We couldn’t find the difference.
Hülya K. ORUÇOĞLU
As the largest real estate crisis in the history of the Republic of Turkey unfolded, no relief could be found with the mandatory mediation system that was implemented in September. It is claimed that the system will fail in 90 percent of eviction cases, and the number of eviction cases virtually blocking the courts may reach 100,000.
8 OUT OF 10 COURT PRESENTATIONS
Ali Güven Kiraz, president of the Real Estate Lawyers Association, reminded that the 25 percent limit on rent increases is a temporary regulation and said: “Temporary regulations cannot be permanent. The continuation of this increased the suffering of the owners. Landlords left their homes empty or filed an eviction lawsuit against the tenant. The number of eviction cases filed in 2022 was 22 thousand. The number of eviction cases filed in the first 6 months of this year is 47 thousand. This figure may reach 100 thousand by the end of the year. “It is a very traumatic figure,” he said.
Kiraz said: “The request for mandatory mediation was filed to resolve the judicial issue, not the structural issue between the tenant and the landlord.” He said: “The tenant and the landlord were already at odds before. The parties talk beforehand, give warnings, their arguments spill out from time to time into the street and then end up in court. When we think about the process, mediation fails in 90 percent of eviction cases. In rent determination cases, since there is a numerical discrepancy, the success rate can reach 30 percent. However, if we take into account that eviction cases and rent determination all go to the same court, 2 out of every 10 files can be resolved without going to court. 8 cases continue to go to court and the problem of stalemate in the courts continues. “I don’t think these practices have had an effect decisive during the period in which the most serious tenant-landlord conflicts in the history of the Republic were experienced,” he stated.
15 thousand requests were made in 19 days
Sharing the number of applications submitted under the mandatory mediation system, Ali Güven Kiraz said: “15,000 applications were submitted in 19 days. Approximately 12 thousand of them are due to rent increases. “The requests came mainly from Istanbul,” he said. Pointing out that in disputes between tenants and landlords, the landlord always tries to find a way to evict the tenant, Kiraz said: “According to our law, eviction can be carried out for justified reasons. Landlords cannot create specific reasons for eviction. Situations like: ‘The deadline is up, get out’, ‘I’ll sell the property, get out’, ‘I bought the property, get out’ are out of the question,” he stated.
‘Neighborhood price’ suggestion for rent
Sharing his suggestions for solving the real estate crisis, Ali Güven Kiraz said: “The lower and upper limits for determining the rental price must be determined. I call this “neighborhood value.” In this way, rental limits can be determined according to regions and districts. Judicial reform is essential for the rapid resolution of cases between landlords and tenants. Cases must be clearly resolved within 6 to 9 months. We should also produce social rental housing. “In addition to all this, the sale of property to foreigners should be made more difficult,” he said.