Anasayfa / Makalelerimiz / Converting Joint Ownership to Shared Ownership
Let’s start by defining property ownership in legal terms. Ownership represents the broadest set of rights over an asset, where the owner holds complete control over the property. Property ownership is categorized into individual ownership and joint ownership. Individual ownership means one person has ownership rights over the property. Joint ownership means multiple individuals share ownership rights over a property. Joint ownership is further divided into joint ownership (also known as tenancy in common) and shared ownership. Joint ownership occurs when multiple individuals collectively own a property under a joint partnership, as defined in Article 701 of the Turkish Civil Code. According to the law, joint ownership can arise from legal partnerships or contracts. For instance, a simple partnership established by law is a form of joint ownership. Similarly, partnerships created by contracts also result in joint ownership, where multiple people co-own the property.
In joint ownership, partners do not have defined shares; each partner holds ownership rights over the entire property. Each partner has equal rights over the property. Joint ownership can arise from contractual relationships (such as simple partnerships) or inheritance relationships. Shared ownership, on the other hand, involves multiple individuals owning specific shares of a property, even though the property itself is not physically divided.
The most distinct feature of joint ownership is that partners cannot sell, gift, pledge, or otherwise dispose of the property rights to third parties. Since all partners collectively own the entire property, individual partners cannot exercise control over their share. To exercise control over their share, the partnership must be dissolved, or the ownership must be converted to shared ownership. This article will explain how to convert joint ownership to shared ownership.
When partners in a joint ownership decide to convert it to shared ownership, they can follow one of two methods. All partners can be present at the land registry and request the conversion from joint ownership to shared ownership, or one partner can initiate a legal action. For example, heirs can convert joint ownership to shared ownership by being present at the land registry with the inheritance certificate. If an heir cannot be present due to health or other reasons, they must provide a notarized consent for the conversion from joint ownership to shared ownership. The land registry will accept this notarized consent and proceed with the conversion.
If the heirs or partners of joint ownership are in different locations and cannot be present at the land registry, the land registry will send notifications according to the Notification Law. If any partner is legally incapacitated or restricted, the notification will be made to their legal representative. The notification costs will be borne by the partner requesting the conversion. If no objections are raised by the partners within 30 days of receiving the notification, the land registry will complete the conversion from joint ownership to shared ownership.
If, after the notification process, no objections are raised, but there are multiple inheritance certificates for the same estate or discrepancies between the heirs and partners of joint ownership, or if there are errors in the land registry that cannot be corrected, the land registry officer cannot convert joint ownership to shared ownership. In such cases, one of the partners must file a lawsuit in the civil court of peace for the conversion.
Where should the lawsuit for converting joint ownership to shared ownership be filed? The competent court is the civil court of peace where the property is located. One or several partners will file the lawsuit against the other partners. In this case, the judge will issue a summons with a warning for the defendants to present any objections within a specified time. If the defendants do not present a justified objection to the continuation of joint ownership or if no other partner files a partition lawsuit, the judge will order the conversion of joint ownership to shared ownership. The lawyer filing the lawsuit must ensure proper notification to the defendants; if there are procedural errors in the notification, they must request a proper re-notification. The purpose of the warning notification is to inform the parties of the lawsuit and allow them to exercise their right to object. If even one notification is procedurally incorrect, the decision of the first-instance court will be overturned upon appeal. As seen in the ruling of the 14th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (2018/4363 E. - 2021/3137 K.), "... Considering the amendments made to the Notification Law No. 7201 by Law No. 6099, it was also incorrect to ignore that the warning summons containing the notice stipulated in Article 644 of the Turkish Civil Code was not served to the defendants ..., and ..., but was directly served to their registered address in the address registration system according to Article 21/2 of the Notification Law, which was not procedural. Therefore, due to improper notification, the decision of the first-instance court was overturned."
When the judge writes the ruling, they must specify each partner’s share separately to avoid any ambiguity in execution.
While using template petitions from the internet can be helpful to some extent, proceeding with the assistance of an expert lawyer in real estate law will save time and effort and prevent irreparable loss of rights. A lawyer will not only file the lawsuit but also follow it through to the end, ensuring that the final ruling is unambiguous and enforceable, assisting the judge in making the correct decision.
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