Landlords, tenants rush to apply for mediation
ISTANBUL
With the requirement of mandatory mediation for rental disputes coming into force as of Sept. 1, the first day has witnessed a whopping 494 applications, as rental disputes take the top spot among the cases referred to mediation.
Daily Hürriyet reported that as soon as the offices in courthouses started working on Sept. 1, numerous tenants and landlords flocked to apply to mediators in a bid to resolve their long-standing rent disputes.
From eviction issues to rent assessment disagreements, parties entangled in various disputes are aiming to swiftly find resolutions through the mediation process.
Notably, there has been a surge in applications at several courthouses in Istanbul, which has recently witnessed the most number of rental conflict lawsuits. Among the applicants at courthouses for a mediator, 75 percent of them were landlords and tenants.
"The mediator will prepare the ground and will not offer them a solution. The mediator will facilitate the parties in finding their own solutions. They will articulate their desires to each other, and in three weeks, or with an additional week, four weeks in total, they will conclude this process. In the event that no agreement is reached during the mediation sessions, legal action can be pursued," Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç stated.
The recent mediation move aims to alleviate the burden of the courts. With rental prices rising exorbitantly, the number of lawsuits filed due to conflict between landlords and tenants has witnessed a significant increase this year, as approximately 65 percent of the cases Istanbul courts deal with consist of these disputes.
In line with a law adopted by the parliament last March, parties are now required to go to mediation before filing a lawsuit in all rental, neighborhood and property ownership disputes.
