What Are the Tenant's Obligations?

What Are the Tenant's Obligations?

Following the execution of a lease agreement, the tenant has a number of obligations under the Turkish Code of Obligations. Specifically, these include: the obligation to pay the rent, the obligation to use the leased property with due care and show necessary respect to neighbors, the obligation to pay cleaning and maintenance expenses, the obligation to notify the lessor of defects in the leased property, and the obligation to endure the remediation of defects and the showing of the leased property.

Within the scope of the obligation to pay rent, the tenant is liable to pay the rent and, if necessary, ancillary costs at the end of each month and at the latest by the end of the lease term. However, if the payment date for the rent is explicitly stated in the lease agreement, the tenant is liable to pay the rent on the date specified in the agreement. Due to non-payment of rent, the lessor has the right to initiate enforcement proceedings against the tenant in accordance with the provisions of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law. Objections against enforcement proceedings with a request for eviction served to the tenant are made to the enforcement office. The intended use of the leased property by the tenant must be explicitly written in the agreement. If the leased property was rented by the tenant as a hospital, using it subsequently as an office will constitute a breach of the lease agreement. The tenant is obliged to look after the leased property. If the leased property is damaged due to misuse, the lessor may demand compensation from the tenant for the damage. Furthermore, causing severe disturbances to the neighbors living in the leased building is a cause for termination of the lease agreement. Due to non-payment of rent, the lessor must specify in the payment order to be sent to the debtor by the enforcement office, through the initiation of enforcement proceedings, within what period the rent debt must be paid. The payment order must be prepared in accordance with the procedure by the enforcement office. If the payment order is not prepared and sent in accordance with the procedure, it becomes necessary to send a new payment order from the enforcement office. Enforcement proceedings cannot be initiated regarding the rent paid as a deposit. In cases where the tenant damages the leased property by chopping wood inside it, or places gas canisters in front of their shop in a way that endangers people's health, this constitutes a breach of the obligations in the lease agreement, and the lessor is not under an obligation to send a warning. Making severe insults and swearing at the lessor is considered by the Court of Cassation as grounds for eviction. In the event that no objection is made to the enforcement proceedings initiated against a tenant who does not pay the rent, the defense of payment that the tenant may raise in the eviction lawsuit filed in the enforcement court can only be made with the rent payment receipts submitted. Changes that can be restored to their original state in the leased property are not considered as misuse by the Court of Cassation. However, if the intended use of the leased property is explicitly written in the agreement, the tenant's use of the property contrary to the agreement is a reason for breach of the lease agreement. If the warning letter sent by the lessor regarding the non-renewal of the lease agreement two months before the end of the lease is sent after the deadline, it is accepted that the lease agreement is considered renewed. In the event that the tenant does not pay the monthly rent, the rent debts for the subsequent months will also become due. If the tenant does not pay the rent in the manner specified in the lease agreement, the lessor has the right to demand the collection of rent payments by initiating enforcement proceedings with a request for the unpaid rent debt. Additionally, if the enforcement proceedings initiated with a request for eviction are not paid, eviction procedures are started within 30 days. If the tenant does not object within 7 days from the notification date of the payment order requesting the collection of unpaid rent, the enforcement proceedings become final. If the tenant keeps tools and equipment in the leased property that could cause a fire and fails to intervene to extinguish the fire in the event of one, this is referred to as misuse. If the tenant does not use the leased property with the care required by the lease agreement, the lessor has certain rights. The lessor may demand, by sending a warning through a notary, that the breach of the lease agreement be remedied, stating that the lease agreement will be terminated if it is not remedied. In residential and roofed workplace leases, the lessor is obliged to grant a period of at least thirty days. Furthermore, in residential and roofed workplace leases, if the tenant intentionally and willfully causes damage to the leased property, the lessor is not obliged to grant a period. If the tenant acts contrary to their obligations in the lease agreement and the situation becomes unbearable for the neighbors living in the same building, the lessor has the right to terminate the agreement by providing written notice. The tenant is obliged to pay the cleaning and maintenance expenses of the leased property. Additionally, the tenant has the obligation to notify the lessor of defects in the leased property. If the tenant fails to notify the lessor of defects that they are not obliged to repair themselves, the tenant is liable for the resulting damages. It is not possible to terminate the lease agreement in case the tenant does not pay the concierge fee. This matter is not one of the essential elements of the lease agreement. The tenant is obliged to allow the lessor or a third party designated by the lessor to visit and inspect the leased property to the extent necessary for maintenance, sale, or subsequent leasing. The lessor is obliged to notify the tenant of the date the property will be visited and to take the tenant's overriding interests into consideration. If the rent is above the average, the tenant may request its reduction through legal action. The right to send a warning and subsequently file a lawsuit in case of a breach of the lease agreement belongs only and exclusively to the lessor who signed the agreement. Persons who are not parties to the agreement do not have the right to file a lawsuit. If the tenant is running gambling in the leased property, this is considered misuse of the leased property, and the lessor has the right to file an eviction lawsuit without the need for a warning.