Latest Developments in Turkish Rent Lawsuits

Attorney Parlak: Rent Dispute Cases Can Take Up to 6–7 Years

In an interview with Patronlar Dünyası, Attorney Cesim Parlak emphasized that despite the judicial reform’s "target duration" strategy, rent termination cases still suffer from severe delays, particularly in civil courts of peace.

"Although the judiciary introduced a 'target duration' to streamline proceedings, this has largely failed in rent-related lawsuits. In rent determination and eviction lawsuits, first hearings are often scheduled one year later, even under the target system,” Parlak explained.

He added:

"On average, rent determination or eviction lawsuits take about 2 years at the local court level, up to 3 years in regional appeals (istinaf), and an additional 1–2 years in the Court of Cassation. The total legal process may take 6 to 7 years, which severely undermines the right to a fair trial and exposes the systemic issues in the judiciary.”

⚖️ "A Sign of Judicial Overload and Public Distrust"

Parlak stressed that this backlog in civil courts of peace reflects how strained and underperforming the judiciary has become, eroding public trust in legal institutions.

“Even though a mandatory mediation system has been introduced for rent lawsuits, many disputes are still resolved at this stage. Without mediation, the first hearing could be delayed by up to two more years. Despite all these reforms, rent disputes remain among the most frequent and time-consuming cases in Turkish courts, revealing that fundamental problems persist in the judicial system,” he said..