Annulment of Title Deed and Re-registration

When the action arises

The land registry is presumed correct until the contrary is proved. Where the entry does not reflect the true legal position, correction of the entry may be sought under Article 1025 of the Turkish Civil Code (TMK). In practice the action is most often brought on the following grounds:

Forgery. Transfers made with a forged identity document, a forged power of attorney or a forged signature. A forgery allegation may run in parallel with a criminal investigation; the court-appointed expert report in the criminal file constitutes strong evidence in the civil file.

Lack of capacity. The owner lacking capacity to act at the time of the transfer. It arises in cases such as advanced age, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, a serious psychiatric condition or heavy medication. In these files the court collects medical records from around the date of the transfer and obtains a report from the Council of Forensic Medicine. The condition on the date of transfer is decisive, not the condition on the date of the action.

Abuse of a power of attorney. The person acting under a power of attorney transferring the property, contrary to the interests of the principal, most often to a relative or to himself. Even if the power of attorney is valid, the transaction may be annulled; what is in dispute here is not the authority but the way it was used.

Collusion (muvazaa). The apparent transaction not reflecting the true intention of the parties. For inheritance-based cases we have prepared a separate page: collusive transfer by the deceased.

Family home and spousal consent. Disposition of the family home without the required express consent of the other spouse; protection does not arise only upon annotation (Article 194 TMK).

The good-faith third party obstacle

Most of the actions lost in these files are not actions where the merits were examined and the other side was found to be right. The property was transferred to someone else before the action was filed, and that person acquired it in good faith relying on the register (Article 1023 TMK). In that case the acquisition is protected and annulment cannot be sought; the claim turns into compensation.

Where there is a concrete transfer risk, an interim injunction may be sought before or during the action. Its effect depends on the order: a prohibition of transfer prevents the transactions within its scope, whereas an annotation of a dispute is not the same protection. The requirements and time limits in HMK Articles 389–399 must be observed.

Time limits

An action for annulment of the title deed and re-registration based on wrongful registration is as a rule not subject to a limitation period; the right of ownership does not end by itself with the passage of time. However:

• If the conditions of acquisition by extraordinary prescription (Article 713 TMK) have been met, the other side may raise this as a defence.
• Allegations of lack of capacity or abuse of a power of attorney rest on witnesses and medical records; every passing year makes it harder to gather that evidence.

Documents required for the file

• Title register extract and the deed of conveyance (akit tablosu) (it shows how the transfer was made)
• Medical records, prescriptions and hospital discharge summaries from around the date of the transfer (for a lack of capacity claim)
• Copy of the power of attorney and notary records
• Payment documents, or data showing that no payment was ever made
• Data on the value of the property on the date of transfer

How the proceedings unfold

After the exchange of pleadings the court usually conducts a site inspection, views the property in place and has a court-appointed expert examination carried out. Where lack of capacity is alleged, the file is sent to the Council of Forensic Medicine. Hearing witnesses is decisive particularly in collusion and power of attorney files. No transaction can be made at the land registry until the judgment becomes final; for that reason the continuation of the interim injunction throughout the proceedings is important.

The course of every file varies according to its own documents; this account is for general information purposes.