So I thought you could help me with a question regarding apartment maintenance services. I live in an apartment block comprising 15 units. We have a central heating system that is not very advantageous for several reasons. I would like to separate my house from this central heating and establish my own system. I am not going to bother you with technical questions. I only would like to know if I can do this in legal terms because I was told in the past that it would be impossible to do -- unlike switching [from any kind of system] to natural gas heating, which can be done if 50 percent consensus is achieved. I was also told that we need 100 percent consensus to switch to individual heating. I am willing to pay for the expenses to make necessary changes in the apartment's central system. However, I recently heard that a new law allowing such a change was passed. Is this true? Can I do this and, if yes, do I need any sort of legal document (from a lawyer, etc.) to provide other inhabitants of the building? I would appreciate any help. Thanks in advance."A change was made in 2007 to the Divided Co-Ownership Code. Upon the request of an owner who wants to switch from a heating system to fuel oil or from a central heating system to an individual heating system, this is possible if the majority of owners votes in favor. However, an exception is specified in the code. If the total area of the building is more than 2,000 square meters, switching from a central heating system to an individual heating system requires 100 percent consensus. Expenses incurred from changing heating systems are to be divided according to the percentage of shares each owner holds.
Now let's turn to another e-mail. This one is concerning prenuptial agreements. I wrote about this issue in June, but I would like to briefly answer the following e-mail: "I would like to ask the following questions in relation to marriage in Turkey: 1. If a foreign man is considering marrying a Turkish lady, can they enter into a prenuptial agreement which would agree on the division of their finances in the event of a divorce? 2. In the event of a divorce in Turkey, would the lady normally be entitled to half of the estate? Thanks."
Prenuptial agreements are possible under Turkish law. They can be certified by a notary public or declared to the marriage officer. There are two types of asset regimes: One is a legal asset regime called "participation in acquired assets." The second type is a contractual estate regime, which is divided into three branches: the regime of separation in assets, the regime of partition in separated assets and the regime of partnership in assets. Spouses are free to choose one of these regimes in prenuptial agreements.
In order to answer your question, if spouses do not choose one of these regimes, they will be subject to "participation in acquired assets." According to this legal asset regime, there are personal assets and acquired (marital) assets. Assets owned prior to marriage are considered personal assets according to the said regime and are not considered part of the disputed assets in a divorce case. In the event of a divorce, a spouse is entitled to have half of the marital assets.
