Court of Cassation Jurisprudence on the Time Limit for Filing Eviction Lawsuits Due to Necessity: The Absolute Application of TBK Art. 350

The subject of this article is the decision of the 3rd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (File No: 2025/2623, Decision No: 2025/3930), published in the Turkish Official Gazette dated November 7, 2025. The decision scrutinizes the application of the absolute rule regarding the time limit for filing lawsuits for the eviction of a leased property due to the landlord's necessity, a matter of critical importance in lease law.

The Court of Cassation defines the fundamental legal basis for the filing period as follows:

"Pursuant to the provision of Article 350/1 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (TCO) No. 6098, eviction lawsuits filed based on the claim of necessity must be initiated within one month, starting from the end of the term in fixed-term contracts, or starting from the date to be determined by observing the notice periods stipulated in Article 328 of the same Law in indefinite-term contracts."

The most crucial legal finding emphasized in the decision is the legal nature of the filing period:

"The time limit for filing a lawsuit is a matter of public order and must be considered ex officio by the court, even if the defendant does not raise it."

This finding dictates that before examining the merits of the eviction claim (the sincerity of the necessity), courts must mandatorily and primarily consider whether the lawsuit was filed within the statutory period.

In the case subject to the decision of the Adana 9th Civil Court of Peace dated 30.04.2024:

• The lease agreement between the parties commenced on 15.08.2020 and had a fixed term of 5 years.

• The expiration date of the contract was 15.08.2025.

• However, the eviction lawsuit was filed on 01.12.2023, before the contract term expired.

Despite the First Instance Court ruling for eviction on the grounds that the necessity was genuine and compelling, the Ministry of Justice carried the decision to the Court of Cassation with a request for Appeal in Favor of Law.

Comparing the filing date with the contract's expiration date, the Court of Cassation concluded:

"Since the present lawsuit was filed on 01.12.2023, before the expiration of the 5-year fixed term of the lease agreement, the lawsuit was not filed within the period. Therefore, the decision to evict the property was contrary to procedure and law, as the case should have been dismissed after considering the time limit ex officio. Consequently, the Ministry of Justice's appeal in favor of law regarding this point was accepted."

The Court of Cassation accepted the request for Appeal in Favor of Law based on Article 363/1 of the Code of Civil Procedure and QUASHED THE DECISION IN FAVOR OF LAW pursuant to Article 363/2 of the same Code, without affecting the outcome for the parties.

This ruling reinforces the most fundamental procedural rule that landlords must observe in eviction litigation. For fixed-term lease agreements, the landlord's ability to file an eviction lawsuit based on necessity is absolutely contingent upon waiting for the contract term to expire and initiating the lawsuit within the one-month preclusive period starting from the expiration date. Violation of this procedural requirement will lead to the dismissal of the case, even if the sincerity of the necessity is proven.