Tenants are under pressure to ‘leave’ without renting a house! Pay attention to that detail in the eviction contracts

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Lerato Khumalo

After the exorbitant rent increases, the condition of property owners who do not want to have an eviction problem with their tenants has become an eviction commitment. Stating that the eviction commitment is a legal document that the parties can sign with their free will, like a lease agreement, Attorney Iyaz Çimen said, “The eviction commitment should not be made on the same day as the lease agreement. The basic logic here is that we aim for the person to act according to their own free will when giving this commitment to the tenant. If the eviction commitment is given on the day of the rental, this time we accept that the tenant gave it in order to get the key. It is decided that the commitment is invalid by accepting that it created pressure and that it did not make the decision with its free will.”

“THE EVACUATION LETTER RECEIVED BLANK IS VALID”

Stating that a person cannot be forced with an eviction commitment, Çimen said that the eviction commitments requested at the time of signing the lease agreement are not valid. Stating that landlords have started to receive blank eviction commitments in order to prevent this situation, Çimen said, “A blank eviction commitment is valid just like the validity of a signature left blank. In recent times, conditional eviction commitments have become more frequent. We can say that the Supreme Court has changed its opinion on this point. The Supreme Court accepts that conditional eviction commitments given according to objective recitals are valid. Therefore, the eviction commitments given for the termination of the right of use in the lease agreement are valid.”

“IF THE TENANT DOES NOT LEAVE ON THE DATE GIVEN IN THE EVICTION COMMITMENT, HE MAY PAY A PENALTY”

Stating that the tenant must vacate the property on the date specified in the eviction commitment, Lawyer Çimen said that otherwise there is a risk of an eviction lawsuit being filed. Stating that the tenant must also cover the costs and fees, Çimen continued his words as follows:

“The date given here, in other words the date of eviction, is actually the most important part. Because the key must be returned on that date. Otherwise, if the property owner does not return it, the property owner has the right to initiate legal proceedings. If it is not returned on the date of eviction, the property owner can request eviction within one month, provided that they apply for enforcement. If the eviction commitment does not present any problems in terms of validity on the date of issuance or the date of issuance, and if a correct commitment is given in terms of content, then the person must have vacated the property on the date the commitment is given and must return the key empty. Otherwise, there is a risk of being involved in the eviction process. In some lease agreements, if there are situations where the tenant is not forced to vacate on the date of the commitment, a penalty or delay fee may be paid.”

THEY ARE TRYING TO CONVINCE ME TO PAY THE RENT THEY REQUEST WITH THE THREAT OF ‘I WILL USE THE EVICTION COMMITMENT’

Stating that the maximum rent increase rates are determined by TÜİK, Çimen said, “Citizens cannot increase the rent beyond these rates. In practice, if the rent remains low due to inflation, they try to convince the tenants to pay the rent they demand by threatening them with ‘I will use the eviction commitment’. If they cannot convince them, they use the eviction commitment. This time, by evicting the tenant and renting again, the property owner can reach the rental rate they demand.”

“THE PROCESS WILL BE CONCLUDED IN BETWEEN 6 MONTHS AND 1 AND A HALF YEARS”

Çimen said, “When we sign a lease with you, we make an agreement regarding the use of a certain item. In the eviction commitment, we also undertake to end the agreement that we just mentioned. In other words, it has a specific date. The date it is given is specific. The date we will evict is specific. If the tenant does not return the keys when this date comes, the property owner has the right to take enforcement action with that commitment. Although the eviction process varies according to its intensity, we can say that in cases where there is an eviction commitment, the process is concluded between six months and one and a half years.”

“TODAY, PROPERTY OWNERS DO NOT RENT WITHOUT OBTAINING AN EVICTION LETTER”

Stating that it is healthier for the tenant not to sign the eviction commitment if they do not give it voluntarily, Çimen said, “But unfortunately, the rental transaction cannot be carried out in this case. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure practicality without losing justice for both parties and the property owner. I know it is not very easy. Nowadays, especially due to the fact that eviction processes are very long, property owners do not rent without obtaining an eviction commitment. An eviction commitment received on the same day is not valid either. We try to protect the tenant by putting conditions on this, such as the condition that the property owner does not pay two rents within a rental period. Of course, if an eviction commitment is given on the rental day, this time we accept that the tenant gave it in order to get the key. It is decided that the commitment is invalid by accepting that it creates pressure and that it did not make the decision with its own free will.”

“IT WOULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE TO SIGN AFTER SETTING THE RELEASE DATE”

Stating that it is extremely important to specify the date of eviction when giving an eviction undertaking, Iyaz Çimen said, “We find it more appropriate for the tenant to fill it out again on the date it is given. Because the property owner has the opportunity to fill it out as he wishes. It is not very possible for the tenant to prove this. In order not to encounter any surprises due to this, it would be more appropriate for him to sign it after writing the eviction date. In our law, the claimant is obliged to prove his claim. In other words, if the tenant has a claim regarding the eviction undertaking he gave, he can prove it with written evidence such as ‘I left it blank or we did not agree on this’. The eviction undertaking is a written evidence given with a wet signature. When you put forward a claim regarding this, you need to prove it with written evidence that is equally strong. In practice, it is not very possible for a tenant who leaves the eviction undertaking blank to obtain written evidence regarding this issue. Therefore, I find it more appropriate not to leave it blank and at least if it is given, to give it by agreeing on the eviction date.”