An action for dissolution of co-ownership — formerly known as izale-i şuyu — is an action that brings the co-ownership between the co-owners of a property to an end and either divides the property in kind or sells it and distributes the proceeds. Each of the co-owners may bring it alone; the consent of the others is not required (TCC art.698). The action is heard by the magistrates’ court (sulh hukuk mahkemesi), and application to a mediator is a condition of bringing the action.
The distribution of an inheritance community, joint ownership and distribution agreements are explained on the Inheritance Law page. This article deals with the action itself.
Who may bring the action, and against whom?
In co-ownership in shares, each of the co-owners may request the division of the property (TCC art.698). The action is brought by the claimant co-owner against all of the other co-owners; there is compulsory joinder of parties among the co-owners, and a single judgment must be given in respect of all of them (CPC art.59–60).
If a co-owner is not a party to the action, the court does not dismiss the action outright. Proper constitution of the parties is a condition of the action, and since the defect can be cured, the court sets a final deadline and ensures that the missing co-owner is joined to the action, and only then proceeds to the merits (CPC art.115).
If one of the co-owners dies during the proceedings, the participation of the heirs in the action is ensured on the basis of the certificate of inheritance; if the heirs have neither accepted nor disclaimed the inheritance, the action is adjourned until the statutory periods have expired (CPC art.55).
When may division not be requested?
The law lays down three limits (TCC art.698):
- Contractual obligation to continue. The right to request division may be restricted by a legal transaction for a maximum of ten years. Agreements concerning the continuation of co-ownership in shares over immovable property are subject to official form and may be annotated in the land register.
- Dedication to a permanent purpose. If the property held in shares is dedicated to a permanent purpose, the co-owners are obliged to maintain the co-ownership in shares.
- Inappropriate time. The law provides that division may not be requested at an inappropriate time; it does not define the concept, and the assessment is made according to the circumstances of the individual case.
There is a further prohibition separate from these: dissolution of co-ownership may not be requested in respect of an immovable itself that is subject to condominium ownership or condominium easement. The individual units may, however, be the subject of an action as independent immovables, and the co-ownership in them may be dissolved (Condominium Ownership Act art.7).
Division in kind or sale?
The law recognises two forms of division: division of the property in kind or sale by negotiation or auction and division of the proceeds (TCC art.699).
If the co-owners cannot agree on the form, on the request of one of the co-owners the judge follows the following order:
- Division in kind first. If the values of the divided parts are not equal, equalisation is achieved by adding money to the part of lesser value.
- Sale if division is not appropriate. If the request for division is not regarded as appropriate to the circumstances and conditions — in particular if the property cannot be divided without significant loss of value — sale by auction is ordered.
In the action the defendant has the same rights as the claimant: the claimant’s request for sale does not prevent the defendant from requesting division in kind.
There is a third route. In a building suitable for condominium ownership, if one of the co-owners or heirs so requests, the judge may decide that the division be carried out by establishing condominium ownership and allocating the individual units (Condominium Ownership Act art.10).
A separate regime applies to agricultural land: such land may not be subdivided or divided into shares below the sizes determined by the Ministry; transactions involving the transfer of shares, partition and the conversion of joint ownership into co-ownership in shares are subject to Ministry authorisation (Act No. 5403, arts.8 and 8/B).
To whom is the sale made?
Here a single sentence of the law determines a great deal in practice (TCC art.699):
“A decision that the sale be made by auction among the co-owners is subject to the consent of all the co-owners.”
In other words, the rule is that the auction is open to all. For the sale to be made only among the co-owners, all the co-owners must consent; if one objects, the immovable may also be sold to third parties. The co-owners may of course take part in that auction.
There has been an important exception since 31 July 2026. In respect of immovables that all the owners have acquired by inheritance and in which third parties outside the heirs hold no right of ownership, if it is decided to dissolve the co-ownership by sale, the first auction is held, by operation of law and without seeking anyone’s consent, only among the heirs who are owners. This procedure applies once only, and at that auction bids must exceed the entirety of the estimated value (Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act art.114; Act No. 7589, Official Gazette 31.7.2026-33326).
If no result is obtained from the first auction, the second auction is open to all and the threshold falls to fifty per cent of the estimated value. The provision does not apply to auctions for which notice was given before it entered into force.
This rule is not a right of pre-emption or a priority right; it is a statutory restriction on who may take part in the first auction. The provision is new and no settled case law on its application has yet developed.
If the court orders sale, how does the process work?
The sale order is carried out not by the court but by the sales officer appointed by the judge for that purpose; the sale of movable and immovable property is conducted under the provisions of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act (CPC art.322). Judgments concerning rights in rem over immovable property cannot be enforced until they become final (CPC art.350); the sale stage therefore begins after the judgment becomes final.
The sale is conducted by auction through the Electronic Sales Portal integrated with UYAP, and the bidding period is seven days (EBA art.111/b). Those wishing to take part in the auction deposit security amounting to ten per cent of the estimated value; in dissolution of co-ownership no security is taken from a share holder up to the amount covered by that person’s share. The purchaser at auction must pay the sale price in cash within seven days of the publication of the minutes of the auction result (EBA art.130). The sale price is distributed among the co-owners in proportion to their shares.
Is mediation mandatory?
Yes. In disputes concerning the division of movable and immovable property and the dissolution of co-ownership, application to a mediator before the action is brought is a condition of the action (Act No. 6325, art.18/B). This rule entered into force on 1 September 2023.
The application is made to the mediation office in the place where the competent court is situated, according to the subject matter of the dispute. The mediator concludes the process within three weeks of being appointed; in compulsory cases it may be extended by a maximum of one week.
If no agreement is reached, the original or a certified copy of the final minutes must be attached to the statement of claim. If it is established that the action was brought without any application to a mediator, the statement of claim is dismissed on procedural grounds for absence of a condition of the action, without being served on the opposing party.
If the parties reach agreement, an annotation of enforceability must be obtained for the settlement document. In documents concerning immovable property this annotation is obtained from the magistrates’ court (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) of the place where the immovable is situated; after the annotation, either party may request registration from the land registry directorate without a formal deed being drawn up.
In which court is the action brought?
Jurisdiction ratione materiae. Actions concerning the division of movable or immovable property or rights and the dissolution of co-ownership are heard by the magistrates’ court (sulh hukuk mahkemesi), irrespective of the value or amount of the subject matter (CPC art.4). The simplified procedure applies; the period for the response is two weeks and the parties may not submit a reply or a second response (CPC art.316–317).
Jurisdiction ratione loci over immovables. In actions concerning a right in rem over immovable property or capable of bringing about a change in the ownership of a right in rem, the court of the place where the immovable is situated has exclusive jurisdiction (CPC art.12). Dissolution of co-ownership falls within this scope because it changes the ownership position. If the action concerns more than one immovable, it may be brought in the place where one of the immovables is situated also in respect of the others.
The practical consequence is this: a co-owner who holds a share in an immovable in Alanya brings the action in Alanya, wherever that person lives; even if the co-owners are abroad, the competent court does not change.
Jurisdiction over movables. In the dissolution of co-ownership concerning only movable property there is no special rule of jurisdiction; the general rule applies and the action is brought in the court of the defendant’s place of residence or, if there are several defendants, in the court of the place of residence of one of them (CPC art.6–7). This jurisdiction is not exclusive; if no objection to jurisdiction is raised in accordance with procedure, the court in which the action was brought becomes competent.
How long does the action take?
According to Judicial Statistics 2025, published by the General Directorate of Judicial Records and Statistics of the Ministry of Justice, the average duration of a case in the magistrates’ courts (sulh hukuk mahkemeleri) hearing these actions was 120 days in 2025.
That figure is the average across all types of case in the magistrates’ courts; the Ministry does not publish a separate duration by type of case for dissolution of co-ownership. The duration does not cover the appeal stage or the sale stage after the judgment becomes final. In the same statistics, the average duration of a case in the civil chambers of the regional courts of appeal is given as 371 days.
The number of co-owners, defects in the land registry records and expert examination may significantly lengthen the duration.
Where the co-ownership arises from inheritance
The community among heirs is one of joint ownership and its rules differ in part. Each of the heirs may at any time request the distribution of the estate unless they are obliged to continue the community by contract or by law (TCC art.642). If immediate distribution would significantly reduce the value of the property or of the estate, the magistrates’ judge may decide to postpone distribution; if there is an unborn child who will be an heir, distribution is postponed until the birth (TCC art.642–643).
An heir may also request the conversion of joint ownership into co-ownership in shares over all or part of the assets forming the estate (TCC art.644).
The distribution of the estate, distribution agreements and the transfer of an inheritance share are explained on the Inheritance Law page.
Frequently asked questions
Are izale-i şuyu and dissolution of co-ownership the same thing?
Yes. “İzale-i şuyu” is the former term; in the language of the law today it is called “dissolution of co-ownership”.
Can the action be brought if the other co-owners do not wish it?
Yes. Each of the co-owners may request division alone; the consent of the others is not required (TCC art.698).
I do not want the immovable to be sold; what can I do?
The judge first considers division in kind; if division is possible, sale is not ordered (TCC art.699). In a building suitable for condominium ownership, it may also be requested that condominium ownership be established and the individual units allocated (COA art.10).
If I sell my share, do the other co-owners acquire a right of pre-emption?
In co-ownership in shares, if a co-owner sells their share to a third party, the other co-owners may exercise the right of pre-emption (TCC art.732). This right lapses on the expiry of three months from the date on which the sale is notified to the holder of the right and in any event on the expiry of one year from the sale. By contrast, the right of pre-emption cannot be exercised in sales by compulsory auction — that is, there is no pre-emption in a sale carried out at the end of an action for dissolution of co-ownership (TCC art.733, as amended by Act No. 7571).
Can I sell my share in joint ownership?
In joint ownership the co-owners have no fixed shares and acts of disposal require unanimity; a “share” in a single immovable therefore cannot be transferred on its own. An heir may transfer their inheritance share in the estate: written form is a condition of validity as between heirs, and a notarial deed is a condition of validity in relation to a third party. A transfer to a third party does not give that person the right to take part in the distribution; it confers only the right to request that the share allocated to the heir at the end of the distribution be handed over to that person (TCC art.677).
Legislation relied on
Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 — arts.642–644 (distribution of the estate, postponement, conversion of joint ownership into co-ownership in shares), art.677 (transfer of an inheritance share), art.688 (rights of the co-owner), art.698 (request for division and its limits), art.699 (form of division), arts.732–734 (statutory right of pre-emption) — mevzuat.gov.tr
Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100 — art.4 (jurisdiction ratione materiae), arts.6–7 and art.12 (jurisdiction ratione loci), art.55 (adjournment in the event of death), arts.59–60 (compulsory joinder of parties), art.115 (conditions of the action), arts.316–317 (simplified procedure), art.322 (sales officer), art.350 (becoming final) — mevzuat.gov.tr
Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act No. 2004 — art.111/b (electronic sale), art.114 (auction and first auction among heirs), art.130 (payment of the auction price) — mevzuat.gov.tr
Mediation in Civil Disputes Act No. 6325 — art.18/A and art.18/B (mediation as a condition of the action) — mevzuat.gov.tr
Condominium Ownership Act No. 634 — arts.7, 10 — mevzuat.gov.tr · Soil Protection and Land Use Act No. 5403 — arts.8, 8/B — mevzuat.gov.tr
Related pages
This article is intended as general legal information. Since the circumstances of each matter, the structure of the co-owners and the nature of the immovable vary, it is recommended that you obtain legal support from your attorney at law for your particular situation.