Konut Kiralarında Kira Bedelinin Belirlenmesine İlişkin Düzenlemeler İle Kiraya Verenin Uyarlama Talebinin Değerlendirilmesi
Duygu Koçak DikerÜlkemizde 2018 yılından itibaren derinleşen ekonomik kriz ve yüksek enflasyona bağlı olarak paranın reel değeri aşırı şekilde düşmüş, inşaat maliyetleri artmış ve mevcut konut stoku barınma ihtiyacının giderilmesinde yetersiz kalmıştır. Bu gelişmeler kira bedellerinde fahiş yükselişe sebep olmuş ve muhtemel bir barınma krizinin önüne geçebilmek için konut kiralarında yenilenen dönem kira bedeli artışlarına ilişkin TBK m.344 hükmünde değişiklikler yapılmıştır. Belirli istisnalar dışında kira bedelinin yabancı para ile belirlenmesi yasaklanmış, kira bedeli artış oranının üst sınırı olan ÜFE artış oranı yerine TÜFE artış oranı kabul edilmiş, son olarak da geçici süre ile TÜFE yerine artış oranı yüzde yirmi beş ile sabitlenmiştir. Kiracının korunması amacıyla devletin ekonomik kamu düzenine müdahalesi niteliğindeki bu değişiklikler, belirli dönemlerdeki sözleşmeler bakımından kira bedellerinin aşırı derecede düşük kalmasına ve kiraya verenler aleyhine edimler arasında dengesizliğe yol açmıştır. Konut kirasının sıkı şartlara tabi sona erme rejimi nedeniyle sözleşmeye devam etmeye mecbur kalan kiraya verenler ise TBK m.344/III’e dayalı kira bedelinin belirlenmesi davalarına, bu davaların şartlarının oluşmadığı durumlarda da TBK m.138’e dayalı uyarlama davalarına yönelmişlerdir. Ancak sözleşmenin değişen durumlara uyarlanmasının, TBK m.138’de kaynak BGB § 313/I’den farklı şekilde yalnızca aşırı ifa güçlüğüne özgülenmesi ve özellikle artış oranlarının yüzde yirmi beş ile sabitlenmesi karşısında, kiraya veren tarafından kira bedelinin uyarlanmasının talep edilip edilemeyeceği konusunda tereddütler oluşmuştur. Çalışmada amacımız özellikle bu noktalarda, kaynak BGB § 313/I hükmünü göz önünde tutarak kiraya veren tarafından ileri sürülen uyarlama taleplerinin şartlarının ortaya konulması ve edimler arası dengesizliğin TBK m.138 uyarınca uyarlama sebebi olarak ele alınıp alınamayacağının belirlenmesinden oluşmaktadır
Legal Provisions Regarding The Determination of The Rental Price in Residential Rents and The Evaluation of The Renter’s Claim for Adaptation
Duygu Koçak DikerSince 2018, due to the economic crisis and high inflation, the real value of money has decreased dramatically, construction costs have increased and the current housing stock has been insufficient to fulfil the housing needs. These conditions have also affected the rental price and Article 344 of the TCO has been amended in order to prevent a possible housing crisis. With exceptions, the determination of the rental price in foreign currency has been prohibited, the CPI increase rate has been accepted instead of the PPI increase rate and the rate of increase is temporarily fixed at twenty-five per cent instead of the CPI. These amendments, which functioned as the state’s intervention in the economic public order in order to protect the tenant, caused the rental prices to remain excessively low in terms of lease agreements for certain periods and an imbalance between the performances against the renters. The renters, who are obliged to continue the contract due to the strict termination regime of the residential lease, have filed lawsuits for the determination of the rental price based on Article 344/III of the TCO, and in cases where the conditions of these lawsuits are not met, they have filed lawsuits for the adaptation of the rental price based on Article 138 of the TCO. The purpose of this study is to determine the conditions of the renter’s claim for adaptation of the lease price by taking into consideration the source BGB § 313/I and to determine whether the imbalance between the performances can be considered as a reason for adaptation in accordance with Article 138 of the TCO.
After the economic crisis that accelerated in our country following 2018, due to rising inflation and exchange rate shocks, Article 344 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (TCO) regarding the determination of rent for residential and roofed workplaces underwent changes aimed at protecting tenants. Following these changes, starting rental prices have reached exorbitant amounts, comprehensive guarantees have started to be demanded from tenants and renting residential properties without an eviction commitment letter has become nearly impossible. Multiple limitations on the maximum rent increase rate for renewed rental periods has led to excessive differences between the residental rents renewed after the change took effect on June 11, 2022, and rental agreements renewed or established before that date. While the parties determined the starting rental prices and the increase rates for renewed periods based on the ongoing economic data, the rental prices for renewed periods affected by the legal changes, which entered into force due to the economic crisis, have remained below inflation. Due to the strict termination regime for residential rents, lessors unable to terminate the contracts have started filing lawsuits for the determination of rental prices for rents longer than five years that have significantly decreased in real value against inflation, based on Article 344/III of the TCO. In cases where the conditions for these lawsuits are not met, they have begun to file rent adjustment lawsuits based on Article 138 of the same code. It is a well-known fact that this situation reflects a heavy workload on the judiciary and disputes regarding the rental prices increase day by day.
The core of our study is the lawsuits filed by lessors regarding adaptation of rental prices. Since adaptation, has the nature of intervention in the contract, is considered as a last resort (ultima ratio) and closely related to the rent amount; it has been preferred to examine the provisions related to the determination of the rental price. During the period governed by the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, the enactment of Article 344, which has special provisions for determining renewed rental amounts in roofed workplaces rents, diminished the significance of lawsuits regarding the adaptation of rental prices in such leases. However, changes made to this provision later have made adaptation of rental prices as a necessary institution again.
It is considered that the German law, which is dominated by the theory of the transaction basis, has been used as a reference in the structuring of Article 138 of the TCO regarding adaptation. It is also accepted that when examining the conditions for adaptation under Turkish law, interpretation should be based on this theory. Therefore, in our study, while the conditions for the lessor’s request for adaptation of the rental price under Article 138 of the TCO have been examined, article § 313 of the German Civil Code (GCC) is taken into consideration. Unlike § 313/I of the GCC, the adaptation of contracts to changing circumstances under Article 138 of the TCO is specifically limited to hardship among the groups of events related to the collapse of the basis of the transaction. This distinction is particularly significant regarding the lessor’s claim for adaptation of the rental price. The fact that rental price remains too low in the face of inflation does not indicate hardship for the lessor; rather, it creates an imbalance between the parties’ obligations. The fact that Article 138 of the TCO regulates only hardship has been rightly criticized and caused dissidence regarding its field of application. According to another view that we support, considering that the legal basis for hardship is the theory of the collapse of the transaction basis, the scope of Article 138 of the TCO should be interpreted broadly to include the disruption of the balance between obligations.
The purpose of this study is to establish the conditions under which a lessor can request an adaptation of the rental price, using § 313 of the GCC as a reference. The first condition for adaptation is that an unforeseen and unforeseeable event at the time of the conclusion of the contract, must cause a fundamental change in the objective conditions of the transaction. The event that causes the change in circumstances must be objective in nature and capable of leading to the collapse of the transaction basis concerning the contract in question. In this context, the fundamental change refers to the imbalance between the parties’ obligations. Finally, the lessor must not have fulfilled their continuing primary obligation; in other words, the contract must not have ended.