A Turkish Relocation Agency Fails to Deliver Agreed Housing Services: Overseas Client Claims

Quick summary

The issue and the legal distinction

A foreign family may pay for property search, lease negotiation, utilities and settling-in support, then receive only a list of advertisements. Compare that delivery with the agreed number of viewings, checks and administrative assistance. Determine whether third-party charges were included and whether the agency disclosed conflicts or referral commissions where relevant to its duties.

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What changes the assessment

Keep a task-by-task record and the client’s own availability and instructions. A failed utility connection may arise from the property, missing documents or agency delay.

Obtain written reasons rather than attributing every setback to the intermediary. A deposit paid through the agency should be traced to the recipient and treated separately from the service fee.

Legal framework

Provisions to examine: TCO Articles 112 and 502–508; consumer rules where applicable.

A poor outcome is not by itself professional negligence. Identify the mandate, the standard of care or promised result, the breach and its causal effect. TCO Article 112 provides a general breach framework, and Articles 502–508 may be relevant to a mandate-type appointment.

Some assignments instead fall within work-contract or special professional rules. A second expert should explain what appropriate performance at the relevant time would have revealed, rather than merely describe the problem after it worsened. The client’s instructions, missing information and opportunities to mitigate should also be assessed.

Evidence to preserve

1. Relocation task schedule.
2. Viewing and service records.
3. Client instructions and document delivery.
4. Third-party payments and refusal reasons.

Keep the original documents, identify their source and record when they were received. Preserve the version effective when the promise was made. Where a document is held by the opponent, request lawful preservation and consider the appropriate procedural route rather than trying to obtain it through unauthorised access.

A hypothetical example

Suppose a relocation agency promises utility activation but never submits complete documents that the family supplied. That differs from an authority’s refusal caused by the building’s status.

The client should identify the failed task, response and resulting temporary accommodation expense. A broad dissatisfaction statement is less useful than a clear service record showing what should have happened and when.

This illustration explains the distinction; it is not a reported case or a prediction of an outcome.

Practical next steps

Request an account of performed and unperformed tasks, identify recoverable advances and seek a proportionate completion or repayment solution.

Build the first notice around the particular evidence: relocation task schedule, the relevant date, the alleged failure and the requested response. Keep proof of delivery. A preservation request, a demand for performance and a final election of remedies can have different consequences; choose them with the contract and deadlines in view.

Remedies and financial loss

Assess unused service fees and reasonable additional accommodation caused by a proved breach. Exclude costs the family would have incurred anyway.

Procedure for a client outside Turkey

Nationality alone does not decide governing law or forum. Review the parties, place of performance, contractual choice, any arbitration provision and applicable mandatory rules. Consumer and employment matters can require protected-forum analysis. Turkish proceedings may also require a mediation step or security analysis depending on the dispute; neither should be assumed applicable to every case.

For a Turkish civil case, counsel can consider whether evidence preservation under HMK Articles 400 onward or interim relief under Articles 389 onward is justified. These are different measures with specific conditions, possible security and follow-up duties. A general fear of nonpayment does not establish entitlement to every injunction. Calculate the actual notice and filing calendar before waiting for a voluntary reply.

Primary legislation and official sources

• Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098
• Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100
• International Private and Procedural Law No. 5718
• Ministry of Trade: Consumer Law No. 6502 and secondary rules

Apply the wording and amendments effective for the relevant transaction and procedural step. A historical enactment text does not by itself establish the current rule.

Related English guides

• Contract Disputes in Turkey for International Clients
• Challenging a Court Expert Report in Turkey: Objections and Supplementary Examination
• WhatsApp and Email Evidence in Turkish Civil Courts: Screenshots, Originals and Proof
• Evidence Preservation Before Repairs in Turkey: Delil Tespiti for Overseas Owners

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