— Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law
Law no. 7589, in force since 31 July 2026, amended article 114 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law and introduced a new procedure for auctions dissolving co-ownership by sale. For property acquired by inheritance, the first auction is held among the co-owning heirs alone, and the bid threshold in that auction is the full appraised value. The change does not apply to auctions already advertised before it took effect.
The change was introduced by article 1 of law no. 7589, the Law on Amendments to Certain Laws for the Effective and Efficient Functioning of the Judiciary, known publicly as the 12th Judicial Package. It was published in the Official Gazette of 31 July 2026, issue 33326, and entered into force the same day.
This article addresses not the package as a whole but the amendment to article 114 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law and its effect on proceedings for the dissolution of co-ownership. The office's work in this field is set out on our Antalya enforcement lawyer page.
The problem behind the amendment is well known. In auctions following proceedings to dissolve co-ownership of property passing by inheritance, the property was frequently sold to third parties at a low price, and the co-owning heirs lost the family property. The new rule gives heirs priority in those files.
The provision can be consulted in the text as published in the Official Gazette.
Article 1 of the law added new sentences to the second paragraph of article 114 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law and replaced subparagraphs (6), (8) and (9) of the seventh paragraph.
Article 114 governs the auction advertisement and the conduct of the public auction on the electronic sales portal. The amendment therefore concerns not only files on dissolution of co-ownership but also sales by way of attachment; the most distinctive change, however, relates to dissolution of co-ownership.
What follows sets out first the priority given to heirs, then the bid thresholds, the rules on security, and the sanctions applying to a bidder who fails to pay.
Under the sentence added to the second paragraph, where dissolution of co-ownership by sale is ordered in respect of property that all owners acquired by inheritance and in which no third party outside the heirs holds title, the first auction is held among the co-owning heirs alone.
Two conditions must be satisfied together. All owners must have acquired their shares by inheritance; the condition fails if one co-owner purchased a share. And no third party outside the heirs may hold title; the rule does not apply if a share has been transferred to a third party.
The article states expressly that this form of auction applies once only. If no sale takes place at the first auction, the second is held under the general rules and is open to third parties as well.
The practical effect is to allow heirs to acquire the property without competing against third parties. In return, as set out below, a notably high bid threshold applies in that auction.
Subparagraph (8) of the seventh paragraph governs the threshold that bids on the electronic sales portal must exceed. The amendment added a threshold specific to dissolution of co-ownership.
As a rule, a bid must exceed fifty per cent of the appraised value of the attached property. Where, in dissolution of co-ownership by sale, the first auction is held among the co-owning heirs alone, the bid must exceed one hundred per cent of the appraised value.
At the second auction the threshold returns to fifty per cent. Under the subparagraph, however, the bid must exceed the greater of fifty per cent of the appraised value and the total of claims secured on the property that rank ahead of the claim of the party requesting sale, and must in addition exceed the costs of realisation and distribution.
The hundred per cent threshold is the price of the priority given to heirs: an heir cannot acquire the property below the value set by the expert. Observing the time limit for objecting to the valuation before the first auction is therefore decisive for an heir.
Subparagraph (6) of the seventh paragraph concerns security. Under the new wording, where a creditor who has requested the sale and wishes to take part in the auction applies to the enforcement office conducting the sale by the close of business on the working day before the auction period ends, no security is taken from that creditor to the extent the claim covers it.
In other words, the creditor may take part without depositing security in cash up to the amount of the claim. The exemption does not operate automatically: the subparagraph requires an application to the enforcement office within time. Without it the general rules on security apply.
The same subparagraph also provides that the Treasury is exempt from providing security in public auctions.
Subparagraph (9) of the seventh paragraph sets out in detail the consequences where the highest bidder fails to pay the auction price within time.
The general rule is that the security is not returned. It is first set off against the costs of sale; the remainder is paid, in enforcement files, to those entitled, in satisfaction of their claims.
Where the person failing to pay is the creditor who requested the sale, ten per cent of the appraised value is set off against that creditor's own claim; the costs incurred for the sale are left with that creditor and are not charged to the debtor.
In dissolution of co-ownership a different distribution applies: after the costs of sale are set off, the security is paid to the co-owners in proportion to their shares. Where the person failing to pay is a co-owner, the whole of the security is paid to the other co-owners in proportion to their shares.
In addition, a successful bidder who fails to pay within time is subject to an administrative fine of five per cent of the amount bid. The fine is imposed by the enforcement office or the sales officer conducting the sale and is notified to the collection office for recovery under law no. 6183.
Articles 11 and 12 of the same law amended articles 440 and 444 of the Turkish Civil Code, which concern guardianship. Those changes arise in dissolution files where one of the co-owners is under guardianship.
The amendment provides expressly that the sale of property belonging to a person under guardianship is carried out by public auction on the electronic sales portal integrated with the National Judiciary Informatics System. The sale is completed on approval by the guardianship authority, and the decision on approval must be given within ten days of the date of the auction.
These two articles have a different commencement date. Under the commencement provision, articles 11 and 12 entered into force three months after the date of publication.
The transitional provision is clear: the amendments to article 114 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law do not apply to auctions advertised before the amendments entered into force. The former provisions continue to apply to those auctions.
The governing criterion is not the date of the proceedings or of the enforcement action but the date of the auction advertisement. Even where the order dissolving co-ownership predates the amendment, the new rules apply if the advertisement was published after 31 July 2026.
In files currently at the sale stage this makes it necessary to check the date of the advertisement on the file. That date determines directly whether the priority given to heirs is available.
Where proceedings to dissolve co-ownership concern property that passed by inheritance, three points stand out.
The first is the valuation. As the threshold at the first auction is the full appraised value, the figure set by the expert directly fixes the minimum an heir will pay. The time limit for objecting to the valuation is critical for that reason.
The second is establishing the state of title. For the rule to apply, all shares must have been acquired by inheritance and no third party outside the heirs may hold title. A single transfer on the land register can prevent the rule from applying.
The third is the date of the advertisement, which determines under the transitional rule which text applies. Files concerning property in Antalya are heard by the civil courts of peace at the Antalya Courthouse, and sales are conducted through the sales office or the enforcement office. For the general approach in property disputes, see our Antalya real estate lawyer page.
The questions below concern this provision; more general questions are answered on the frequently asked questions page.
Where all owners acquired the property by inheritance and no third party outside the heirs holds title, the first auction is held among the co-owning heirs alone. That procedure applies once only; the second auction is governed by the general rules.
Where the first auction is held among the co-owning heirs alone, the bid must exceed one hundred per cent of the appraised value of the property. At the second auction the threshold returns to fifty per cent.
Law no. 7589 was published in the Official Gazette of 31 July 2026, issue 33326, and entered into force the same day. The amendments to articles 440 and 444 of the Turkish Civil Code took effect three months after publication.
The amendments do not apply to auctions advertised before the date they took effect. The governing criterion is the date of the auction advertisement, not the date of the proceedings or of the order.
A creditor who has requested the sale and wishes to take part may apply to the enforcement office conducting the sale by the close of business on the working day before the auction period ends; no security is then taken to the extent the claim covers it. The Treasury is exempt from providing security in public auctions.
The security is not returned; it is first set off against the costs of sale. In dissolution of co-ownership the remainder is paid to the co-owners in proportion to their shares, and where the defaulting bidder is a co-owner the whole of the security is paid to the others. An administrative fine of five per cent of the amount bid is also imposed.
Under the amended article 444 of the Turkish Civil Code, the sale is conducted by public auction on the electronic sales portal integrated with the National Judiciary Informatics System, and is completed on approval by the guardianship authority. The decision on approval must be given within ten days of the date of the auction.
The new procedure gives co-owning heirs a marked priority in property passing by inheritance, but the price of that priority is the hundred per cent bid threshold at the first auction. The valuation stage has accordingly become the stage that most directly affects the outcome of the file.
The office's fields of work are set out on our practice areas page. Those seeking an assessment of a file at the sale stage can reach the office through the contact page.