods specified in the law and the written form requirement, the lease agreement can be terminated by means of a termination notice without the need for a justified reason.

FIXED TERM RENTAL CONTRACTS

According to TBK 347;

"In residential and roofed workplace leases, unless the tenant gives notice at least fifteen days before the end of the fixed-term contracts, the contract is deemed to have been extended for one year with the same conditions. The lessor cannot terminate the contract based on the end of the contract period. However, at the end of the ten-year extension period, the lessor may terminate the contract without giving any reason, provided that he gives notice at least three months before the end of each extension year following this period.

In indefinite-term lease agreements, the tenant can terminate the agreement at any time, and the lessor can terminate the agreement with a notice of termination in accordance with the general provisions, after ten years have passed from the beginning of the lease.

As can be understood, although the possibility of termination by notification is given to the tenant as a rule in fixed-term lease agreements, at the end of the ten-year extension period, the lessor has the opportunity to terminate the contract by notification without giving any reason.

1- TERMINATION OF THE DEFINITIVE TERM RENTAL AGREEMENT BY THE TENANT

In residential and roofed workplace rentals, the tenant has the right to terminate the contract provided that he gives notice at least fifteen days before the end of the contract period, and if he does not make any notification, the current contract is deemed to be extended for 1 year with the same provisions.

If a fixed-term lease contract is extended, the lease contract does not become an indefinite-term contract. In the relevant Supreme Court decision;

"… There is no dispute regarding the existence of a one-year lease agreement signed between the parties with a starting date of 01.06.2011. In the 12th article of the agreement, the termination notice period was agreed that the parties may terminate the agreement by giving 6 months' written notice. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit on 12.06.2013 and sent a notice to the defendant 6 months in advance in accordance with the termination notice period in the agreement. Accordingly, the court ruled on the basis of the matter. "While it should be examined and a decision should be made based on the result, making a decision in writing without taking into account that the contract will not become indefinite in case of extension in residential and roofed workplaces and that the contract is for a fixed period was not correct and necessitated reversal." It is explained as follows.

When terminating the lease agreement by notification, the tenant must pay attention to whether the termination is in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the law.

In residential and roofed workplace leases, the tenant must make sure that he/she has duly handed over the keys of the leased property while terminating the lease in accordance with the law.

"... Before the expiry date of the contract, the tenant warned that he would not renew the contract 15 days in advance in accordance with Article 347 of the TCC, and since it was accepted that the keys were delivered on 07/02/2014, the unpaid rent should have been judged until 07.02.2014, the key delivery date, but since it was not correct to make a written judgment, the verdict had to be reversed." "It has been decided to annul it for the following reasons."

According to the established Supreme Court jurisprudence, if the tenant cannot prove with written evidence that he handed over the keys, he will not be deemed to have evacuated the rented property. This situation will cause grievances against the tenant. There is detailed information about how key delivery should be done in our article titled Lease agreement turnkey.

2- TERMINATION OF THE DEFINITIVE TERM RENTAL AGREEMENT BY THE LESSER

In residential and roofed workplace leases, the lessor does not have the right to terminate the contract based on the end of the contract period, but has the right to terminate the contract at the end of the ten-year extension period, provided that he notifies 3 months before the end of each extension year following this period.

In this case, if the lease of a residential house or a roofed workplace has expired for 10 years, the lessor has the right to terminate the contract by complying with the notice period and without showing a justified reason. When exercising the right of termination, the lessor must provide notice in accordance with the written form requirement. Making termination notifications through a notary provides ease of proof in terms of proof.

This right was recognized with the change in the law made in 2012: Lessors did not have the right to terminate residential and roofed workplace lease agreements that exceeded 10 years, by complying with the notice period and without giving any justification, during the old Code of Obligations period. Therefore, during the old Code of Obligations period, it was not possible for the lessor to evict a tenant who paid his rent on time and in full, unless a situation met the eviction conditions in the law.

This innovation, which has been reflected in practice since 2014 with the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, which came into force on 01.07.2012, and the temporary Article 2 of the Law No. 6101 on the Enforcement and Implementation of the Turkish Code of Obligations, dated 2012, is of great importance for lessors.

INDETERMINATE TERM RENTAL CONTRACTS

TBK 347/2. According to the regulation in the article, "In indefinite-term lease agreements, the tenant can terminate the agreement at any time, and the lessor can terminate the agreement with a notice of termination in accordance with the general provisions, after ten years have passed from the beginning of the lease."

In residential and roofed workplace leases, the tenant is, as a rule, given the right to terminate an indefinite-term lease agreement through a termination notice. The lessor has the right to terminate the contract with a notice of termination in accordance with general provisions only after 10 years have passed from the beginning of the lease contract.

It should not be forgotten that; If the lessors are more than one person, they must send the notice to the tenant together and file the lawsuit together, as there is a compulsory litigation relationship between them.

In terms of the duration of the termination notification, it is regulated in Article 328 of the Turkish Code of Obligations,

"Each party may terminate the lease agreement regarding a real estate or a movable structure for the end of the lease period determined by local custom, or in the absence of such a custom, for the end of the six-month lease period, by complying with a three-month termination notice period." Its decision will be taken into consideration.

Again, Article 328/2 of the TBK. In the article; "If the termination period or notice period specified in the contract or law is not complied with, the notification shall be valid for the next termination period." There is regulation.

For example; The lessor who wishes to terminate the indefinite-term lease agreement with the start date of 01.06.2010 through a termination notice will have the right to terminate only after 01.06.2020. In this case, the lessor must submit a written notice of termination by 31.08.2020 at the latest in order to terminate the lease agreement on 31.11.2020, which is the end of the six-month period. Otherwise, according to Article 328/2 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, the termination notification will be valid for the next termination period.