Supreme Court Decision on De Facto Partition: Limits on Pre-emption Rights for Jointly Owned Property

De Facto Usage Limits Pre-emption Rights The 7th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court has signed a precedent-setting decision defining the limits of the right of pre-emption (shufa) in the sale of real estate with a single title deed and multiple shareholders.
In the decision published in the Official Gazette, it was emphasized that the de facto usage status of the property will be decisive in legal processes.
The High Court reminded that while other shareholders can exercise their right of pre-emption through a lawsuit if a shareholder transfers their share to a third party in a property subject to shared ownership, this right is not absolute.
Rule of Honesty and the Principle of De Facto Partition According to the ruling, if the property is de facto divided among the shareholders and each shareholder uses a specific part, it will not be compatible with the rule of honesty for a shareholder who did not object to this situation during the sale to demand pre-emption after the title deed transfer has taken place.
The case under review involved a pre-emption lawsuit filed after the sale of a jointly owned field.
While the shareholder who made the sale argued that the land was de facto partitioned among themselves and that they only transferred the part they used, the local court rejected the case on these grounds.
Reversal Due to Insufficient Investigation The expert report in the file determined that the property was empty and there were no distinguishing marks showing the boundaries.
Upon this contradiction, the Supreme Court overturned the decision, ruling that the local court did not sufficiently examine the findings regarding whether there was a de facto partition.
This decision, rendered within the scope of an appeal for the sake of the law, serves as a guide for disputes in real estate acquired through inheritance or purchase.
Principles to be Applied in the New Period In line with the precedent, if the property is de facto divided, shareholders who do not claim rights at the time of sale will not be able to assert their right of pre-emption later.
In cases where there is no de facto partition, courts will be obliged to investigate the usage status of the property in detail.
In jointly owned properties, both the attitude during the sales process and the de facto usage status will be considered the fundamental determining factors in potential lawsuits.