The Covid-19 pandemic has affected lease agreements in different aspects. We can list some of them as follows:
Economic Difficulties: The economic recession and job losses caused by the epidemic have put many tenants in a difficult situation in paying their rent.
Business Closures: Tenants who were unable to open their workplaces, especially as a result of the closure decisions taken during the pandemic period, had difficulty in fulfilling their rent payment obligations.
Travel Restrictions: Businesses operating in the tourism sector have experienced disruptions in rent payments due to travel restrictions.
Rights and liabilities of the parties
The Covid-19 pandemic has also affected the rights and obligations arising from lease agreements. It is important to pay attention to the following points in this regard:
Force Majeure: According to Article 138 of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, the debtor cannot be held responsible for fulfilling his debt if the performance of the debt becomes impossible. In this context, the Covid-19 outbreak may be considered as force majeure in some cases and may affect tenants’ obligations to pay the rent.
Right of Termination: According to Article 331 of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098, each party may terminate the contract at any time by complying with the legal termination notice period, in case there are important reasons that make the continuation of the rental relationship unbearable for them. Within the scope of this article, the Covid-19 outbreak may be considered an important reason in some cases and may allow the parties to terminate the lease agreement.
Legal Regulations: Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, some temporary regulations were made by Law No. 7226. These regulations offered opportunities such as deferring or reducing the rental fee for workplaces operating in certain sectors.
