The Turkish Code of Obligations Law No 6098 (Türk Borçlar Kanunu- it will be referred to as TBK) came into force on 01.07.2012 notwithstanding repealed the Law No 6570 on Property Lease. The repealed law had not recognized lessor’s right to terminate lease contracts for housing and roofed workplace except certain conditions were fulfilled. However, as per the new provisions of the TBK, lease contracts can be terminated by lessor unilaterally without any reason if certains considitons are existed.
In order to this right to be used by the lessor, the lease contract should be fixed term and extended for ten years without any termination by lessee after agreed contract time has expired.
It is possible that the lease contract can be terminated by the lessor unilateraly without showing any reason for following each year after total ten years of extension is completed.
It is enough to notify the lessee for such prospective termination of the lease contract.
With regard to this provision implemantation to the current ongoing contracts; the Law on Enforcement and Implementation of Turkish Code of Obligations Law No 6101 regulates that the TBK will be implemented to terms of expiration, default, liquidation of contracts which were concluded when the Law no 6570 was effective. In this context, lease contracts were concluded before 01.07.2012 will be terminated under the same conditions.
However, the Law no 6101 introduced some postponement durations for lease contracts concluded before 01.07.2012 which could be terminated as unilateral and without showing any reason by the lessor as well. Termination right can be exercised by the lessor when such posponement durations are over.
The right of termination without showing any reason can be exercised by the lessor for the following situations:
a) For contracts which completed ten years of extention time on 01.07.2012 (which is the date of enforcement of Law No 6101), after the date of 01.07.2014 ;
b) For contracts which are not yet fullfilled ten years of extention time on 01.07.2012 but remain contract time less than five years, after the date of 01.07.2017.
On the other hand, by this article we should state that, lessee can always terminate the contract unless otherwise provided. However, the lessor can terminate the contract in accordance with the general provision after ten years contract term expiries starting from the beginning of the contract.
Our our view, to grant an unilateral termination right to the lessors in lease contracts is a fair provision considering rescuing the lessors from being attached by the contract for a lifetime. We have positive opinion on the said postponement stages for exercising such right yet it would certainly help to reduce potential problems arising from new and unknown practice.
