KÜHEYLAN HUKUK
Transfer of Inheritance Share and Preemption Right in Shared Title Deed: Current Deadlines, Notary Notification and Current Value Deposit Obligation. Legislation and case law information has been compiled as of October 2026. With the Law No. 7571 dated 25.12.2025, the amendments made to the Turkish Civil Code Articles 733 and Article 734 and the provisional article 1 of the same Law were taken into consideration.
The heirs acquire joint ownership of the real estate in the estate, up to sharing (TMK article 640). Unless joint ownership is converted into shared ownership, an heir's sole sale of a share of real estate to a third party will not produce valid results. Contracts for the transfer of inheritance shares are subject to a separate regime: If the written form is made between the heirs and is made with a third party, it must be prepared by a notary (TCC Art. 677). If a stakeholder sells his share to a third party in a shared title deed that has become joint ownership, other stakeholders can use the right of pre-emption (TCC Art. 732). With the Law No. 7571 dated 25.12.2025, the pre-emption periods and the price system have changed: for sales after this date, the right expires after 3 months from the notification and in any case 1 year from the sale. The owner of the pre-emption right must deposit the market price determined by the judge and the title deed expenses incurred by the buyer to be accrued within a certain period of time; If he does not deposit, a registration decision cannot be made in his name (TMK article 734/2).
1. First, Distinction: Transfer of Inheritance Share and Sale of Shares in Shared Title Deed
In practice, the two different processes are often confused. The first is that the heir transfers his right to the estate. Upon the death of the testator, the real estate becomes joint ownership on behalf of the heirs; Each heir's share is spread over the entire property and he does not have a specific share. In this case, the transfer is a "contract for the transfer of inheritance share" (TMK article 677). Secondly, if the heirs have converted the joint ownership into joint ownership by a sharing agreement or court decision, there are now certain shares in the title deed, such as 1/4, 3/12. The sale of one of these shares is the sale of shares in joint ownership and may give rise to the right of pre-emption (TCC Art. 732).
The 7th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, in its decision dated 14.01.2026 and numbered E.2025/5571 K.2026/209, stated that the sale made by one or more of the heirs alone to a third party in the real estate subject to the provisions of collaboration is not valid, and that disposition cannot be made without the unanimous consent of the partners (TMK art. 701-702). In the same direction, in the decision numbered E.2023/4826 K.2025/3417 of the 8th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals dated 05.05.2025, it was emphasized that if the provisions of cooperation between the heirs are valid, there is a compulsory litigation companionship and that an heir cannot file a lawsuit alone.
The contract made between the heirs regarding the transfer of the inheritance share on all or part of the estate must be in written form. If the heir makes this contract with a third party, the condition for validity is that it be drawn up by a notary. Transfer to a third party does not give him/her the authority to participate in sharing. Only at the end of sharing, it provides the heir with the right to request that the allocated share be given to him (TMK article 677/2). Therefore, the transferee does not immediately become the owner of the title deed; It waits until the sharing is made between the heirs or the joint ownership turns into joint ownership.
For this reason, the legal nature of transactions considered to be "buying and selling shares" in the land registry should be carefully determined. The 7th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, in its decision dated 15.01.2024 and numbered E.2022/6973 K.2024/160, stated that unless the joint ownership is converted into joint ownership, there is no possibility of fulfilling the sales promise agreement made by one of the stakeholders, and the third party who is not an heir does not have the right to request this conversion; However, it overturned the verdict because it was understood that the title deed had turned into shared ownership at the time the case was heard. In other words, if the ownership becomes shared later, the possibility of performance of the contract may arise.
3. Who has the right of pre-emption and in which sales?
The right of pre-emption is a legal right that can be exercised by other stakeholders in case a shareholder in shared ownership sells his/her share of the real estate in whole or in part to a third party (TCC Art. 732). The 7th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, in its decision dated 05.11.2025 and numbered E.2025/4665 K.2025/4704, emphasized that in order to be able to talk about the legal right of pre-emption, the share in the immovable property subject to the provisions of joint ownership must be sold to the third party, and that the subject of the right of pre-emption is the sale of shares. The right is a right that creates innovation and arises as soon as the joint ownership relationship is established and becomes available through sale.
The right of pre-emption cannot be used in every sale. The right of pre-emption cannot be used in sales within the scope of the State Procurement Law and in sales by forced auction (TMK article 733/1). No rights arise in transfers that do not constitute sales, such as donations. For the right to be exercised, the sale must be real; The allegation of collusion in the sales price is subject to proof. The General Assembly of the Supreme Court of Appeals, in its decision dated 28.05.2025 and numbered E.2025/120 K.2025/353, also stated that if the immovable property has been actually divided by the stakeholders and each of them uses a separate place, the use of the right of pre-emption by the shareholder who does not claim rights in the seller's place will not be compatible with the rule of honesty, but for the existence of actual division, the places used separately by the sellers and the owner of the right of pre-emption must be determined.
With the Law No. 7571, which came into force on 25.12.2025, the exact limit of the periods specified in TMK Article 733 was shortened. According to the current text, the sale is notified to other stakeholders by the buyer or seller through a notary. The right of pre-emption expires after three months have passed since the date on which the sale was notified to the right holder, and in any case, one year has passed since the sale. In the previous text, this maximum period was two years.
The amendments made to Article 733 pursuant to Provisional Article 1/1 do not apply to sales made before the effective date; The old provisions remain valid for these sales. For this reason, a two-year maximum period is taken into account for sales before 25.12.2025, and a one-year maximum period is taken into account for sales after it. The 7th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals, in its decisions dated 25.02.2025 dated E.2024/855 K.2025/1071 and the General Assembly of Law dated 28.05.2025, numbered E.2025/120 K.2025/353, clearly stated the following principle in terms of the old regulation: learning about the sale is not enough for the three-month period to start, the sale must be notified through a notary; If notary notification is not made, a lawsuit can be filed within the maximum period. The deadlines are restrictive and are automatically observed by the court.
The right of pre-emption is exercised by filing a lawsuit against the buyer (TMK article 734/1). The lawsuit is filed with a request for cancellation of title deed and registration in the name of the owner of the pre-emption right. The lawsuit is directed to the buyer in the court where the real estate is located. By exercising the right of pre-emption, a sales relationship is deemed to be established between the right holder and the buyer, the scope and conditions of which are the same as the contract between the seller and the buyer.
TMK article 734/2 was changed by Law No. 7571. According to the new text, the market value of the share in question is determined by the judge without delay. The owner of the pre-emption right is obliged to deposit the determined market price and the title deed expenses incurred by the buyer in cash to the place determined by the judge, within the specified period, to be accrued. If this obligation is not fulfilled within a certain period of time, the registration of the share in the name of the pre-emption right holder cannot be decided. The deposited amount is paid to the relevant party together with the dividends when the verdict is finalized.
Using the current price instead of the sales price in the title deed, which was the basis in the old system, aims to reduce the discussions about collusion in the price. The 7th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals stated in its 2026 decisions that this change will also apply to cases filed before the effective date (temporary article 1/2), and overturned the provisions for determining the fair value of the share in question on 25.12.2025 (for example, E.2025/2791 dated 09.02.2026 and K.2026/697 dated 26.02.2026). E.2025/4649 K.2026/1058). In the Chamber's decisions of the same period, it is seen that there was a majority vote against the justification regarding the date by which the current price would be determined; The opposing vote advocates determining the price according to the date of sale. For this reason, in new cases, the practice should be closely monitored in terms of the date of determination of the current value.
In the decisions regarding the old system, the Supreme Court stated that the pre-emption price consists of the sales price shown in the title deed and the fees and expenses paid by the buyer (7th HD, E.2024/3833 K.2025/2673; E.2024/2319 K.2025/793). Again, in the old decisions, it was emphasized that the price should be deposited within a reasonable time and evaluated in the deferred account in order to prevent the buyer from being victimized due to the loss of value of the price between the opening of the case and the warehouse date (7. HD, E.2025/984 K.2025/1691). In the new system, interest payment is directly in the text of the law.
If the decision is made to sell the immovable property due to the lawsuit of the heirs to dissolve the partnership, the sale is in the nature of a forced auction and the right of pre-emption cannot be used in this sale (TMK article 733/1). According to the provision of Article 114 of the EBL added by the Law No. 7589 dated 16.07.2026, if it is decided to eliminate the partnership through sale in immovable properties that all owners have acquired by inheritance and where third parties other than the heirs have ownership rights, the first auction is made only between the owner heirs and this procedure is only for once. Dissolution of partnership is covered in a separate guide.
After the death of the deceased, the heirs divide the immovable property into three parts in the title deed, as 1/3 shares each, with a sharing agreement. Ali, one of the heirs, sells 1/3 of his shares to the third party Selim on 12.02.2026. The sale is not notified to other stakeholders through a notary. Stakeholder Ayşe learns about the sale on 20.05.2026.
Since shares are sold in joint ownership, Ayşe has the right of pre-emption (TMK article 732). Since the sale is after 25.12.2025, the new period is valid. Since the notary notification was not made, the three-month period has not started; For Ayşe's case, the maximum period of one year from the sale, that is, 12.02.2027, is taken as basis. The period is calculated not from the date of learning, but, as a rule, from the date of sale.
Ayşe files a lawsuit for title deed cancellation and registration against the buyer Selim. The court determines the market price of the share, and if Ayşe deposits this price and Selim's title deed expenses to be accrued within a certain period of time, the share is registered in Ayşe's name.
Can one of the heirs sell his share in the immovable property for which a certificate of inheritance has been obtained, on his own?
If joint ownership continues, the real estate share cannot be sold individually; All heirs must act together. The heir can only make an inheritance share transfer contract and a notary form is required for this contract (TCC Art. 677).
If a notary notification is not made, when can a preemption lawsuit be filed?
Since the three-month period has not started, a lawsuit can be filed within the upper period from the sale, that is, one year for sales after 25.12.2025, and two years before.
What amount is paid in a preemption case?
In the new system, the market price determined by the judge and the title deed expenses incurred by the buyer are deposited to be accrued within a certain period of time. If it is not deposited, a registration decision cannot be made.
Can pre-emption rights be exercised for shares sold through forced auction?
No. The right of pre-emption cannot be used in sales made by forced auction and within the scope of the State Procurement Law (TMK article 733/1).
Is it possible to waive the right of pre-emption in advance?
Yes. The waiver of pre-emption right is made officially and an annotation is made in the land registry. Waiver of exercising the right in a particular sale is subject to written form and can be made before or after the sale (TMK article 733/2).
Delaying the pre-emption case by thinking that the deadline has not run due to notary notification being made
Calculating the period without checking whether the sales date is before or after 25.12.2025
Ignoring the rule of honesty and the defense of bad faith in the real estate where there is actual division
The transfer of inheritance share and the right of pre-emption in shared title deeds create different legal consequences depending on at what stage and in what way the property is transferred. After Law No. 7571, the periods were shortened and a new trial order for market value and interest warehouse liability was introduced. Küheylan Law Firm manages the file by scheduling the forfeiture periods at all stages, from the transition of the stakeholders from joint ownership to joint ownership, to the time and cost strategy of the pre-emption case, and the notification and defense process of the buyer party.
Important Legal Notice: The information contained in this guide is for general information purposes and does not constitute a legal opinion. The outcome may vary depending on the specific circumstances of each concrete case, the nature of the documents in the file, and the legislative provisions at the relevant date. It is recommended that the process be carried out with the support of a lawyer, in order not to miss the limiting deadlines and to prevent procedural errors.
KÜHEYLAN HUKUK