This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Ecrimisil (Haksız İşgal Tazminatı) Nedir?.
Compensation for unauthorised occupation is claimed from a person using your property without permission, and is limited to the five years preceding the claim. It does not rest on a lease; the occupier must be in bad faith. Between co-owners there is a further requirement: a notice excluding the occupier from use must have been given.
Someone is using your property without your consent — a sibling living in an inherited house, a neighbour farming the field, a tenant who has not left after the lease ended. That use has a price. TMK means the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721.
What It Is and Who Owes It
It is the payment an owner may claim for the use of their property without a lawful cause. Its legal basis is TMK art. 995, on the restitution obligations of a possessor in bad faith.
It is not a claim for rent. Since there is no contract between the parties it is a claim in the nature of compensation for unauthorised occupation, and the rules of tenancy law do not apply directly to it.
The occupier must be in bad faith — that is, they must know, or ought to know, that they have no right to use the property.
Claiming Against a Co-owner
This is the point most often misunderstood. Where one co-owner in shared ownership uses the whole property, the other co-owners cannot as a rule claim directly.
The reason is that every co-owner has a right to benefit from the property. For the occupying co-owner to be treated as being in bad faith, they must have been notified that their use is being objected to — a notice excluding them from use.
That notice can be given by notarised warning notice, or effected by bringing an action. For the period before it, compensation cannot as a rule be claimed.
There are exceptions — where the property is one that generates rental income, or where the occupier has plainly excluded the others. But the safe course is to send a notarised warning notice first.
The Look-back Period and the Amount
The amount is assessed on the comparable rent for the property. For agricultural land, the income obtainable from the crop may be the measure instead.
The calculation is made through a site inspection and expert examination, so the petition must ask for a site inspection and a survey of comparables.
As to past periods, settled practice allows a claim for the five years preceding the date of the action. Earlier periods are time-barred.
Waiting is therefore a direct loss: every year that passes drops the oldest claimable year.
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Look-back period | At most 5 years before the date of the action |
| Competent court | Civil court of first instance |
| Territorial jurisdiction | Where the property is located (mandatory) |
| Precondition between co-owners | Notice excluding the occupier from use |
| Exception | The notice may not be required where the property can generate rental income |
| Claims that can be joined | Prevention of interference and, where needed, removal of the structure |
| Measure of the amount | Comparable rent, determined by expert examination |
The notice requirement is the most overlooked aspect: without it, no compensation can be claimed from a co-owner for the preceding period.
What Can Be Claimed Alongside
The competent court is the civil court of first instance; territorial jurisdiction lies where the property is located.
Claims that may be brought with it, or separately:
- Prevention of interference — bringing the use to an end;
- Removal of the structure — demolition of anything built on the land;
- Dissolution of joint ownership — ending the co-ownership altogether.
The most effective course in practice is to claim compensation and prevention of interference together; otherwise the money is recovered but the occupation continues.
Because the amount is hard to fix at the outset, the usual method is a partial claim followed, after the expert report, by a single increase of the claim under art. 109/4 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
To claim against a co-owner you must as a rule first give notice excluding them from use. Without a notarised warning notice, the claim for the preceding period may be refused. And the look-back is limited to five years — waiting costs you a year at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this compensation?
The payment an owner may claim for use of their property without lawful cause. It is compensation for unauthorised occupation, not rent.
My sibling lives in the inherited house. Can I claim?
As a rule you must first give notice excluding them from use. Without a notarised warning notice, the claim for the preceding period may be refused.
How far back can I claim?
Settled practice allows the five years preceding the date of the action.
How is the amount calculated?
On the comparable rent; for agricultural land, the obtainable crop income may be the measure. It is assessed through a site inspection and expert examination.
What else can I claim at the same time?
Prevention of interference, removal of any structure, and dissolution of joint ownership.