Lease law, by its very nature, encompasses many types of lawsuits that carry their own particular and technical details. Some of these lawsuits produce legal consequences only once they become final; in others, the defendant can suspend the execution process during the appeal stages through the mechanism of stay of execution (tehir-i icra). In this context, correctly determining the appeal thresholds required to resort to the legal remedies carries critical importance for both the claimant and the defendant in shaping their litigation and execution strategies. This publication examines the principal rules and the current judicial practice that determine the appeal thresholds in disputes arising from a lease relationship.

1. Appeal Thresholds for 2026

The monetary thresholds set out in the Civil Procedure Law (the “CPL”) are updated, pursuant to Additional Article 1 of the CPL, by the revaluation rate determined and announced for each calendar year, effective from the start of that year. For lawsuits whose appeal and cassation thresholds are determined under the CPL, the thresholds for 2026 are as follows:

In some lawsuits arising from a lease relationship, the provisions of the Execution and Bankruptcy Law (the “EBL”) apply; these lawsuits are brought before the civil execution court, and for them the appeal and cassation thresholds are determined under the EBL. For lawsuits whose thresholds are determined under the EBL rules, the  thresholds for 2026 are as follows:

2. Application in Terms of Time: The Threshold on the Filing Date or the Decision Date?

Pursuant to Additional Article 1 of the CPL, the appeal and cassation thresholds are updated by the revaluation rate announced for each year, effective from the start of that calendar year. Until recently, when determining whether a decision was subject to appeal or cassation, the threshold in force on the decision date was taken as the basis. However, by its decision[1] dated 4 December 2024, the Constitutional Court annulled the rule providing that the threshold be determined according to the date the judgment was rendered, finding it contrary to the Constitution on the ground that it disproportionately restricted the parties’ ability to resort to legal remedies. Following the annulment, with the amendment made on 4 June 2025, the threshold in force on the filing date is now taken as the basis.

The practical importance of this distinction can be shown with an example. Suppose the appeal threshold was TRY 40,000 in the year the lawsuit was filed and TRY 50,000 in the year the decision was rendered. If the amount underlying the dispute is TRY 45,000, then under the former practice the TRY 50,000 threshold on the decision date would apply, the decision would be deemed final, and the appeal route would be closed. Under the new practice, because the TRY 40,000 threshold on the filing date applies, the appeal route remains open, since TRY 45,000 exceeds that threshold.

3. Appeal and Cassation Thresholds by Type of Dispute

3.1. Rent Determination Lawsuit

In rent determination lawsuits, the appeal and cassation thresholds are determined over the increase in the rent subject to the lawsuit. Under the prevailing practice, the amount underlying the threshold is the annual amount of the difference between the determined rent and the current rent.[2] There are, however, also decisions that determine the amount underlying the threshold over the annual amount of the difference between the rent claimed by the claimant and the new rent determined.[3]

3.2. Eviction Lawsuits

In eviction lawsuits brought before the civil courts of peace on grounds under the Turkish Code of Obligations, the appeal threshold is determined according to the annual rent as of the filing date. As for the cassation threshold, pursuant to Article 363/1-b of the CPL, an assessment is made over whether the three-month rent as of the filing date exceeds the cassation threshold in force on that date.[4]

3.3. Cancellation of Objection and/or Eviction Lawsuit

Under Article 269/d et seq. of the EBL, where an execution proceeding without a judgment including an eviction request is initiated, the landlord may, depending on whether the tenant objects and on the content of the objection, consider filing a cancellation of objection and/or eviction lawsuit before the civil courts of peace. In this case, if the claimant’s request concerns only an objection to an execution proceeding for a monetary receivable, the appeal and cassation thresholds are determined according to the receivable amount subject to the proceeding. On the other hand, if the claimant also has an eviction request, the annual rent as of the filing date is taken into account for the appeal threshold, and the three-month rent as of the filing date for the cassation threshold.

3.4. Removal of Objection and Eviction Lawsuit

In removal of objection and eviction lawsuits, the appeal and cassation thresholds are determined over the sum of the amount subject to the execution proceeding and the annual rent as of the date of the proceeding. If this sum falls below the appeal or cassation threshold in force on the date of the proceeding, the decision is final.[5]

3.5. Removal/Cancellation of Objection Lawsuit Regarding an Execution Proceeding Initiated on the Basis of an Eviction Undertaking

The landlord may initiate an execution proceeding under Article 272 of the EBL on the basis of the eviction undertaking given by the tenant. If the tenant objects to this proceeding, the landlord may, depending on the content of the objection, file a removal of objection lawsuit before the civil execution court or a cancellation of objection lawsuit before the civil court of peace.

Where the removal of objection route is taken, the appeal and cassation thresholds set out in the EBL apply. Accordingly, whether the first instance court’s decision may be appealed or taken to cassation is determined according to whether the annual rent as of the filing date exceeds the appeal or cassation threshold in force on the filing date.

Nevertheless, in recent decisions of the Cassation Court, there is also a tendency to assess the appeal and cassation thresholds over the annual rent as of the date the eviction undertaking was given.[6]

If a claimant files a cancellation of objection lawsuit, the appeal and cassation thresholds set out in the CPL will apply. Accordingly, whether a party can appeal the first instance court’s decision will depend on whether one year’s rent as of the filing date exceeds the appeal threshold in effect at that date. As for cassation eligibility, the court will compare three months’ rent as of the filing date with the cassation threshold in effect at that date.

4. General Assessment

The particular structure of disputes arising from lease relationship calls for a careful legal assessment in order to secure the desired outcome in any process initiated for such disputes. Because the appeal and cassation thresholds affect whether that outcome can be reached through execution of the decision rendered, they must be taken directly into account in this assessment. In particular, the Constitutional Court’s recent annulment decision introducing the “filing date” basis, the related amendment to the CPL, and the Cassation Court’s emerging “undertaking date” approach to eviction undertakings make it necessary to assess the right of access to legal remedies in detail before initiating any legal process. Considering the different monetary thresholds that vary depending on whether the dispute is heard before the civil court of peace or the civil execution court, together with the particular calculation method of each type of lawsuit, it should not be overlooked that the strategy applied from the very outset of the process directly affects whether the final decision can pass through review.

[1] The decision of the Constitutional Court dated 4 December 2024, numbered 2023/182 E. and 2024/203 K.

[2]The decision of the 3^rd Civil Chamber of the Cassation Court dated 1 December 2022, numbered 2022/7487 E., 2022/9081 K.; The decision of the 4^th Civil Chamber of the Bursa Court of Appeals dated 15 March 2024, numbered 2024/676 E., 2024/1019 K.; The decision of the 6^th Civil Chamber of the Antalya Court of Appeals dated 19 February 2024, numbered 2024/385 E., 2022/1456 K.

[3]The decision of the 36^th Civil Chamber of the Istanbul Court of Appeals dated 21 May 2026, numbered 2024/2242 E., 2026/1952 K.

[4]The decision of the 55^th Civil Chamber of the Istanbul Court of Appeals dated 27 March 2024, numbered 2024/1057 E., 2024/842 K.

[5] The decision of the 12^th Civil Chamber of the Cassation Court dated 6 October 2025, numbered 2025/6560 E., 2025/5901 K.; The decision of the 12th Civil Chamber of the Cassation Court dated 26 Octobed 2023, numbered 2023/7695 E., 2023/6776 K.

[6] The decision of the 12th Civil Chamber of the Cassation Court dated 13 October 2025, numbered 2025/3953 E., 2025/6172 K.