{"id":803,"date":"2025-08-11T13:32:47","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T10:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/?p=803"},"modified":"2025-08-11T13:33:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T10:33:17","slug":"contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/","title":{"rendered":"Liability of Contractors for Buildings Collapsed in Earthquakes: Legal Grounds and Compensation Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As Turkey is located in an earthquake-prone region, constructing earthquake-resistant buildings is both a technical and legal necessity.<br>After earthquakes, the liability of contractors for collapsed buildings becomes one of the most researched topics by victims.<br>This liability arises under the&nbsp;<strong>Turkish Code of Obligations (TCO)<\/strong>&nbsp;as&nbsp;<strong>contractual liability from a contract for work<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>tort liability<\/strong>, and under the&nbsp;<strong>Turkish Penal Code (TPC)<\/strong>&nbsp;as&nbsp;<strong>criminal liability<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>a) Contractual Liability under the Contract for Work (TCO)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to TCO Article 470, the contractor (builder) is obliged to construct the work in accordance with the rules of science and technical standards.<br>If there is a substantial defect in the delivered work, Article 475 grants the employer the following&nbsp;<strong>optional rights<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Request the elimination of the defect<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Demand a reduction in the price<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Terminate the contract<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, Article 472\/I states that if the contractor supplies defective materials, they are liable as if they were the seller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>b) Tort Liability (TCO Articles 49 and 71)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Third parties who suffer damage due to the collapse of buildings in an earthquake may file a claim for damages against the contractor based on the provisions of&nbsp;<strong>tort liability<\/strong>.<br>Article 71 of the TCO regulates strict liability for dangerous activities and states that breaches of the duty of care entail an obligation to compensate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>c) Criminal Liability (TPC Article 85)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to TPC Article 85, a contractor who negligently causes the death of one or more persons is subject to&nbsp;<strong>imprisonment from 2 to 15 years<\/strong>.<br>In post-earthquake investigations, criminal liability arises if defects such as&nbsp;<strong>use of low-quality concrete<\/strong>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<strong>deviations from approved plans and permits<\/strong>&nbsp;are detected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Compensation Rights and Statute of Limitations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>a) Claims Based on the Contract for Work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under TCO Article 478, claims for damages arising from defective works must be filed within&nbsp;<strong>5 years<\/strong>&nbsp;from delivery, or&nbsp;<strong>20 years<\/strong>&nbsp;in cases of gross negligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>b) Claims Based on Tort Liability<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to TCO Article 72, the limitation period is&nbsp;<strong>2 years<\/strong>&nbsp;from the date the damage and the liable party are learned, and in any case&nbsp;<strong>10 years<\/strong>&nbsp;from the date of the act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Court of Cassation precedents<\/strong>&nbsp;accept that, in earthquake-related cases, the limitation period starts&nbsp;<strong>from the date of the earthquake<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Common Scenarios in Practice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Contractor\u2013owner relationship<\/strong>: In construction contracts in exchange for flats, the contractor bears liability both under the provisions of the contract for work and the sale.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Liability of construction supervision companies and engineers<\/strong>: Under the Building Inspection Law No. 4708, such professionals also bear responsibility.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Zoning amnesties<\/strong>: Inclusion of unlawful structures under amnesty regulations does not remove liability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The liability of contractors for buildings collapsed in earthquakes is a multi-faceted issue under both&nbsp;<strong>private law<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>criminal law<\/strong>.<br>For victims to protect their rights:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Obtain\u00a0<strong>expert reports<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>damage assessment records<\/strong>,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Observe\u00a0<strong>statutory limitation periods<\/strong>,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Seek assistance from a\u00a0<strong>specialized lawyer<\/strong>\u00a0at the outset of the process.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Obtaining professional legal advice in post-earthquake legal proceedings can prevent loss of rights and contribute to a favorable outcome in court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Turkey is located in an earthquake-prone region, constructing earthquake-resistant buildings is both a technical and legal necessity.After earthquakes, the liability of contractors for collapsed buildings<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[180,172,183,175,171,177,182,184,174,169,179,173,178,176,181],"class_list":["post-803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genel","tag-building-inspection-responsibility","tag-collapsed-building-compensation-claim","tag-compensation-statute-of-limitations-earthquake","tag-contractor-criminal-liability","tag-contractor-liability-earthquake","tag-defective-construction-compensation","tag-lawsuit-against-contractor","tag-legal-process-for-collapsed-buildings","tag-post-earthquake-legal-process","tag-post-earthquake-legal-remedies","tag-strict-liability-building-collapse","tag-tco-contract-for-work","tag-tort-liability-earthquake","tag-tpc-article-85-negligence","tag-zoning-amnesty-legal-effects"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Liability of Contractors for Buildings Collapsed in Earthquakes: Legal Grounds and Compensation Rights - T\u00fcreli &amp; Ceylan Law Firm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Liability of Contractors for Buildings Collapsed in Earthquakes: Legal Grounds and Compensation Rights - T\u00fcreli &amp; Ceylan Law Firm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Turkey is located in an earthquake-prone region, constructing earthquake-resistant buildings is both a technical and legal necessity.After earthquakes, the liability of contractors for collapsed buildings [\u2026]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"T\u00fcreli &amp; Ceylan Law Firm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-11T10:32:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-11T10:33:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/hataydaki-yikim-havadan-goruntulendi_b38c0738.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tureliceylan.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tureliceylan.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/\",\"name\":\"Liability of Contractors for Buildings Collapsed in Earthquakes: Legal Grounds and Compensation Rights - T\u00fcreli &amp; Ceylan Law Firm\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/hataydaki-yikim-havadan-goruntulendi_b38c0738.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-11T10:32:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-11T10:33:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b7b4d2931ed8211a2a05d61548e57921\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/hataydaki-yikim-havadan-goruntulendi_b38c0738.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/hataydaki-yikim-havadan-goruntulendi_b38c0738.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":900},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Liability of Contractors for Buildings Collapsed in Earthquakes: Legal Grounds and Compensation Rights\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"T\u00fcreli &amp; Ceylan Law Firm\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b7b4d2931ed8211a2a05d61548e57921\",\"name\":\"tureliceylan.com\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d0befc661ee6ed4346d3fa5beac8c06172c0c8356a2bc36c366e15869317aed9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d0befc661ee6ed4346d3fa5beac8c06172c0c8356a2bc36c366e15869317aed9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"tureliceylan.com\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/author\/tureliceylan-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Liability of Contractors for Buildings Collapsed in Earthquakes: Legal Grounds and Compensation Rights - T\u00fcreli &amp; Ceylan Law Firm","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Liability of Contractors for Buildings Collapsed in Earthquakes: Legal Grounds and Compensation Rights - T\u00fcreli &amp; Ceylan Law Firm","og_description":"As Turkey is located in an earthquake-prone region, constructing earthquake-resistant buildings is both a technical and legal necessity.After earthquakes, the liability of contractors for collapsed buildings [\u2026]","og_url":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/","og_site_name":"T\u00fcreli &amp; Ceylan Law Firm","article_published_time":"2025-08-11T10:32:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-08-11T10:33:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/hataydaki-yikim-havadan-goruntulendi_b38c0738.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"tureliceylan.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"tureliceylan.com","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/","url":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/","name":"Liability of Contractors for Buildings Collapsed in Earthquakes: Legal Grounds and Compensation Rights - T\u00fcreli &amp; Ceylan Law Firm","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/hataydaki-yikim-havadan-goruntulendi_b38c0738.jpg","datePublished":"2025-08-11T10:32:47+00:00","dateModified":"2025-08-11T10:33:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b7b4d2931ed8211a2a05d61548e57921"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/hataydaki-yikim-havadan-goruntulendi_b38c0738.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/hataydaki-yikim-havadan-goruntulendi_b38c0738.jpg","width":1200,"height":900},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/contractor-liability-collapsed-buildings-earthquake\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Liability of Contractors for Buildings Collapsed in Earthquakes: Legal Grounds and Compensation Rights"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/","name":"T\u00fcreli &amp; Ceylan Law Firm","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b7b4d2931ed8211a2a05d61548e57921","name":"tureliceylan.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d0befc661ee6ed4346d3fa5beac8c06172c0c8356a2bc36c366e15869317aed9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d0befc661ee6ed4346d3fa5beac8c06172c0c8356a2bc36c366e15869317aed9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"tureliceylan.com"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/tureliceylan.com"],"url":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/author\/tureliceylan-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":805,"href":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803\/revisions\/805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tureliceylan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}