Acquisitive prescription (adverse possession)

Acquisitive prescription allows a person who possesses immovable property in accordance with statutory conditions for the prescribed period to acquire ownership. Turkish law recognises an ordinary and an extraordinary form.

In the ordinary form, a good-faith possessor registered in the land registry, even under a defective entry, perfects ownership by maintaining uncontested and uninterrupted possession for the statutory period. In the extraordinary form, a person who has possessed, as owner and for a longer statutory period, land that is unregistered or whose owner cannot be identified may apply to the court for registration in their name.

The registration action is brought against the Treasury and relevant public entities, publicly announced, and the character of the possession is proven through witnesses and site inspection. Public property and areas unsuited to private ownership, such as forests and coasts, cannot be acquired this way; a large share of disputes arises from these limits.