This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Komşuluk Hukuku: Gürültü, Sızıntı ve Koku Sorunları.
Neighbour disputes rest on the owner's duty to avoid excessive interference (Article 737 of the Civil Code). Where noise, smell, smoke or vibration exceed the threshold of tolerance, an injunction and damages can be sought. What decides these cases in practice is not the law but the evidence: having the nuisance measured and recorded.
Water from the flat above is rotting the ceiling, the flat next door is noisy all night, the smell from the business downstairs fills the house.
What these have in common is that the solution runs through preservation of evidence. This article covers the limits of the law of neighbours, which claims can be brought, and why the evidence comes first.
The Duty to Avoid Excessive Interference
Article 737 states the basic rule: everyone exercising the powers of ownership over immovable property, and in particular carrying on a business, must avoid interference that adversely affects their neighbours.
The Act gives examples: causing a nuisance by emitting smoke, vapour, soot, dust or smells, or by noise or vibration.
The test is not absolute: what is prohibited is harmful and excessive interference exceeding what neighbours can be expected to tolerate, having regard to the position and nature of the property and to local custom.
So the same noise is judged differently in an industrial area and in a residential one.
The Rules for Flats
In blocks of flats and estates the Condominium Act (no. 634) also applies.
Article 18 provides that flat owners are under a mutual duty not to disturb one another, not to infringe one another's rights, and to comply with the management plan. That duty binds tenants and everyone else using a unit.
Article 19 requires owners to maintain the building and to preserve its architectural condition and appearance carefully, and provides that an owner may not carry out repairs, installations or alterations in their own unit that would damage the main structure.
Where that is breached, the other owners may apply to the civil court of peace for restoration of the previous position and for the loss to be made good.
In serious cases Article 25 comes into play: where an owner has become intolerable to the others, the transfer of their ownership of the unit may be sought by proceedings.
Why Evidence Comes First
Proof is the weak link in neighbour disputes. Once the leak is repaired and the noise stops, nothing is left to show.
So the first step is to apply to the civil court of peace for preservation of evidence (Articles 400 ff. of the Code of Civil Procedure). The court appoints an expert to establish the position on site.
Preservation of evidence is not a claim; it is quick and relatively inexpensive, and the report forms the basis of any later proceedings.
What to ask for: identification of the source of the leak, the amount of the loss, who is at fault, and a noise measurement.
What you can gather yourself: dated photographs and video, an audio recording made in your own home, written notices to the management and the neighbour, police records, and entries in the building's minute book.
Which Claims Are Available
- An injunction to stop the interference. Under Article 730 the loss caused by the excessive use can be claimed at the same time.
- Damages — for the harm caused by the leak, damage to belongings, the cost of repairs.
- Restoration of the previous position — removal of alterations made without permission.
- Claims arising from flat ownership — breach of the management plan, occupation of common parts.
An important procedural rule: mediation is a condition of proceedings in disputes arising from flat ownership and from the law of neighbours. You cannot sue directly; you must go to a mediator first.
But preservation of evidence and interim injunctions fall outside that requirement and can be sought from the court directly. That is a real advantage in practice: preserve the evidence first, then go to mediation.
| Route | What it achieves | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Preservation of evidence | The nuisance measured and recorded | Civil court of peace |
| Injunction to stop the interference | An end to the excessive interference | Civil court of peace |
| Claim for damages | Compensation for the loss | Civil court of first instance |
| Resolution of the flat owners | Remedying a breach of the management plan | The general meeting of flat owners |
| Claim under the Condominium Act | Remedying the breach; in serious cases, transfer | Civil court of peace |
| Administrative complaint | A noise measurement and an administrative fine | The municipality |
In buildings under flat ownership, examine the management plan and the resolutions of the owners first; a claim founded on those is far stronger.
Once the leak is repaired or the noise ends, there is nothing left to prove. Apply for preservation of evidence at once — it needs no mediation first, unlike the claim itself, and the expert's report is what the later case is built on.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does noise become unlawful?
When it exceeds what neighbours can be expected to tolerate, judged by the position and nature of the property and local custom. The same noise is treated differently in an industrial and a residential area.
What should I do first?
Apply to the civil court of peace for preservation of evidence — a measurement and expert report on site. It is quick, comparatively cheap, and needs no mediation beforehand.
Do I have to try mediation?
Yes, for claims arising from flat ownership and the law of neighbours. But preservation of evidence and interim injunctions are outside that requirement.
What can I claim?
An injunction to stop the interference, damages for the loss, restoration of the previous position, and remedies under the Condominium Act.
Can a neighbour be made to leave?
In serious cases, yes. Where an owner has become intolerable to the others, Article 25 of the Condominium Act allows proceedings for the transfer of their ownership of the unit.