Rent Determination Lawsuit Costs: Tenants Who Leave on Time Don’t Pay

What happens when a landlord files a lawsuit to have the court set a new rent — and the tenant simply moves out within the legal notice period? The case becomes moot, but who picks up the tab for court fees, the court-appointed expert’s fee, and other legal costs? According to reports published on 28 October 2026, Turkey’s Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) 3rd Civil Chamber has answered that question: a tenant who vacates the property on time, before the new rental period begins, cannot be ordered to pay the costs of a rent determination lawsuit. The costs stay with the landlord. Because regional appeal courts — including the Antalya Regional Court of Appeal — had been reaching conflicting conclusions on this very point, the ruling is particularly significant for landlords and tenants in Alanya.

How did the dispute arise?

Reports indicate that the civil chambers of the Istanbul, Bursa, Antalya and Sakarya Regional Courts of Appeal were giving different answers to the same question: if a tenant ends the tenancy and moves out while a rent determination lawsuit is still pending, who should bear the court costs and legal fees? Some chambers were pinning the costs on the tenant; others were leaving them with the landlord. The disagreement led the Istanbul Regional Court of Appeal’s Council of Presiding Judges to refer the matter to the Court of Cassation, and the 3rd Civil Chamber resolved it. The ruling’s date and case number were not included in the reports.

Rulings of this kind — issued to resolve conflicting approaches between regional appeal courts — are not formally binding on all courts in the way that a published unification-of-case-law decision (içtihadı birleştirme kararı) would be. However, they are expected to guide practice in the lower courts going forward.

What is a rent determination lawsuit, and when can one be filed?

A rent determination lawsuit (kira tespit davası) asks the court to fix the rent that will apply in the next rental period. For residential and covered-workplace tenancies, the rules on rent determination sit in the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK) — specifically, how the rent is calculated is covered by Article 344 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK), and the timing rules for bringing the claim are set out in Article 345 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK).

• The lawsuit can be filed at any time.
• If it is filed at least 30 days before the start of the new rental period — or if the landlord has given the tenant written notice of the rent increase within that window — the rent fixed by the court applies from the start of the new period.
• Without those steps, the court-determined rent only takes effect from the following rental period.

It is also worth knowing that, before filing any lawsuit arising from a tenancy, the claimant must first go through mediation — it is a mandatory precondition to proceedings. In practice, a rent determination lawsuit is therefore almost always filed after a mediation session that ended without agreement.

The tenant’s right to end the tenancy

Under Article 347 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK), a tenant in a fixed-term residential or covered-workplace tenancy can choose not to renew by giving notice at least 15 days before the end of the tenancy period. If no notice is given, the contract automatically extends for a further year on the same terms. Importantly, the landlord cannot use the mere expiry of the contract term as a ground for eviction during the first 10 years of automatic extensions — the law deliberately tilts the balance in the tenant’s favour here.

The pattern that gives rise to this type of dispute is straightforward: the landlord believes the current rent is well below market rate and files a rent determination lawsuit. The tenant, rather than pay a higher rent, decides to move out — gives the required notice, vacates before the new period starts, and hands back the keys. With no new rental period in force, there is no rent left to determine, and the lawsuit becomes moot.

Why did the Court of Cassation leave the costs with the landlord?

Based on the reasoning reported in the press, the 3rd Civil Chamber made the following key findings:

• The landlord’s right to bring a rent determination lawsuit does not extinguish the tenant’s right to end the tenancy.
• A tenant who gives valid notice and vacates before the new period begins is doing nothing more than exercising a statutory right.
• Exercising that right cannot be treated as the tenant having caused the lawsuit to be brought.
• It is therefore procedurally wrong to order the tenant to pay the litigation costs; they must remain with the landlord.

The procedural foundation for this conclusion is Article 331 of the Civil Procedure Code (HMK). That provision says that when a lawsuit becomes moot, the court allocates costs by looking at which party had the stronger legal position at the time the claim was filed. In the Court of Cassation’s analysis, a tenant who vacates on time was never the party who triggered the litigation in the first place.

Rent determination costs: who pays in each scenario?

The table below is a summary overview based on the reported ruling and general procedural rules. Every case turns on its own facts and should be assessed individually.

Practical takeaways for landlords and tenants

For tenants

• If you have decided to move out, give written notice — in a way you can prove was received — at least 15 days before the end of your tenancy period. The date of that notice can directly affect whether you end up liable for costs.
• Complete the handover before the new rental period starts and get written confirmation that you have returned the keys. Staying on into the new period could take you outside the protection this ruling provides.
• Note that if your landlord sells the property, your rights as a tenant do not automatically disappear with the sale — each scenario needs to be looked at on its own terms.

For landlords

• Before filing a rent determination lawsuit, it is worth finding out whether your tenant is already thinking of moving and making the most of the mediation stage. That can avoid running up costs you will have to absorb yourself.
• The tenant moving out is not straightforwardly a win for you. If the lawsuit becomes moot, the court fees, the court-appointed expert’s fee and other expenses may all stay with you.
• If your goal is to recover possession, bear in mind that a rent determination claim and an eviction claim are different legal routes with different legal requirements.
• Having a written, up-to-date tenancy agreement makes it much easier to prove the dates of any notices. An e-Devlet lease agreement is one option worth considering in this regard.

What this means for the Alanya rental market

Alanya has a busy, seasonally driven rental market with a significant mix of local and foreign tenants. The gap between contracted rents and current market rates has made rent determination lawsuits a common tool here. The fact that the Antalya Regional Court of Appeal was one of the courts that had been reaching inconsistent conclusions on this issue means the ruling could have a direct impact on cases already in the pipeline in this region. For foreign tenants in particular, the method of giving notice and the address to which it is sent carry extra weight — it must be demonstrable that the notice actually reached the other party.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You should rely on current legislation and official announcements for your specific situation.