1. In General

In a lease relationship, the tenant’s primary obligation is to pay the rent. However, the tenant’s payment obligation is not always limited solely to the rent. Pursuant to the Turkish Code of Obligations, unless otherwise agreed in the contract or unless there is a local custom to the contrary, the tenant is obliged to pay the rent and, where necessary, ancillary expenses. Therefore, dues, common expenses, electricity, water, heating, lighting and similar usage-related expenses may, depending on the circumstances of the concrete case, be considered among the ancillary expenses for which the tenant is responsible.

Furthermore, if the tenant fails to perform the obligation to pay the rent or ancillary expenses that become due after the delivery of the leased property, the law grants the landlord the right to terminate the lease agreement by giving written notice and granting a period for payment. In residential and roofed workplace leases, this period is at least thirty days and begins to run from the day following the date on which the written notice is served. Within this scope, the tenant’s failure to pay ancillary expenses may constitute a ground for eviction if all relevant conditions are met.

2. What Does the Concept of Ancillary Expenses Include?

Ancillary expenses are expenses that arise in connection with the use of the leased property and are separate from the rent. The ancillary expenses most commonly encountered in practice are as follows:

• Apartment or compound dues,
• Common expense contribution shares, electricity, water and natural gas consumption charges,
• Common area heating, cooling and ventilation expenses,
• Lighting, security, cleaning and maintenance expenses for common areas,
• Service or operating expenses allocated specifically to the use of the leased property.

However, not every expense may automatically be imposed on the tenant. In particular, expenses connected to the owner’s property right, such as substantial repairs, renovation, reinforcement and replacement of fixtures, should not be directly accepted as the tenant’s ancillary expense obligation without evaluating the contract and the nature of the concrete case.

Pursuant to Article 20 of the Condominium Law, the obligation to contribute to common expenses, as a rule, belongs to the condominium owners. However, pursuant to Article 22 of the Condominium Law, a tenant who continuously benefits from an independent section based on a lease agreement is also jointly and severally liable together with the condominium owner for the common expense debt and delay compensation of the condominium owner. Nevertheless, the tenant’s liability is limited to the amount of rent they are obliged to pay, and any payment made by the tenant is deducted from the rent debt.

3. Under Which Conditions Does the Tenant’s Failure to Pay Ancillary Expenses Constitute a Ground for Eviction?

Article 315 of the Turkish Code of Obligations provides as follows: “If the tenant fails to perform the obligation to pay the rent or ancillary expenses that become due after the delivery of the leased property, the landlord may grant the tenant a period in writing and notify the tenant that the agreement will be terminated if payment is not made within this period.” Accordingly, the tenant’s default is not limited solely to non-payment of rent. The wording of the article expressly refers to the obligation to pay “rent or ancillary expenses.” This provision demonstrates that the landlord may also rely on default provisions where the tenant fails to pay ancillary expenses.

For this reason, in residential and roofed workplace leases, certain conditions must be fulfilled together for the landlord to obtain an eviction result:

1. The ancillary expense debt must belong to the tenant.
2. The ancillary expense debt must be due and payable.
3. The landlord must have paid the due ancillary expense.
4. A written notice must be served on the tenant in accordance with Article 315 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, granting a 30-day period in residential and roofed workplace leases and stating that the agreement will be terminated if payment is not made.
5. The tenant must have failed to pay the debt within the granted period.

4. Review of the Decision of the General Assembly of Civil Chambers of the Court of Cassation Dated 02.07.2025, Numbered 2024/785 E., 2025/426 K.

In the case subject to the decision, the landlord initiated non-judgmental enforcement proceedings with a request for eviction for the collection of rent receivables, as well as receivables arising from common expense contribution shares, electricity infrastructure service and service fees, water usage fees and reflected electricity consumption charges. The tenant did not object to the payment order; within the thirty-day period, the tenant made a payment close only to the rent amount but did not pay the ancillary expenses.

The local court rejected the landlord’s eviction request on the ground that ancillary expenses other than rent could not be made subject to eviction under Article 269/a of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law. However, the General Assembly of Civil Chambers of the Court of Cassation overturned the local court’s decision. Referring to Articles 314 and 315 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, the General Assembly of Civil Chambers stated that the tenant is obliged to pay not only the rent but also the ancillary expenses they are obliged to pay under the contract, and that default provisions may be applied if the tenant fails to pay ancillary expenses.

If the tenant fails to pay the rent debt and ancillary expenses within the granted period, the landlord may file an eviction lawsuit before the civil court of peace. If the tenant fails to pay, fully and on time, the rent and ancillary expenses they are obliged to pay under the contract, the landlord may also initiate non-judgmental enforcement proceedings against the tenant-debtor with a request for eviction for the collection of the unpaid or underpaid rent and ancillary expenses and for eviction from the leased property. Where the tenant is in delay in paying the rent debt, the landlord may request, in the same enforcement proceeding, both the unpaid rent amounts and the eviction of the debtor due to default. However, pursuant to Article 269/1 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law, since the landlord-creditor may request that the warning prescribed under Article 315 of the Turkish Code of Obligations be made through the payment order, the landlord-creditor may request, in the enforcement request, the collection of the rent and ancillary expenses, provided that they have paid the ancillary expenses.

The decision was rendered by majority vote. In the dissenting opinion, it was argued that Article 269/a of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law refers to “rent debt” and that whether ancillary expenses may be made subject to eviction before the enforcement court should be interpreted narrowly. However, the majority opinion is that ancillary expenses produce the same default consequences as rent under Article 315 of the Turkish Code of Obligations.

In summary, the significance of the decision is that it accepted, by majority vote, that the non-payment of a due ancillary expense imposed on the tenant under the contract may be relied upon as a basis for eviction due to default under Article 315 of the Turkish Code of Obligations.

5. Legal Remedies Available to the Landlord

1. The landlord may send a written notice to the tenant, requesting payment of the ancillary expenses within thirty days and notifying the tenant that the agreement will be terminated otherwise. If payment is not made within the statutory period, the landlord may file an eviction lawsuit before the civil court of peace due to default.
2. The landlord may also include, together with the rent, ancillary expense receivables that have been imposed on the tenant under the contract and paid by the landlord in non-judgmental enforcement proceedings with a request for eviction. If the tenant does not object in due time and fails to pay the debt within the thirty-day period, eviction may be requested from the enforcement court.

6. Conclusion

The tenant’s failure to pay dues, common expenses, electricity, water, heating, lighting and similar ancillary expenses may constitute a ground for eviction if the relevant conditions are met. The safest legal route in this regard is to rely on the tenant’s default. In eviction proceedings based on non-payment of ancillary expenses, the most important issue is to correctly establish the nature and legal basis of the debt.

For the landlord to obtain an eviction result, the ancillary expense debt must have been imposed on the tenant, the debt must have become due and determinable, the ancillary expense must have been paid by the landlord, the tenant must be granted a written payment period of at least thirty days, and it must be clearly notified that the agreement will be terminated if payment is not made within this period.

Therefore, in eviction processes based on ancillary expenses, it is important to legally examine the concrete case before initiating a notice procedure or enforcement proceedings with a request for eviction. Conducting the process incorrectly may result in the rejection of the eviction request and loss of time.

This study has been prepared solely for informational purposes and does not constitute any legal opinion or binding assessment. Should you request a legal opinion regarding your concrete case, please contact us.