Workplace (Commercial) Eviction Processes and Grounds (Turkey)

In commercial real estates in Turkey (offices, factories, Shopping Mall shops), even if the power of the property owner is high, evicting the tenant from the house or office just based on the article "Will vacate the workplace at the end of the contract (5 years)" written in the lease contract - if a legally valid eviction reason (default, execution commitment, 10-Year period etc.) has not occurred - is Legally impossible.

Disclaimer: As of September 2023, it is a legal obligation to make an application for "Mandatory Mediation (Zorunlu Arabuluculuk)" before filing a Lawsuit in all rental and eviction disputes in Turkey, even for commercial companies. Information verified: March 2026.

1. Main Reasons for Eviction in Commercial Leases

Similar to the situation in residential properties but with commercial consequences; the Code of Obligations also draws a clear "Litigation Path" limit for the property owner in workplace leases. An AVM or shop owner requests a Commercial Eviction based on the following minimum violations:

A) NON-PAYMENT OF RENT OR DUES (Default - 30 Day Rule)

It is the fastest legal ground for eviction. If a commercial tenant delays the rent of any month:

1. The property owner (or their corporate lawyers) sends a "Payment Order with Warning" (Execution Sample No. 13) demanding the accumulated amount (including interest and corporate dues) and stating "If not paid within 30 Days after notification, the contract will be terminated and an Eviction Lawsuit/Execution will be initiated."
2. The 30-day process begins for the document notified to the giant retail company. If the company does not close its TL debt with all that interest by midnight on the 29th day (even a 1-day delay counts as failing): The lawsuit of the matter ends in a commercial Eviction Exile, which goes faster (but its objections again take more than a year with monthly lawyer tricks) because it falls into a definite default not in the Court but directly in the "Execution Civil Courts," with the seizure of goods and locking the shutters! (Two Justified Warnings via Notary in the same rental year are also an eviction reason at the end of the year).

B) WRITTEN EVICTION COMMITMENT (Joker Card)

It is the strongest argument of corporate office owners in B2B. MONTHS AFTER the lease contract is signed (By-passing the system); the parties sign an "I commit with my free will that I will unconditionally evacuate the plaza office/shop located at that address where I am a tenant on 31 December 2027 at the latest and hand it over empty" written (Notary approved under the signature and stamp of the company official, etc.) Commitment on a new document, a blank paper (Tahliye Taahhüdü). If this document is given in B2B; if the date comes and the company does not leave, from that date forwards within 1 month directly by the order of the execution directorate, eviction clearance officers are sent to the enterprise and forced vacancy is initiated. In short, there is no even need for court!

2. The Power of Terminations Without Cause: The "10 Year" Rule!

The protection of the commercial tenant in the "plaza or store where they established their 10-Year brand"; is NOT a lifelong eviction protection.

The famous 10-YEAR EXTENSION PERIOD (TCO Art.347) in Turkish laws is also valid for commercial places (roofed workplaces). For example, if the parties made a 3-Year contract (2020-2023). When the period ends in 2023, the silent contract enters the "Extension Year" for 1 year each according to the law. (1st Extension Year 2023-2024 and so on). When these extensions total exact in Total (Counting 10 more years of extensions on top of 2023 = when it becomes the end of 2033); Total: 13 years have passed, the landlord of the property gains the freedom in their obligation to say "Sorry you are leaving, I am not selling, I will not sit there, I just don't want you anymore" even leaning on an "Unnecessary Reason." Mandatory Warning: Eviction is definitely won in return for the obligation of sending a "10 years are up, you are leaving, the contract will not be renewed, the contract has been terminated warning from the Notary!" at least 3 Months Before the end of the tenth extension year (2033).

3. Right of Retention (Hapis Hakkı) (Commercial Hostage-taking by the Landlord)

For unpaid office or logistics warehouse rents in Turkey, just waiting for the commercial lawsuit does not work so that the tenant company does not hollow out the inside and run away. The Law has granted the landlord in B2B the permission to seize the materials brought inside by the tenants (for example, the cash registers, tables, textile clothes bought by the company to the AVM, shelf systems to the warehouses). In accordance with the TCO "Lessor's Right of Retention"; As a guarantee of the unpaid delayed and accruing rent of 1 year + the rent that will accrue for 6 months, a crushing execution of breaking into receivables by establishing a trustee (appointed administrator) and selling them is used to a very large extent in commercial b2b debts by "establishing a retention by the court preventing them from moving the tenant equipment in the leased place." The office owner, seeing that it is taken out without permission, has the retention of locking even tables lowered to the street by execution "accompanied by police support" until that debt is closed with interest.

Proceed to the next document: Commercial Disclosures and Required Documents.