What is a Lease Agreement?

What is a Lease Agreement?

In Article 299 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, a lease agreement is defined as a contract whereby the lessor undertakes to leave the use or the use together with the benefit of an object to the lessee, and the lessee undertakes to pay the agreed rent in return. It is signed between the owner of the rented real estate and the person renting the property.

How Many Copies of a Lease Agreement Should Be Filled Out?

The lease agreement should be prepared in two copies. By signing the bottom of each page, the tenant and the landlord should each keep one signed copy.

How is a Lease Agreement Prepared?

The tenant and the landlord should sign the lease agreement in the presence of a notary and a guarantor if possible, after writing the detailed information of the real estate to be rented. The points to consider while preparing a lease agreement are as follows;

Tenant's Address

Start Date of the Lease Agreement

Duration of the Lease Agreement

Annual Rent

Monthly Rent

Method of Payment of Rent

Method of Use of the Leased Property

Condition of the Leased Property

Fixtures Delivered with the Leased Property

Signature

Date

What Clauses Should Be Included in a Lease Agreement?

In order to establish a valid lease agreement, certain formal requirements must be met. It is highly important that the lease agreement is prepared with the assistance of an expert lawyer, including the relevant legal provisions, to ensure the agreement is valid and to allow for cancellation in certain situations. The absence of essential clauses in a lease agreement can lead to both financial and non-financial losses for the parties. The clauses that must be included in a lease agreement are as follows;

Apartment

Neighborhood and address details

Type of Rented Real Estate

Name and Surname of the Lessor

T.R. Identity Number of the Lessor

Address Details of the Lessor

Name and Surname of the Lessee

T.R. Identity Number of the Lessee

Address Details of the Lessee

Name, Surname, Address and T.R. Identity Number of the Person Who Will Be the Guarantor in the Lease Agreement

How Many People Should Be Involved in a Lease Agreement Between Family Members?

A lease agreement can be made for as many people as there are partners in the rental. What is required for a lease agreement is: 1 person to lease, and 1 person to be the tenant. However, more than one person may want to rent an apartment, a workplace, or any property jointly by mutual agreement. In such cases, there are as many lease agreements as there are tenants. However, there must be enough copies of the lease agreement to provide one to each of the tenants and the property owner. Consequently, the stamp tax to be paid during the process of preparing the lease agreement at a notary increases because there is more than one tenant.

Families prefer to make lease agreements in the name of 1 person. For this, a person whose name will be on the lease agreement is determined by the family itself. This person is the member of the family who has a regular monthly income. If there is more than one family member with a regular monthly income, they make a decision among themselves.

How is a Lease Agreement Terminated?

The end date of a lease agreement is the date specified in the agreement. If a year is not written in the agreement, and the parties do not terminate or perform any action such as renewal, the agreement is automatically extended for another year. Indefinite-term lease agreements can be terminated upon the landlord's request for eviction once the tenant has completed 10 years. In fact, a landlord can evict a tenant who has used the same residence for 10 years without showing any cause.

Termination of the Lease Agreement

In addition to the termination of the lease agreement, the situations that occur in lease agreements are as follows:

• A lease agreement with a specified duration is terminated upon the expiration of the term. However, if the tenant-landlord relationship is continued without any action being taken, the lease contract turns into an indefinite-term contract.

• In cases where a termination request is received from one of the parties in indefinite-term lease agreements, legal termination periods and notification rules must be followed. In case of non-compliance with the termination periods and rules specified in the agreement and the law, the application takes effect in the next termination period.

• Emergency termination is applied in case of damage to one of the parties or the property.

What Does It Mean for a Lease Agreement to Be Invalid?

The situations where the lease agreement is invalid are different for the landlord and the tenant. The landlord cannot terminate the agreement after it has been signed, provided that there are no situations contrary to the agreement. However, the tenant can terminate the agreement by serving a written notice to the landlord 15 days before the contract period ends.

What Are the Conditions for Canceling a Lease Agreement?

• The landlord must have valid reasons for the lease agreement to be canceled. It is not possible for a landlord without a valid reason to terminate the contract arbitrarily.

• The tenant, on the other hand, can terminate the agreement provided that they give 15 days' notice if they want to move out or in case of unreasonable rent increases.

What Are the Conditions Required for the Extension of a Lease Agreement?

A lease agreement is automatically renewed and extended if it is not notified by the parties that it will not be extended one month before the end of the lease agreement. Lease agreements are divided into two: definite-term and indefinite-term.

Indefinite-term lease agreements renew automatically, indefinitely, because there is no specified duration. However, there is a specific interval during which definite-term lease agreements are valid. When the date of a definite-term lease agreement expires, the agreement is automatically terminated by the parties, and a new lease agreement must be made for it to be renewed. If at least one of the parties does not want to renew the lease agreement, they are obliged to state this at least 1 month before the end date of the lease agreement.

What Happens to a Tenant Who Does Not Notify at Least 1 Month in Advance That the Lease Agreement Will Not Be Extended?

If the tenant does not notify at least one month in advance that the lease agreement will not be renewed, the lease agreement is automatically renewed. For example; if a tenant who is going to vacate the house on the day the lease agreement ends tells the landlord that the lease agreement will not be renewed 1 week before vacating the house, the landlord has the right to renew the lease agreement. Even if the tenant vacates the house on the day the contract ends, the landlord can demand rent.

Which Court is Authorized to Handle Lawsuits Arising from the Lease Agreement?

The Civil Court of Peace has been designated as the lease agreement court. The Civil Court of Peace is authorized for all lawsuits based on the lease agreement and compensation lawsuits that will be filed along with these lawsuits. In addition, the authorized court for the lease agreement is determined according to the amount of rent receivable or the compensation demanded. Especially in eviction lawsuits, it is not mandatory to file the lawsuit where the real estate is located. In such cases, the authorized court may be in the region where the contract for the real estate was made or where the defendant party resides.

What Are the Situations That Require the Eviction of the Tenant?

There are several legal ways to evict a tenant, such as enforcement and warning letters. The reasons for the eviction of the tenant are:

The tenant not paying the rent within the periods specified in the lease agreement,

Delaying the rent,

Non-payment of rent,

Situations where the landlord or people whom the landlord is obliged to support need to stay in the house,

In cases where the tenant does not use the house in accordance with the agreement, the eviction of the tenant can be requested.

Why is a Rent Determination Lawsuit Filed?

The reasons for filing a rent determination lawsuit are valid for both workplaces and residences, and it is filed for the calculation of the fair increase amount for the annual rent increase. Reasons for filing a rent and eviction lawsuit:

• If an agreement has been signed between the parties that the rent increase will be based on PPI rates, the parties can determine the rent amount without exceeding the PPI rates.

• However, if no increase situation has been mentioned between the parties, a lawsuit can be filed for the court to determine a fair rent amount.

• Both the tenant and the lessor can file a rent determination lawsuit.

Why is the Lease Agreement Annotated on the Title Deed?

The reason for annotating the lease agreement on the title deed is to protect the tenant in long-term signed agreements. Because in cases where the lease agreement is long, there is a possibility that the new owner of the property can terminate the agreement if the property is sold. To prevent this situation, the agreement is entered into the annotations section of the title deed registry, and if the property is sold to a new person, the agreement is considered valid. In agreements annotated on the title deed, the new property owner does not have the right to cancel the agreement. This process is carried out by a notary.

Lease Annotation Stamp Tax Rate

Stamp tax on a lease annotation becomes mandatory if the annotation is made at a notary. The rate of the stamp tax is determined according to the Stamp Tax Law. Stamp tax is collected at a rate of 1.89 per thousand on the rent amount according to the contract duration. Additionally, a certain amount of fee is paid if lease agreements are annotated on the title deed. The lease annotation title deed fee is collected at a rate of 6.83 per thousand in 2019. A passport-sized photo, the lease agreement, and an identity card or a substitute document are required for the lease annotation to be made.

After How Many Unpaid Rents is an Eviction Lawsuit Filed?

In cases of non-payment of rent, the eviction of the tenant can be initiated if the tenant has not paid the rent twice within one year and the landlord has sent 2 written warnings for this; the landlord can evict the tenant. After 2 warnings, the landlord can take steps for the eviction of the tenant whenever they wish. However, the warning letter must be sent via a notary. If the tenant does not pay the rent,

If the tenant has not paid the rent, the landlord sends a warning letter.

If a warning letter has been sent twice within one year, the eviction of the tenant can be requested.

What Are the Reasons for the Tenant's Eviction?

Situations where the tenant is evicted are cases that go beyond the scope of the agreement and where the tenant violates the rights of the lessor. Besides this, if the lessor has a necessity to stay in the house they have rented out, they can request the eviction of the tenant.

It is not legally possible to evict a tenant in arbitrary or optional situations. The conditions for evicting a tenant are determined by law. Lease agreements protect both the tenant and the lessor. However, in some cases, the eviction of the tenant is legally possible. If the lessor wants to evict the tenant, they must file a lawsuit. However, this lawsuit can only be filed in the following situations. These are:

The lessor who rents out their house or workplace; can request eviction for the people they are obliged to support or for their own accommodation needs. However, for this to be valid, a necessity and proof are required.

In cases where the rented place needs repair, reconstruction for development purposes, or modification, the eviction of the tenant can be requested.

Apart from these reasons, if there is enforcement or non-payment of rent, the lawsuit to be filed is different.

How is a Lease Agreement Made?

A lease agreement is made by the people who have their signatures on the lease agreement coming together. The lease agreement is made between the person who will rent out their property and the tenant. If the landlord requests it, the tenant also has to find a guarantor. If a guarantor is requested from the tenant, the guarantor also has a signature on the lease contract, and the guarantor is present when the lease agreement is made. If a place is to be rented to more than one person, the names of more than one person appear as tenants in the lease agreement. The lease contract is prepared in a way that there is 1 copy for every person whose name and signature are on the lease agreement.

What is Included in a Lease Agreement?

A lease agreement includes the information of the tenant and the person who rents out their property, information about the place to be rented, general conditions regarding the lease agreement, and special conditions for the lease agreement. The amount of rent and the amount of fixtures are on the first page. Conditions that the tenant must legally comply with are in the general conditions section. Special requests that the landlord demands from the tenant and bank account information are in the special conditions section.

How Does Tenant Eviction Happen?

For the eviction of the tenant, 2 justified warning letters must have been sent by the landlord within a one-year period. The warnings must be sent via a notary. After 2 justified warnings, an application for eviction can be made within one year even if the tenant pays their debt. The other way is enforcement. How to evict a tenant who does not pay the rent:

• Enforcement proceedings can be initiated for the removal of the tenant by applying to the enforcement offices.

• If the enforcement proceeding is not objected to within one week, legal action is initiated for the recovery of the debt within 30 days. Within this period, the person also has to vacate the house.

• A warning letter can be sent to the tenant via a notary.

What Should Be Considered While Preparing a Lease Agreement?

- Fill out the contract by seeing the title deed or power of attorney regarding the fact that the lessor is the property owner.

- Write the basic information regarding the property, such as the address and the nature of the property (house, workplace), into the contract.

- Then, fill in the personal information regarding the lessor and the tenant completely. Make sure the T.R. identity information is written.

- Also write the rent amount and payment dates you have agreed upon with the lessor.

- Pay attention to the accuracy of the dates in the lease contract.

- Fill in the information regarding the fixtures inside the rented property.

- It is much healthier to sign the lease contract in the presence of guarantors. The signatures of both parties must be on all pages of the lease contract.

– Again, write the bank account information where the rent will be deposited and how it will be deposited in detail in the agreement.

– The content of the deposit and under what conditions it will be returned must be clearly stated in the lease contract.

- If you have given a deposit, it is useful to specify on what date, how much you gave, and under what conditions it will be taken back.

- If the rent will be sent via bank transfer (havale or eft), you should send it with a description such as "March 2019 rent".

- The rest of the contract is full of legal provisions in printed form. After reading this part, you can proceed to the signing stage.