Can Your Salary, Belongings or Home Be Seized? Assets Exempt from Attachment in Enforcement (Articles 82–83)

When enforcement proceedings are started against you, a bailiff arriving to attach assets or a notice sent to your employer raises the question: "what can actually be seized?" The Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code (İİK) provides that some assets and rights can never be attached, while others can be attached only in part, so that the debtor and family are not left without means. This article summarises the basic rules under Articles 82 and 83 and the route for a complaint.

1. Two categories: exempt assets and partly attachable assets

• İİK Article 82: The listed assets and rights cannot be attached.
• İİK Article 83: Income such as salary, wages and pensions can be attached only after the amount the enforcement officer finds necessary for the debtor's and family's living is deducted, subject to a lower limit.

2. Main assets and rights that cannot be attached (Article 82)

The first paragraph of the Article contains a long list. The most common items are:

Asset or right	Rule
State property and assets whose attachment is excluded by special laws	Cannot be attached (Art. 82/1).
Everything necessary for a debtor whose economic activity relies on bodily work rather than capital to continue the occupation	Cannot be attached (Art. 82/2).
Personal belongings of the debtor and family members living under the same roof, and all household goods serving the family's common use	Cannot be attached; however, valuables such as money, securities, gold, silver, precious stones, antiques or ornaments are not covered (Art. 82/3).
Two months' food and fuel for the debtor and family	Cannot be attached (Art. 82/6).
Compensation paid for bodily injury to the injured person or family	Cannot be attached (Art. 82/11).
The debtor's home appropriate to their circumstances	Cannot be attached; if its value is excessive, it is attached and sold, and an amount appropriate to the debtor's circumstances is left to the debtor (Art. 82/12 and final paragraphs).
Student scholarships	Cannot be attached (Art. 82/13).

The Article also contains separate items for farmers, orchard and livestock keepers and small transporters. Two points deserve attention:

• The exemption in items 2, 4, 5, 7 and 12 applies only where the debt does not arise from the price of those goods.
• For the assets in items 2, 4, 7 and 12, if the value is excessive, the asset is attached and sold, and an amount appropriate to the debtor's circumstances is left to the debtor.

Recent amendment: Item 3 on household goods was amended by Law No. 7445 of 28.03.2023: the wording "household items necessary for the individuals; where there is more than one item used for the same purpose, one of them" was replaced by "personal belongings of the individuals and all household goods serving the family's common use".

Whether the attachment of a requested asset or right is permitted is first assessed by the enforcement officer, who accepts or rejects the request (last paragraph of Art. 82).

3. Partly attachable income: salary and pension (Article 83)

Under Article 83, salaries, allowances and every kind of wage, usufruct rights, non-judgment-based alimony, retirement pensions and annuities granted by insurance or pension funds can be attached after deducting the amount the enforcement officer finds necessary for the debtor's and family's living. The amount attached cannot be less than one quarter of them.

Where there are several attachments, they are ranked: deductions for a later attachment cannot start until the deduction for the earlier one has been completed.

Employee wages

Under Article 35 of the Labour Act No. 4857, no more than one quarter of an employee's monthly wage can be attached or assigned. The amount a judge sets for family members the employee must support is not included in this sum; alimony creditors' rights are reserved.

Pensions

According to Article 93 of Social Insurance Act No. 5510 as quoted in Court of Cassation decisions, income, pensions and allowances cannot be attached except for claims to be collected under Article 88 and alimony debts. In the operative part of its 21.03.2025 decision, the Court of Cassation Grand General Assembly for Unification of Case Law ruled by majority that a bank may directly block a pension account on the basis of set-off and similar consent and instruction orders given in connection with a consumer loan (E.2022/2, K.2025/1). This concerns instructions under the contract with the bank and is separate from attachment by the enforcement office.

Alimony claims

In its decision of 27.09.2018, the 12th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation found no illegality in attaching, in enforcement on a judgment-based alimony claim, the whole of the monthly alimony accruing and one quarter of the remaining salary for accrued alimony (E.2018/3738, K.2018/8845).

4. What can be done if exempt assets or salary are attached?

• Complaint to the enforcement court: Under Article 16 İİK, an act of the enforcement office that is unlawful can be challenged by a complaint to the enforcement court. The time limit is seven days from the date you learn of the act.
• Salary deductions made every month: In its decision of 07.07.2020, the 12th Civil Chamber held that because the deduction is made every month in salary attachments, a new right of complaint arises with the last deduction (E.2019/11677, K.2020/6554).
• Prior agreements: Agreements made in advance that the assets and rights listed in Articles 82 and 83 may be attached are not valid (Art. 83/A).

For another article on enforcement proceedings, see enforcement on cheques and promissory notes.

5. What should you do?

• Obtain the attachment record or the attachment notice sent to your employer and note the date you learned of it; the seven-day period runs from then.
• Check whether the attached asset falls under Article 82 and whether deductions from income exceed the limit under Article 83 or Labour Act Article 35.
• If deductions are being made from your salary, find out from the enforcement file how many attachments exist on the same income and their ranking.
• As the time limit is short, if you would like an assessment of the right route in your file, you can request an appointment or contact us via the contact page.

This article is for general information only and does not replace legal advice. Every case is different and rights may be lost if time limits are missed.