This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Geçit Hakkı: Yolu Olmayan Tarlaya Geçiş Nasıl Sağlanır?.
Where land has no adequate access to a public road, its owner may obtain a right of way over neighbouring land — but only against payment of full compensation, and only once the right is registered at the land registry. Years of actual use create no right; an unregistered way is not a right of way.
One of the commonest problems arising after an inheritance is divided or land is subdivided is that a field is left with no connection to a public road.
The law provides an answer: the right of way, an easement that can be sought from the court where no agreement can be reached with the neighbour. This article sets out the conditions, the payment, and how the route is fixed.
What Is a Right of Way?
A right of way is an easement granted in favour of the owner of land without adequate access to a public road, allowing passage over neighbouring land.
It has two essential features. First, it attaches to the land, not to a person: it is granted to the land itself, and passes to a new owner when the land is sold.
Second, it is registered at the land registry. Oral agreements, and actual use continued over many years, give no legal protection unless registered.
On What Conditions Can It Be Sought?
To obtain a right of way from the court:
- There must be no adequate access. The land has no connection at all to a public road, or the existing connection is unsuitable for use.
- The necessity must be objective. A preference for a shorter route is not enough; a genuine need is required.
- No agreement can be reached. If the neighbour agrees, no action is needed; the easement is created by agreement and registered.
- Full compensation must be paid. A right of way is not granted free of charge.
Where the owner's own conduct caused the land to be left without access — by deliberately dividing it so as to cut it off from the road, for instance — the claim may be affected.
How Is the Route Fixed?
The judge orders the way to be established so as to cause the least harm. In practice this assessment is made through a site inspection and an expert report.
The criteria considered are:
- the line that least obstructs the use of the servient land
- the length and width of the way — sized for agricultural vehicles where these must pass
- the slope of the land, irrigation lines and existing structures
- where there are several neighbours, placing the burden on the most suitable land
The site inspection is therefore the decisive stage in these cases. It matters that the cadastral plan, the land register entry and any documents about former tracks are placed on the file before it takes place.
Payment and Costs
A right of way is created against payment of full compensation to the owner of the servient land. The amount is calculated by an expert on the basis of the loss in value the way causes.
The sum is deposited at the end of the case and registration is made conditional on it. If it is not paid, registration does not take place.
Costs in these cases are unusual: even where the party in whose favour the right is created wins, a substantial part of the costs is often placed on them, because the right is created for their own benefit.
Against Whom and Where Is the Action Brought?
The action is brought against the owner or owners of the land over which the way is sought. Where the land is owned in common or jointly, all the owners must be parties.
The court with subject-matter jurisdiction is the civil court of first instance, and the venue is the court of the place where the land is situated; that venue is exclusive.
Once the judgment is final, the easement is registered at the land registry. A judgment that is not registered cannot be relied on against third parties.
Concepts Confused with a Right of Way
Three things are commonly confused with it:
- A road in the development plan. Laid out by the municipality through the development plan, this is an administrative act, not a private law relationship. No right-of-way action is brought for land shown as a road on the plan.
- A cadastral road. Roads identified during cadastral survey and open to everyone. They appear in the register as separate parcels; closing one or building on it is a different kind of action.
- A conduit easement. The right to run a water, electricity or gas line across land; its purpose is the line, not passage.
Characterising the claim correctly matters: choosing the wrong type of action can cost years. Before bringing proceedings, the land register entry, the cadastral plan and the zoning status should be examined together.
A track used for years becomes contested as soon as the neighbour changes. If you have obtained a judgment, do not neglect to register it at the land registry; ways created by agreement must also be registered by official deed.