Conversion of Joint Venture into Shared Ownership

In joint ownership, each partner has the right to request to switch to joint ownership. Additional article 3 of the Cadastre Law No. 3402 states that "If an heir requests to convert joint ownership arising from a joint inheritance into joint ownership, the land registry director shall call on the other heirs to notify their objections, if any, within the period he determines.

There are two different ways to convert joint ownership, which usually occurs due to the uncertainty of the distribution of shares as a result of inheritance, into joint ownership;

The first of these is "conversion of joint ownership into joint ownership by the Land Registry Directorate", which is relatively easier than the court process, and the other is "conversion of joint ownership into joint ownership through the court process.

WHAT IS COLLABORATION (PARTICIPATION)?

Joint ownership, also known as joint ownership, means that persons who are in partnership due to reasons arising from a contract or inheritance become joint owners of a property. Joint ownership is defined in TMK article 701 as, "In joint ownership, there are no determined shares of the partners, but each of them has an equal share of the assets included in the partnership."

WHAT IS SHARED OWNERSHIP (JOINT)?

Each of the shareholders is called a shareholder and unless otherwise agreed, each shareholder has an equal share. Each of the shareholders has a right to a part of the property, but these shares are not concrete or material, but in the form of certain powers and duties arising from the right of ownership. Each of the shareholders can use and benefit from the property subject to joint ownership as long as they do not violate the rights of the others.

TRANSFER OF PROPERTIES TO THE TITLE DEED OFFICE

In real estates registered in the names of the heirs; upon the request of one of the heirs as a party, transfer to the land registry office can be requested according to the inheritance documents obtained from the court. In this case, registration procedures will be carried out according to the principle of ownership in the case of joint ownership (participation).

In case of transfer by joint venture (participation), partners cannot sell to third parties, partners can only sell among themselves.

However, if transfer is not joint venture (participation) but shared (joint), heirs can sell their shares to third parties.

Conversion of Joint Venture (Participation) to Shared (Joint) Ownership by Land Registry Office

The main condition for converting joint venture (participation) ownership to shared (joint) ownership by the Land Registry Office is that all heirs are present at the Land Registry Office and submit the inheritance certificate and sign it.

The presence of the heirs at the Land Registry Office at the same time allows the parties to complete the transaction without the need for a notification process. If one of the heirs is unable to come to the Land Registry Office, a consent letter from a notary is also valid at the Land Registry Office.

In short, the conversion of joint ownership to shared ownership through the land registry can be achieved by having all the right holders present at the land registry and signing. If all the right holders are not present at the land registry, a notification is sent to all the heirs by the Land Registry Directorate and if they do not object, there is no obstacle to the completion of the transaction.

The points to be considered in the notification process are briefly as follows;

1- The date on which the notification is made by hand or the registered notification is received by the heirs is accepted as the notification date and the period for objection and filing a lawsuit begins on this date.

2- For heirs who do not have legal capacity, the notification is made to the representative of the heir

3- If no objection is made by stating a reason at the end of the 30-day period from the notification, and no objection case is filed with the local court (civil court of peace) where the real estate is registered, or if no sharing case is filed, the “conversion of joint ownership into shared ownership” process will be carried out upon the request of one or more heirs.

Cases in which the Land Registry Directorate cannot convert Joint ownership to Shared ownership

1- If one of the heirs objects within 30 days of the notification, stating a reason, or if it is understood that a partition lawsuit has been filed,

2- If the notification costs are not covered by the relevant party,

3- If the inheritance documents cannot be found in the supporting records regarding joint ownership, or if the supporting inheritance documents do not match the joint ownership owners,

4- If more than one different inheritance document belonging to the same deceased is submitted in the requests for transfer based on the principle of joint ownership,

5- If the identification of the legal representatives cannot be determined in the notifications to be made in the requests for transfer based on the principle of joint ownership, or if the supporting documents (court decision, etc.) regarding their being a legal representative cannot be found, the transaction cannot be carried out and the court decision will be awaited.

Conversion of Joint Ownership to Joint Ownership by the Court

In case of joint ownership, the owners of the property may file a lawsuit to convert the property into a joint ownership as per their wishes. The court in charge in this case is the court of law according to Article 4/1-b of the Civil Procedure Code.