If you own a flat in a Turkish residential complex (a site) or apartment building, you pay a monthly charge called aidat. It covers the shared costs of the building: cleaning, the caretaker, security, the lift, the garden, insurance and the manager's fee. Sooner or later every complex faces the same question: one flat stops paying, so what now? Some managers want to go straight to enforcement, others wait for months so as not to fall out with a neighbour. Both have a price. Acting early and harshly brings needless costs and resentment. Waiting lets the debt grow and puts more weight on the neighbours who do pay.
This guide explains, in plain language, what Turkish condominium law says and the order in which a manager can proceed. It is useful whether you manage a building yourself or own a flat and want to know where you stand.
What does the law say?
The duty to share common costs comes from Article 20 of the Condominium Ownership Law No. 634 (Kat Mülkiyeti Kanunu, often shortened to KMK). Unless the owners have agreed otherwise, each owner pays an equal share of costs such as the caretaker, the gardener and the night watchman, and a share in proportion to their land share (arsa payı) of insurance, maintenance, repairs, the manager's salary and the running costs of shared facilities.
One sentence in the same article matters a great deal: an owner cannot refuse to pay their share by saying they do not use the common areas or do not need them. "I never use the lift, so I will not pay that part of the aidat" has no basis in the law.
The same article also says what can be done about an unpaid debt. Any other owner, or the manager, can sue an owner who does not pay their share of costs or advance payments, and can start enforcement proceedings. The law adds that an owner who pays late owes a late fee (gecikme tazminatı) calculated at five percent per month for the days of delay.
Article 35 lists this among the manager's duties too: taking legal action and enforcement proceedings against owners who do not meet their obligations, and registering the statutory mortgage.
Who is liable for the debt?
The debtor is not always the owner alone. Under Article 22, a person who has continuous use of a flat under a lease, a right of residence or any other arrangement is jointly and severally liable with the owner for the owner's share of costs, advance payments and the late fee.
There is a limit. A tenant's liability is capped at the rent they owe, and anything the tenant pays this way is deducted from their rent. In other words, a tenant cannot be asked for more than the rent they would pay the owner. If you rent your flat out in Turkey, this is worth knowing: unpaid aidat can reach your tenant, and their payment then reduces the rent you receive.
What can be done, step by step?
The order below is not one the law requires. It is a route that works in practice. Each complex's management plan (yönetim planı) and the owners' meeting decisions can differ, so check those first.
1. Get the record straight
Before asking for the money, make sure the debt is right. Which periods are unpaid? Were there partial payments? Was an earlier payment credited to the wrong flat? A one-page statement per flat is the basis for every later step. Proceedings that start with a wrong amount hand the debtor their strongest objection.
2. Remind
Most late payments come from forgetting or confusion. A short, polite reminder a few days before the due date and again after it is usually enough. Keep reminders personal. Naming flats in debt in an announcement, on a notice board or in a group chat damages relations between neighbours and is a risk under Turkey's Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (Kişisel Verilerin Korunması Kanunu, KVKK).
3. Talk, and keep a record
Speak to the debtor. If they promise a payment date, write down the date and the amount. If they dispute the debt, record that as well and check whether they have a point. For someone who wants to pay in instalments you can set up a payment plan. A plan does not change the debt itself, it only organises the follow-up. Decisions that reduce the debt, such as waiving the late fee, are not for the manager to take alone. They should rest on a decision of the owners' meeting.
4. Send a written notice
If promises are not kept, send a written notice showing the full debt, the periods it covers and the late fee. Keep the date and content of the notice. Article 36 also requires the manager to enter a summary and the dates of notices and formal notifications in the records.
5. Start enforcement proceedings
The law gives the manager and every owner the right to start enforcement proceedings (icra takibi). The key question in enforcement is which document the claim rests on. A paragraph of Article 37 matters here: finalised operating budgets (işletme projesi) and decisions of the owners' meeting on running costs count among the documents listed in the first paragraph of Article 68 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (İcra ve İflas Kanunu). Since the amendment made by Law No. 7579, the operating budget is approved by the owners' general meeting. So an operating budget properly approved at the general meeting, or a meeting decision on running costs, strengthens your hand if the debtor objects to the proceedings. At this point working with a lawyer saves time in most cases.
6. Last resort: the statutory mortgage
If the debt still cannot be collected, Article 22 provides one more safeguard. On the written request of the manager, or of one of the owners if there is no manager, a statutory mortgage (kanuni ipotek) is registered on the flat of an owner who does not pay a debt established by a court, in favour of the other owners and for the amount of the debt. The law also gives these claims of the owners priority.
Common mistakes
Setting the late fee at will. The rate the law provides is five percent per month. If your management plan states a different rate, or you want to apply a lower one, ask a lawyer before you do.
Following up only by word of mouth. Who promised what and when, which reminder went out, who read it? If none of this is written down, months later at the enforcement stage you will not be able to prove any of it.
Making the debt public. Pinning a list of debtors to the notice board may look like pressure, but it starts a lasting conflict and carries legal risk. Reminders should be personal.
Forgiving case by case. "Let's drop the late fee this time" may seem fair, but it is unequal treatment of the other owners. Such decisions belong to the owners' meeting, with the same rule for everyone.
Waiting. The bigger the debt, the harder it is to pay. An early, regular reminder is both cheaper and more effective than late, harsh proceedings.
In short
When aidat goes unpaid, Turkish law does not leave the manager empty-handed: a late fee, the tenant's limited liability, enforcement proceedings and, as a last resort, the statutory mortgage. In practice, though, what really makes the difference is an accurate record of the debt and calm, steady follow-up.
How Gagent handles it
In Gagent's management panel, dues accrue period by period and the late fee is applied every night, capped at the legal monthly five percent. Going below that rate requires a general meeting decision. Reminders go out on their own before and after the due date, and debt reminders are never sent at night. Each flat with overdue debt gets a collection file where call notes, payment promises, disputes and payment plans sit together. When needed, a formal debt notice is produced as a PDF, and enforcement or court proceedings are followed in the same file. See Dues and collections for details.