Prohibition of regulations against the tenant in residential and roofed workplace rentals

The aim of this thesis is to examine Article 346 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, titled "Prohibition of Provisions Against the Tenant", within the context of residential and roofed workplace lease agreements, as a consequence of the legislator's adoption of the principle of tenant protection in lease law. In line with this objective, the study analyzes the underlying principles of the prohibition of provisions against the tenant, the jurisprudence of the Court of Cassation concerning the two sentences contained in the provision, doctrinal perspectives, and judicial decisions rendered during the period in which the provision's enforcement was suspended. The first chapter outlines the legal nature of lease agreements and identifies the types of contracts that fall within the scope of residential and roofed workplace leases. The second chapter focuses on the fundamental principles of lease law that serve as the foundation for the prohibition and examines the reasons for and limits of such prohibition. The third chapter evaluates doctrinal interpretations of Article 346, analyzes the legal nature of judicial decisions issued both during the postponement and implementation phases of the article, and provides a comparative assessment of these rulings. The findings of this study suggest that the two sentences of Article 346, which represent a specific application of the principle of tenant protection in residential and roofed workplace leases, are designed to safeguard distinct interests of the tenant vis-à-vis the landlord. Accordingly, since the provision pertains to public order, any contractual arrangement that contradicts it—even if mutually agreed upon by the parties—shall be deemed invalid.