Partition Lawsuit (İzale-i Şüyu) in Turkey: Inherited Property

When several heirs inherit an apartment or a plot of land in Turkey and cannot agree on what to do with it, the co-ownership does not dissolve on its own. No heir can force the others to the table by private pressure — but a single heir can ask a court to end the joint ownership for everyone. In Turkish law this route is called the partition lawsuit (ortaklığın giderilmesi davası), historically known as izale-i şüyu. It is a judicial, coercive mechanism, entirely different from the voluntary estate-division agreement that heirs sign by consent.

Why a Partition Lawsuit Is Filed

On death, the estate first passes to the heirs as joint ownership (elbirliği mülkiyeti), in which no one holds a separable share and the property can only be sold or transferred if every heir acts together. If the heirs reach agreement, they can close the matter with a written division contract. But when one heir wants to sell while another wants to hold, or when an heir abroad simply cannot be reached, the co-ownership locks up.

The partition lawsuit is the tool that breaks that lock. Article 698 of the Turkish Civil Code gives each co-owner the right — as a rule, at any time — to demand division: "any co-owner may request the division of the property." That right can be restricted by contract for at most ten years and cannot be exercised at an inopportune moment; beyond that, no heir can be forced to remain in the co-ownership indefinitely. The decisive feature of the lawsuit is that it does not require the consent of the other heirs. A case filed by one heir alone results in a judgment that ends the co-ownership for all of them.

How the Court Decides: Division in Kind or Sale?

Partition lawsuits are heard, regardless of the value in dispute, by the Civil Court of Peace (Sulh Hukuk Mahkemesi), under article 4/1-b of the Code of Civil Procedure. The court has two options, both governed by article 699 of the Turkish Civil Code.

The first is division in kind — physically splitting the property. Where the parties disagree, the law directs the judge first to consider dividing the property in kind; if the resulting parts are not of equal value, the shortfall is balanced by adding money to the lesser portion. The court usually bases this assessment on an expert (bilirkişi) report examining the property's nature, its zoning status, and whether it can in fact be split.

The second is sale and division of proceeds. In the express wording of the statute, where division is not appropriate to the circumstances — and in particular where the property cannot be divided without a significant loss of value — the court orders a sale by public auction. Because a single apartment cannot be physically split among four heirs, the practical outcome in most inherited real estate is a sale. The auction is carried out through the court's sales office, and the proceeds are distributed among the heirs in proportion to their shares. A sale restricted to the heirs alone (closed to outsiders) is possible only with the consent of all co-owners.

The Mandatory Prerequisite: Compulsory Mediation

A significant change introduced by Law No. 7445, in force since 2023, means these cases can no longer be taken straight to court. Article 18/B of the Mediation in Civil Disputes Act now makes prior recourse to a mediator a condition of the lawsuit (dava şartı) for "disputes concerning the division of movable and immovable property and the dissolution of co-ownership." A partition lawsuit filed without first passing through mediation is dismissed on procedural grounds.

In practice the process runs as follows: the heir applies to the competent mediation office; the mediator concludes the process, as a rule, within three weeks (extendable by one week where necessary, so at most four). If the parties settle, the co-ownership is resolved without litigation, and the resulting settlement document can even serve as the basis for a land-registry transfer. If no settlement is reached, the mediator issues a final minutes document, which the heir attaches to the statement of claim in order to file the case before the Civil Court of Peace.

Duration, Cost, and a Practical Guide for Foreign Heirs

Partition lawsuits look simple on paper but can in practice take months or even years. The main factors that stretch the timeline are the expert examination, a large number of heirs, difficulties in service of process, and the sale stage itself. The cost items include filing fees, the expert's fee, sale expenses, and attorney's fees; as a rule these are shared among the heirs in proportion to their shares.

For foreign heirs who co-own Turkish real estate with several others, a few points matter especially. First, the whole process can be run without ever coming to Turkey: by granting a power of attorney executed and apostilled in their home country, they can authorize a lawyer to handle both the mediation and the litigation. Second, the transfer of sale proceeds abroad and any inheritance tax obligations should be planned in advance. Third, reciprocity and the rules of the Land Registry Law may come into play in recognizing a foreign heir's inheritance right in the property. In regions such as Antalya, where foreign ownership is dense, these lawsuits are quite common.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can one heir demand partition even if the others object?

Yes. Under article 698 of the Turkish Civil Code, each co-owner may demand division, and the lawsuit does not depend on the other heirs' consent. A single heir's application is enough to reach a judgment ending the entire co-ownership.

Q: Does the court always sell the property?

No. The law gives priority to division in kind; if the property can actually be split without a significant loss of value, the court orders a division. But for indivisible property such as a single apartment, the outcome is usually a sale by public auction.

Q: Can I file directly, or is mediation compulsory first?

Since 2023, mediation is a condition of the lawsuit in partition disputes. A case filed without applying to a mediator is dismissed on procedural grounds; you must first go through the mediation stage.

Q: Must an heir abroad travel to Turkey?

No. A lawyer authorized by an apostilled power of attorney can conduct both the mediation and the litigation on the heir's behalf.

How Mona Hukuk Can Help

Mona Hukuk's inheritance law team supports you at every stage of the partition lawsuit — from preparing the compulsory mediation application and following the expert process, to conducting the sale stage and coordinating powers of attorney and service of process for heirs abroad.

For a consultation in Antalya, write to contact@monahukuk.com or call +90 (242) 606 14 32.