Unpaid Site Management Fees (2) -- What Happens Next?

The first part of this article covers the response to a question from a reader concerning site management fees and it visualizes how tricky an unpaid fee issue can become if it is not paid the attention as deserved. Anyway, the big question is the following: “Can this problem end up in you losing your property?” If things go wrong and the matter is left unattended, then the answer to this question is, I am afraid, yes. The eventual process may end up with you losing your property.
There are several conditions in the agreement made with the management company and most of these agreements include severe interest rates applied in the case of delayed payments. In Turkey the interest rates for unpaid site management fees may climb to 50-60 percent per year. This may carry the current account balance with the property management company to very high figures which will be far from the original liability amount of the basic management fee itself.
The purpose of the notices sent by the property management company is to bring the attention of the property owner to the issue of the outstanding fees and to make the seriousness of the matter more clear to the addressee. One thing that should not be ignored is any notice sent by the property management company or by the manager (if there is no company but the management is done by one appointed manager), as it may serve as proper evidence in court to show that the fees were not paid and the sufficient number of notices were served to the owner/tenant (who are usually jointly liable in such cases) in this regard.
How does the process work and how long it takes to lose your property if you ignore this problem? According to Turkish Enforcement Law, property seizure is a lengthy process, but it may also end sooner if there are no challenges against the summons or notices. First, a payment order has to be served to the debtor by the execution office. Upon service, the debtor can either pay the debt and end the process or fail to respond. You have a seven-day deadline (starting from the date of delivery of the payment order) to challenge this payment order, otherwise your silence will be deemed as acceptance of the claims. In other words, if you receive a payment order and do not object within the seven day deadline, the execution office shall accept the claim of the other party without any further examination occurring. The other party will be called “creditor” and you will be called “debtor” until the end of the process.
How to challenge a payment order? This matter needs the service of a lawyer. If you are not able to find a lawyer, contact any bar association and there will be a help desk. If you cannot find help then please contact me and I will do my best to help you. This process needs a petition or a verbal declaration before the execution office. In practice it is usually done by a petition. How and where should you apply to challenge the payment order? What wording should be put into the challenge? Can you make a partial challenge? Are there any exceptions or extensions granted by the law? I will respond this question in the final part of this series.
NOTE: Berk Çektir is a Turkish lawyer and available to answer questions on the legal aspects of living and doing business in Turkey. Please kindly send inquiries to b.cektir@todayszaman.com. If a sender's letter is published, names may be disclosed unless otherwise is expressly stated by the sender.
DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney-at-law while conducting legal transactions and not rely solely on the information in this column.

BERK ÇEKTİR (Cihan/Today's Zaman)