Enforcing a Mortgage in Türkiye: A Lender's Guide to Realising the Security under EBL Articles 145 to 153

This guide explains the creditor's side of Articles 145 to 153 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law and the Civil Code provisions behind them: why the security must be pursued first, the execution order and the payment order, the debtor's objections and requests for a stay, credit mortgages securing current accounts and loans, rents, valuation, the one-year limit for requesting the sale, distribution of the proceeds and the shortfall certificate.

1. How Does a Lender Enforce a Mortgage in Türkiye?

A lender enforces a Turkish mortgage (ipotek) through enforcement by realisation of the security (rehnin paraya çevrilmesi yoluyla takip) under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (EBL, İcra ve İflas Kanunu, Law No. 2004). Under EBL Article 148, the mortgagee applies to the enforcement office with an official copy of the mortgage deed issued by the land registry; under Articles 149 and 149/b, the enforcement officer then sends the debtor, and any third party who gave the mortgage or now owns the property, either an execution order or a payment order, each with thirty days to pay. The right behind the procedure is in Article 873(1) of the Turkish Civil Code (TMK, Law No. 4721): if the debt is not paid, the creditor is entitled to obtain its claim from the sale price of the mortgaged property.

This guide follows that route from the creditor’s side, for a foreign bank, fund, supplier or other lender holding a mortgage over land or buildings in Türkiye, with a short note on pledges over movables. It sets out what the statute says at each step. How a particular file develops depends on its documents and on the assessment of the enforcement office and the enforcement court (icra mahkemesi).

Three forms of land security. Under TMK Article 850, a charge over immovable property can be created only as a mortgage (ipotek), a mortgage certificate (ipotekli borç senedi) or an annuity certificate (irat senedi). This guide deals with the mortgage.

The amount secured. Under TMK Article 851(1), a charge over immovable property can be created for a specific claim whose amount is shown in Turkish lira; where the amount of the claim is not fixed, the parties state the upper limit up to which the property secures all of the creditor’s claims. Under Article 851(2), a mortgage may be created in a foreign currency to secure loans extended in or by reference to a foreign currency by credit institutions operating in Türkiye or abroad. The amount of each rank is shown in the currency of the secured claim, more than one currency cannot be used in the same rank, and under the last sentence of Article 851 the President determines the foreign currencies in which such rights may be created.

No forfeiture. Under TMK Article 873(2), a contract term providing that ownership of the mortgaged property passes to the creditor if the debt is not paid is invalid. The creditor’s remedy is the sale price, through the enforcement procedure described below.

2. Why Must the Creditor Turn to the Security First?

The creditor must turn to the security first because EBL Article 45(1) says so: a creditor whose claim is secured by a pledge (rehin) may enforce only by realisation of the pledge, even if the debtor is a person subject to bankruptcy. If the proceeds of the security do not cover the debt, the creditor may pursue the remaining claim by bankruptcy or by attachment (haciz).

The same Article contains three qualifications that matter to lenders:

1. Interest and annual instalments. Under Article 45(4), for interest and annual instalment claims secured by a mortgage, the creditor may choose realisation of the security, attachment or bankruptcy, according to the debtor’s status.
2. Negotiable instruments. Under Article 45(3), Article 167 on bills of exchange, promissory notes (emre muharrer senet) and cheques is reserved. A creditor that also holds such an instrument checks that route; our guide to enforcement on promissory notes and bills of exchange explains it.
3. Housing finance. Under Article 45(2), for claims arising from housing finance as defined in the Capital Markets Law and for the secured claims of the Housing Development Administration, the creditor may use realisation of the security or attachment. These are special regimes outside this guide.

Pledges over movables. For a pledge over movable property, EBL Article 147(2) provides that if only the pledge right is objected to, the creditor may abandon realisation of the pledge and ask for the proceedings to continue by attachment, and the debtor is then given seven days to make a declaration of assets. Under Article 147(1), if the pledge right is not expressly objected to, it can no longer be disputed during the enforcement stage.

3. Starting the Proceedings: The Request, the Registry Annotation and Sale Preparations

The enforcement request. Under EBL Article 148, the mortgagee applies to the competent enforcement office or the enforcement office where the property is located, presents an official copy of the mortgage deed (akit tablosu) issued by the land registry, states the amount of the claim, and makes an enforcement request in accordance with Article 58.

More than one property. Under TMK Article 873(3), where several properties are mortgaged for the same claim, the request for realisation is made against all of them; the enforcement office nevertheless realises only as many of them as necessary.

Annotation in the land registry. Under EBL Article 150/c, the enforcement officer must notify the land registry that proceedings for realisation of the mortgage have started, and the registrar annotates this on the property’s register. Execution or payment orders are not served on persons who acquire the property after the date of that annotation.

A domestic address for service. Under EBL Article 148/a, the parties to the mortgage contract, later buyers of the mortgaged property and their successors must give the land registry a notification address in Türkiye; otherwise their registration request is rejected. A change of address takes effect when notified to the land registry, and if a new address is not notified, the date on which a notification reaches the old address counts as the date of service.

Sale preparations from day one. Under EBL Article 150/d, the enforcement office begins sale preparations upon the enforcement request: it obtains copies of the land registry records and the zoning status from the municipality, and has the property valued without waiting for the proceedings to become final.

A third-party owner. Where a shareholder, a group company or another third party gave the mortgage, or the property has changed hands, the orders described in the next section go to that owner as well (EBL Articles 149(1) and 149/b). Under TMK Article 887, if the owner of the mortgaged property is not personally liable for the debt, the creditor’s demand for payment is effective against the owner only if it is made both to the debtor and to the owner.

4. Execution Order or Payment Order: Which Track Applies?

The track depends on the mortgage deed. Under EBL Article 149(1), if the enforcement officer finds that the deed presented contains an unconditional acknowledgment of a money debt (kayıtsız şartsız bir para borcu ikrarı) and that the claim is due, the officer sends an execution order (icra emri). Under Article 149/b, for due claims outside Article 149, the officer sends a payment order (ödeme emri) in accordance with Article 60.

Track A: the execution order (Article 149). The order goes to the debtor and, where the property was mortgaged by a third party or its ownership has passed to a third party, to that person as well. Under Article 149(2), it states that the debt must be paid within thirty days, and that if it is not paid within that period and no decision staying enforcement (icranın geri bırakılması) is obtained from the enforcement court, the creditor may request the sale of the property.

Under Article 149/a(1), paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 of EBL Article 33 apply to the stay of enforcement:

1. Under Article 33(1), within seven days of service of the execution order, the debtor may apply to the enforcement court by petition, objecting that the debt is time-barred, has been extended (imhal) or has been discharged (itfa). Enforcement is stayed if the discharge or extension is evidenced by a document drawn up or duly certified by the competent authorities, or acknowledged before the enforcement office, the enforcement court or a court.
2. Under Article 33(2), requests based on discharge, extension or limitation arising after service of the execution order may be made at any time; those based on discharge or extension must rest on documents drawn up or certified by a notary or on an enforcement record.
3. Under Article 33(4), a debtor who had to pay money it did not owe keeps the right to bring an action for restitution under Article 72.

Appeal and the sale. Under Article 149/a(2), if the enforcement court rejects the request for a stay and the debtor or the third party appeals to the regional court of appeal (istinaf), the sale does not stop unless they deposit security of fifteen per cent of the claim under enforcement. If the regional court rejects the appeal, that security is paid to the creditor as compensation without the need for a separate judgment. Article 149/a(3) applies a rate of thirty per cent instead for the housing finance and Housing Development Administration claims mentioned in section 2; if the appeal is rejected, half of the amount taken as security is paid to the creditor as compensation, and if the value assessed after the creditor’s sale request shows that the property will not cover the claim, the shortfall is met from the remaining half, with any balance returned to the party who deposited it.

Track B: the payment order (Article 149/b). The order goes to the debtor and, if any, to the third party owning the property. The payment period is thirty days, and the order states that if no objection is made within seven days and the debt is not paid within the thirty-day period, the creditor may request the sale of the property.

Under EBL Article 150, the debtor or the third party may object within seven days of service of the payment order, but the mortgage right itself cannot be made the subject of the objection; if an action for cancellation of the mortgage is brought, Article 72 applies by analogy. Under EBL Article 150/a, Articles 62 to 72 on objections to a payment order apply. Under Article 62(1), the objection is made within seven days of service of the order, in writing or orally, to the enforcement office. Article 150/a adds two points. First, where the mortgage was given as security for a contract such as a current account or a credit facility to be drawn, the enforcement court may examine that contract and the related documents and receipts on the principles of Article 68. Second, if an appeal is made to the regional court of appeal against a decision removing the objection, Article 149/a(2) applies by analogy. The creditor’s routes against an objection are explained in our guide to removing a debtor’s objection in Turkish enforcement.

5. Credit Mortgages: Current Accounts and Loan Facilities

Where a mortgage secures a facility rather than a fixed sum, the deed may not contain an unconditional acknowledgment of a money debt. EBL Article 150/ı deals with this case for current accounts and short, medium or long-term cash or non-cash loans.

Under that Article, even if the mortgage deed presented by the lender does not contain an unconditional acknowledgment of a money debt, the enforcement officer acts under Article 149 (the execution order track) if the lender presents a notary-certified copy showing that one of the following was served through a notary on the borrower at the address in the loan agreement or in the mortgage deed, or is deemed served under Article 68/b:

1. the account statement closing the current account or accelerating the short, medium or long-term loan;
2. the compensation demand, where a non-cash loan has been paid out; or
3. the demand for payment of the debt.

The borrower’s complaint. The borrower keeps the right to complain to the enforcement court by proving that it objected through a notary within eight days of being served, or deemed served, with the statement, demand or compensation request. In that case, the complaint is rejected if the lender can prove its claim with other documents within the framework of Article 68/b. During the review, the court cannot order the proceedings to be stopped unless the borrower submits an official document, or a document whose signature is acknowledged, showing that the debt has ended or been deferred.

Third-party owner. Under the last sentence of Article 150/ı, serving the statement, compensation demand or payment demand on a third party who owns the mortgaged property, or its being deemed served, takes the place of the demand for payment provided for in TMK Article 887.

6. Mortgage Enforcement Routes Side by Side

The table sets out the routes discussed in this guide, using only the words of each provision.

Two points follow from the table. First, the wording of the mortgage deed decides the track: an unconditional acknowledgment of a money debt leads to the execution order, and Article 150/ı opens the same track for credit mortgages when the notarial service steps have been taken. Second, under EBL Article 150/h, where the claim or the mortgage right, or both, is established in a judgment (ilam) or in a document having the character of a judgment, the provisions on enforcement of judgments apply by analogy.

7. Rents, Valuation and the One-Year Limit for Requesting the Sale

Rents from a let property. Under EBL Article 150/b, if the mortgaged property is let, the enforcement officer, at the creditor’s request and without waiting for the proceedings to become final, informs the tenants of the proceedings and orders them to pay the rents falling due to the enforcement office. This does not remove the rights under Articles 132 and 135, and if a tenant does not pay despite the warning, Article 356 applies by analogy. TMK Article 863(1) includes in the scope of the mortgage the rents accruing from the start of realisation proceedings against the debtor, or from the announcement of the debtor’s bankruptcy, until realisation. Under Article 863(2), the mortgage can be asserted against tenants only after the enforcement proceedings have been notified to them or the bankruptcy has been announced. Under Article 863(3), the owner’s dealings with rents not yet due, and attachments by other creditors, are not valid against a secured creditor that started realisation proceedings before those rents fell due.

Valuation. The valuation begins with the sale preparations under Article 150/d. Under EBL Article 150/g, Articles 112 to 137 (together with paragraph 3 of Article 92 and Articles 93, 96, 97, 97/a, 98 and 99) apply by analogy to the sale of the security. Through that reference, Article 128/a(1) applies: the persons to whom the valuation report is served may complain to the enforcement court where the office that commissioned the report is located within seven days of service.

Requesting the sale in time. Under EBL Article 150/e(1), the creditor may request the sale of a mortgaged property within one year from service of the payment or execution order, and the sale of a pledged movable within six months from the same date. Under Article 150/e(2), if the sale is not requested within these periods, or the request is withdrawn and not renewed within them, the proceedings lapse (takip düşer). A lender should therefore diarise the service date of every order in the file.

The auction. The sale itself follows the provisions that Article 150/g applies by analogy. Under Article 125(3), due debts secured by a mortgage on the property are not transferred to the buyer but are paid from the sale price with priority. For the buyer’s side of the auction, see our guide to buying property at a Turkish enforcement auction.

8. What Happens if the Sale Does Not Cover the Debt?

If the sale does not cover the debt, the creditor receives a shortfall certificate for the unpaid part and, unless its claim arises from an annuity certificate or a land charge, may pursue that part by bankruptcy or attachment according to the debtor’s status. The EBL provides two such documents, one before and one after the sale.

Before the sale: the provisional certificate (Article 150/f). Under Article 150/f(1), if, according to the value determined and made final after the creditor’s request for sale, the security will not cover the claim, the creditor receives, on request, a provisional shortfall certificate (muvakkat rehin açığı belgesi) for the amount left open. Under Article 150/f(2), on the basis of that certificate the creditor may ask the enforcement officer to attach the debtor’s other assets and may join other creditors’ attachments on the principles of Article 100. In that case, the creditor takes the part of its claim not collected from the sale of the security from the debtor’s other attached assets without priority.

After the sale: the shortfall certificate (Article 152). Under Article 152(1), if the security cannot be sold because no buyer offers more than the total of the secured claims ranking ahead of the creditor, or if it is sold and the proceeds do not cover the claim, the creditor receives a certificate for the whole or the remaining claim. Under Article 152(2), a creditor whose claim does not arise from an annuity certificate or a land charge (taşınmaz mükellefiyeti) may pursue the uncollected amount by bankruptcy or attachment, according to the debtor’s status. Under Article 152(3), if the creditor makes an attachment request within one year from the auction day (where no sale took place) or from the date the sale became final, no new execution or payment order needs to be served. Under Article 152(4), the shortfall certificate (rehin açığı belgesi) has the character of a document containing an acknowledgment of the debt.

Distribution of the proceeds. Under EBL Article 151(1), Article 138 applies to deducting costs from the proceeds and distributing the rest among creditors. Under Article 151(2), if the proceeds do not cover all claims, the officer fixes each creditor’s rank and share under paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 206, and under Article 151(3) Articles 141, 142 and 144 also apply. Article 206(1) gives secured creditors a priority right over the sale proceeds, and Article 206(3) provides that the rank of creditors secured by a charge over immovable property, and the extent to which the security covers interest and accessories, are determined by the Civil Code provisions on charges over immovable property.

What the mortgage covers. Under TMK Article 875, the security covers (1) the principal, (2) enforcement costs and default interest, and (3) interest for three years that fell due up to the opening of bankruptcy or the request for realisation, plus interest running from the last due date. A previously fixed interest rate cannot be increased to the detriment of later-ranking creditors.

9. Pledges over Movables and Ship Mortgages in Brief

Movable pledges. Under EBL Article 145, a creditor whose claim is secured by a pledge over movable property states in its enforcement request, in addition to the matters in Article 58, what the pledged item is, and the name of the third party where the pledge was given by a third party or ownership of the item has passed to a third party, and the name of any holder of a later-ranking pledge. Under Article 146, the enforcement office notifies the later-ranking pledgee and sends the debtor and the third-party owner a payment order: the payment period is fifteen days, and the order states that the pledged item will be sold if no objection is made within seven days and the debt is not paid within the payment period. The objection rules and their two exceptions in Article 147 are described in section 2.

Ship mortgages. Under EBL Article 153/a(2), the provisions on realisation of a mortgage also apply to realisation of a ship mortgage. The same Article contains separate rules for ships, which are outside this guide.

10. A Checklist for a Foreign Lender

The provisions above lead to a short set of questions for each secured loan or trade credit.

1. Read the deed. Does the mortgage deed contain an unconditional acknowledgment of a money debt (EBL Article 149), or does the claim fall under the payment order track (Article 149/b) or the credit mortgage rule (Article 150/ı)?
2. Check the currency and the amount. A foreign-currency mortgage is available for loans extended in or by reference to a foreign currency by credit institutions, one currency per rank (TMK Article 851(2)); otherwise the amount, or the upper limit, is shown in Turkish lira (Article 851(1)).
3. Prepare the notarial steps. For a facility, serve the account statement, compensation demand or payment demand through a notary at the contractual address before relying on Article 150/ı.
4. Name every owner. Orders go to the debtor and to a third-party owner (EBL Articles 149(1) and 149/b), and a payment demand is effective against an owner who is not personally liable only if made to both (TMK Article 887).
5. Include every property. Where several properties secure the same claim, the request is made against all of them (TMK Article 873(3)).
6. Ask for the rents. If the property is let, ask the officer to notify the tenants and redirect the rents (EBL Article 150/b; TMK Article 863).
7. Diarise the sale deadline. Request the sale within one year of service of the order for a mortgaged property, or within six months for a pledged movable, or the proceedings lapse (EBL Article 150/e).
8. Plan for a shortfall. Ask for a provisional certificate if the valuation shows a gap (Article 150/f) and, after the sale, request attachment within one year so that no new execution or payment order needs to be served (Article 152(3)).

If the debtor wants to pay. Under EBL Article 153, where the debtor of a due mortgage claim states that the creditor is absent and its residence is unknown, or that it refuses to accept payment and release the mortgage, the enforcement office serves notice on the creditor to come within fifteen days, take the money and release the mortgage. If the creditor does not come, or refuses without a reason acceptable in law, and the debtor deposits the whole debt, the enforcement court orders the money to be held for the creditor and the mortgage entry to be cancelled. A lender that receives such a notice should therefore answer it within the period.

These steps sit inside a wider recovery strategy. Our overview of debt collection and enforcement in Türkiye explains how the routes connect, our guide to limitation periods for commercial debts covers the time limits for the underlying claim, and our debt collection practice page describes how we act for foreign creditors.