A New Era for Pre-emption Rights: Amendments Introduced by Law No. 7571

When one co-owner of a co-owned property sells their share to an outsider, the other co-owners often do not want to share ownership with someone they do not know. The Turkish Civil Code gives co-owners the opportunity to buy the share sold in priority: the pre-emption right (şufa). Law No. 7571, published in the Official Gazette of 25.12.2025, made significant changes to the provisions on this right. This article discusses the conditions and time limits of the pre-emption right and what the new regulation brings.

1. Who holds the pre-emption right?

Under Article 732 of the Turkish Civil Code (TCC), where a co-owner sells all or part of their share in an immovable to a third party, the other co-owners may exercise their pre-emption right. Consequently:

• The right arises from the law; no separate contract is required.
• The right arises only upon a sale. Transactions that are not sales, such as gifts, exchanges or transfers among heirs, do not, as a rule, give rise to a pre-emption right.
• The sale must be made to a third party who is not a co-owner.

2. Sales in which the pre-emption right cannot be exercised

Under TCC Art. 733/1 as amended by Law No. 7571, the pre-emption right cannot be exercised in:

• sales made under State Tender Law No. 2886, and
• sales by compulsory auction (for example, sales in enforcement proceedings).

Sales under the State Tender Law have now been expressly added to this exception.

3. Time limits: three months and one year

The sale is notified to the other co-owners through a notary by the buyer or the seller. Under TCC Art. 733/4, the pre-emption right lapses:

• three months after the sale is notified to the right holder, and
• in any event one year after the sale.

Before Law No. 7571, this outer limit was two years; it has now been reduced to one year. These are limitation periods that extinguish the right entirely once they expire, and courts take them into account of their own motion.

In practice, the sale is often not notified through a notary and the co-owner learns of it by chance. Even then, the one-year outer limit continues to run from the date of sale. Co-owners are therefore advised to check the land registry regularly.

4. The action and deposit of the price: market value principle

The pre-emption right is exercised by bringing an action against the buyer (TCC Art. 734/1). The most important consequence of the amendment concerns how the price is determined.

• Previous rule: The right holder had to pay the sale price paid by the buyer plus title deed costs. Whether the price declared at the land registry reflected the real price was frequently disputed in practice.
• New rule: The market value of the share is determined by the judge without delay. The right holder must deposit, in cash, the market value so determined and the title deed costs borne by the buyer at the place designated by the judge within the final period granted.

If this obligation is not fulfilled within the final period, the share cannot be registered in the right holder's name. The amount deposited is paid to the person entitled, together with accrued interest, once the judgment becomes final (TCC Art. 734/2). A co-owner considering legal action should therefore assess in advance whether they have the financial means to deposit the market value within a short time.

5. Waiver of the pre-emption right

• A general waiver of the pre-emption right must be made in official form and annotated in the land registry.
• A waiver of the right in respect of a specific sale requires written form and may be made before or after the sale (TCC Art. 733/2).

6. Contractual pre-emption rights

In addition to the statutory right, the parties may establish a pre-emption right by contract. A contractual pre-emption right annotated in the land registry may be exercised against any owner within the period and under the conditions stated in the annotation; the effect of the annotation ends ten years after it was made (TCC Art. 735). The provisions on the exercise and waiver of the statutory right also apply to contractual pre-emption rights.

7. Temporal application of the amendment

The amendments introduced by Law No. 7571 were published in the Official Gazette on 25.12.2025. Which provision applies to sales made before the amendment and to pending cases should be assessed separately in light of the dates of the specific case.

Conclusion

Under the new regulation, the pre-emption right is subject to a shorter outer time limit, and market value has replaced the sale price as the basis for the amount to be paid. If you are a co-owner of real estate, you should monitor sales of shares, calculate the time limits as soon as you learn of a sale, and act with the obligation to deposit the market value in mind. For co-owners wishing to sell and for buyers, notifying the other co-owners of the sale through a notary ensures that uncertainty ends quickly.

This article is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Legal support is recommended for specific disputes.