In rental law, various problems arising from different interpretations of contracts or the behavior of the parties are quite common. In order to resolve these issues, provisions regarding the termination of the lease agreement are included in the Turkish Code of Obligations (TCO). If the tenant has sent two justified notices to the tenant due to non-payment or insufficient payment of the rent, the landlord can initiate eviction proceedings due to the two justified notices. In this article, the legal basis and conditions for eviction based on two justified notices will be explained, and frequently asked questions will be answered.
Legal Basis for Eviction Based on Two Justified Notices
Eviction based on two justified notices is among the eviction reasons caused by the tenant. According to Article 352/2 of the TCO, "If the tenant fails to pay the rent within the rental period ... and has caused two justified notices to be sent to him in writing due to non-payment of the rent, the landlord may terminate the lease agreement through a lawsuit within one month from the end of the rental period." As can be understood from the article, if a tenant causes two justified notices during one rental period, a lawsuit can be filed for eviction. These notices must be valid, meaning that the tenant must not have paid the debt as required.
Article 315 of the TCO considers non-payment of rent as the tenant's default. According to the article, if the landlord delivers the subject of the contract after the due date has passed and the tenant does not pay the debt, the debtor will be in default. In other words, there is no need for the landlord to send a separate notice and inform the tenant about the default. This is because Article 117/2 of the TCO explicitly states that if the day when the debt will be performed has been determined by the parties, the debtor will be in default if that day passes.
Time Limit for Filing a Lawsuit after Two Justified Notices
After sending two justified notices, the landlord has one month to file a lawsuit to terminate the lease agreement at the end of the rental period. It should be noted that sending notices alone is not sufficient. There is also a requirement for the notice to be delivered to the tenant. In fact, court decisions regarding two justified notices state that lawsuits filed without serving a payment order will not be accepted.
Conditions for Eviction Based on Two Justified Notices
To initiate eviction proceedings due to two justified notices, the landlord must either initiate an execution proceeding against the tenant or send a notice of default. The notice or execution must be related to one rental year and a lawsuit must be filed within one month from the end of the rental year in which the notice was sent. The content of this notice should specify a period for payment of the debt, and it should notify the tenant that if the debt is not paid, the lease agreement will be terminated.
1) Validity of the Notices
The first requirement to initiate eviction proceedings due to two justified notices is that the notices must be valid. In other words, if the landlord is demanding an amount that they are not entitled to from the tenant, the legal requirement will not be met. The validity of the notice depends on whether the debt is paid or not. For example, if a notice is sent after the debt has been paid, it will not be considered a valid notice. The timing of the payment and the requirement for the notice to be served must be carefully considered, and actions must be taken accordingly. A lawsuit for eviction based on two justified notices can only be filed after the termination of the lease agreement.
On the other hand, partial payment of the rent will also give rise to a valid notice. In this case, it should be clearly stated which month's rent has not been paid or how much has been underpaid to the tenant, and the tenant should be given at least a thirty-day period to pay the debt. This period will start with the delivery of the valid notice. It is important to note that paying the rent after the notice will not affect the validity of the notice. The critical issue is that the tenant has forced the landlord to send a notice or initiate legal proceedings without reason. If the debt is not paid within the time specified for payment, action can be taken, and eviction can be initiated due to default.
2) Notices Must Relate to Different Months
Late payments must relate to different months within one rental period. The day on which rent will be paid should be determined by a provision of the lease contract. Whether the tenant has paid the debt or not, in other words, if the tenant is in default, is determined based on this date. If there is no agreement in the lease contract regarding the payment day, according to Article 314 of the TCO, the debt must be paid at the end of each month and no later than the end of the rental period. Based on the decisions of the Court of Cassation, for the notices to be valid, accumulated debts for different months must be requested with a single notice. Therefore, if due debts are divided and requested with different notices, only the first notice will be considered valid, and any notice sent subsequently regarding the due debt will not be valid.
3) Notices Must Be Related to One Rental Period
After sending two valid notices within one rental year, an eviction lawsuit can be filed. Therefore, notices issued for different years cannot be combined to make a claim of two justified notices. Otherwise, the lawsuit will be rejected.
How to Prepare a Notice
A notice becomes effective when it is delivered to the tenant. Therefore, to prove that the notice has been delivered, it must be sent in writing, through a notary, or by sending a payment order through an execution office. The notice must clearly state the unpaid debts and specify which months the debts belong to. The purpose of the notice is to inform the tenant about their debts. Therefore, including an eviction warning in the notice is not a requirement for eviction based on two justified notices.
How to File Eviction Lawsuit Based on Two Justified Notices?
The landlord can file an eviction lawsuit based on two justified notices. If a person is the owner but not the landlord, he can send a notice to the non-paying tenant, stating that the rent must be paid to them from a certain date, and if it is not paid, an eviction lawsuit will be filed. In cases where there are multiple tenants, the notice must be sent to each individual, and the eviction lawsuit petition due to two justified notices must be served to all tenants.
Frequently Asked Questions
Inflation and the 25% rent increase limit adversely affect rental prices. As a result, landlords are suffering losses and facing significant hardships. If the necessary conditions are not met for an eviction due to non-payment of rent, other eviction reasons can be explored, or if the conditions are met, a rent determination lawsuit or a rent adjustment lawsuit can be filed.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.