Establishing and Exercising an Easement Appurtenant to Land
Legal Articles
Legal Article · 12 November 2026
Thomas Andreas Di Constantinople, Attorney at Law
An easement appurtenant to land is a limited right in rem established over one property for the benefit of another. Under Article 779 of the Turkish Civil Code (TMK), the owner of the servient property must tolerate certain uses or refrain from exercising certain powers conferred by ownership. Unlike contractual permission granted to a particular person to use the property, the right attaches to the dominant property.
Creation and Scope
Under Article 781 TMK, an easement agreement must take official form to be valid. As a rule, registration in the land register is also required to establish the right. Prolonged actual use or permission previously granted by a neighbour does not, by itself, create an equivalent right in rem. The requirements for special methods of acquisition provided by law are assessed separately. An obligation to perform an act cannot be the independent subject of an easement, although it may be attached as an ancillary obligation.
Registration and the documents establishing the right determine how it may be exercised. Matters such as the route of a right of way, the area available for use and the purpose of use are relevant. Under Article 786 TMK, the holder must exercise the right in the manner least harmful to the servient property. The owner of that property must not obstruct or hinder its exercise. Neither party may unilaterally expand these reciprocal limits.
Cancellation may be sought if the benefit provided by the easement has ceased entirely. Where an easement provides very little benefit in comparison with its burden, partial or complete cancellation against compensation may be requested. The requirements are assessed in the particular case under Article 785 TMK. The acquisition of both properties by the same person does not automatically remove the right from the register unless it is cancelled.
Related Topics
This article has been prepared for general legal information.