“IS THE BUILDING I LIVE IN EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT”
After the Kahramanmaraş earthquake, investigations against the contractors whose buildings collapsed to the ground have started and the responsibility of 163 suspects has been identified so far. Among the buildings that collapsed, there are also those that are only one year old. This situation has led to the emergence of concerns among citizens about ‘whether the building I live in is earthquake-resistant’. Especially those living in Istanbul have started to think about getting a report from building inspection companies on whether their houses are strong or not.
RIGHTS THAT WILL RELIEVE THE HANDS OF HOMEOWNERS
In fact, homeowners have many rights that will relieve their hands regarding the building inspection reports, which are constantly postponed due to reasons such as financial burden, not favouring the urban transformation process and timeout. In the event that the buildings that the property owners have bought thinking that they are solid are inspected, if the report concludes that they are “not earthquake resistant”, they have the right to sue the contractor or contractor they purchased, to recover the sale price of the house and to demand free repair.
“I DON’T WANT THIS HOUSE, I WANT MY MONEY BACK”
Prof. Dr. Haluk Nami Nomer from Istanbul Aydın University Faculty of Law stated that the issue falls under ‘consumer rights’ due to the fact that it is a ‘house sale’ and said, “If it turns out that the building in question is not in accordance with the specifications, we can apply to the ‘defect provisions'”.
“Even if there is no explicit provision in the contract, the contractor is obliged to construct the building in accordance with the building regulations and technical specifications.” Prof. Dr. Haluk Nami Nomer listed the rights of the homeowners due to the defect provision after the ‘not sound’ report of the property as follows:
“When a defective property is purchased, various claims can be put forward based on the defect provisions. The contract can be revoked, that is, it can be said ‘I don’t want this house anymore, I want my money back’, a discount in the price can be requested, the right to demand free repair and also the right to compensation is reserved. If there is gross negligence and fraud within the framework of consumer law, the statute of limitations does not apply. The law clearly states this.”
THE JUDGEMENT MAY CHANGE ACCORDING TO WHO AND HOW THE HOUSE WAS PURCHASED
Prof. Dr. Nomer continued his information about who the homeowners can claim these rights against according to the way of purchase as follows
“We can assert these rights against the person who sold us. We may also have purchased directly from the contractor. The contractor is the person who built the building. If we bought directly from that contractor, this purchase is a consumer transaction and is subject to consumer law. Therefore, the statute of limitations will be determined according to the provisions of the consumer law and there is no statute of limitations in case of gross negligence and fraud.
If we have not purchased directly from the contractor, but from someone else, then this transaction is not a consumer transaction and the consumer law does not apply. Instead, the provisions of the Turkish Code of Obligations shall apply. The statute of limitations will also be subject to the provisions of the Code of Obligations, where the statute of limitations is 20 years from the date of delivery if the seller is seriously negligent.
If we did not buy it directly, let’s say that we are the owner of the land and the contractor built it and gave us how many independent sections, that is, apartments. The Court of Cassation does not accept such transactions as consumer transactions. Therefore, the consumer law does not apply. Yes, we still have our rights, but the statute of limitations in the consumer law does not apply here. In other words, if the defect is concealed by gross negligence or fraud, the statute of limitations does not apply. The statute of limitations expires after 20 years from the date of delivery, regardless of the nature of the defective work.”
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