This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Ortaklığın Giderilmesi (İzale-i Şüyu) Davası.
Where co-owners cannot agree, co-ownership of a property is brought to an end by an action for dissolution. It is brought in the civil court of peace, is subject to no time limit, and one co-owner alone may bring it. The court first considers whether division in kind is possible; if it is not, it orders division by sale.
A field inherited by several children, a flat owned by three siblings, a plot bought jointly. Once the owners disagree the property is locked: it can neither be sold nor properly used.
The action for dissolution of co-ownership unlocks it. This article explains how the case runs, the difference between the two methods of division, and the practical points that matter.
What Is the Action?
It brings to an end co-ownership of property held in shares or jointly. The court with subject-matter jurisdiction is the civil court of peace, and the venue is the court of the place where the property is situated.
Any co-owner may bring the action, and all the co-owners must be parties to it. If one is left out the case is dismissed on procedural grounds, so a current land register entry and a certificate of inheritance should be obtained at the outset.
The action has an unusual feature: there is no winner and no loser. Co-ownership ends in every case; the only question is by which method. For that reason the costs are as a rule apportioned among the co-owners in proportion to their shares.
Division in Kind, or Sale?
Division in kind has statutory priority. Where the property can physically be divided in proportion to the shares, that route is preferred.
It is often impossible: a flat cannot be divided; dividing a field may run into indivisibility rules in planning or agricultural legislation; and division may cause a substantial loss in value.
Where the shares cannot be divided into parts of equal value, an equalisation payment can be added to make up the difference.
Division by sale. Where division in kind is not possible, the court orders the property to be sold and the proceeds distributed in proportion to the shares. The sale is conducted by public auction through the sales office.
In practice the great majority of these cases end this way.
| Division in kind | Division by sale | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | The property is physically divided among the co-owners | It is sold at auction and the proceeds divided by share |
| Priority | The court considers this first | Applied where division in kind is impossible |
| Condition | Division must not cause a substantial loss in value | — |
| Equalisation | Money is added where shares cannot be equalised | — |
| Who conducts the sale | — | The sales office or the enforcement office |
| Who may buy | — | Anyone, as a rule — the co-owners may also bid |
The action is dismissed where the co-owners have made a valid agreement to divide, or where a prohibition on demanding division (for at most ten years, under Article 698 of the Civil Code) applies.
How Does the Case Run?
- The action is brought, with all co-owners named as defendants.
- Land registry and population records are obtained and the position of the heirs established.
- A site inspection is held and an expert examines the property.
- The expert report determines whether division in kind is possible and values the property.
- The court decides: division in kind, or sale.
- Once the judgment is final, a public auction is held through the sales office.
- The proceeds, after costs, are distributed to the co-owners in proportion to their shares.
The expert report is decisive. The period for objecting to it is short, and if no objection is made the report is adopted. If you think the valuation is too low, object in time and produce comparable sales.
Points to Watch
- Co-owners can bid at the auction. If you want to keep the property, take part; co-owners who do not know this lose the property to third parties.
- The auction price may be low. It is often below the open-market value, which is why pressing for agreement among the co-owners before bringing the action is usually more profitable.
- Structures on the land. Where one co-owner has built on the property, any claim about that must be raised separately.
- Compensation for use is a separate action. Claiming payment from a co-owner who has been using the property alone is brought separately from the dissolution action.
- For jointly owned property, conversion into ownership in shares may be sought first; dissolution can also be sought directly.
Where a sale is ordered the property goes to public auction and the co-owners may bid. Co-owners who do not know this frequently lose the property below market value. Because auction prices tend to be lower than open-market prices, pressing for agreement before the action is usually the better course.