Contractors and landlords will be held accountable to property owners and tenants as a result of building inspections after earthquakes. Construction contractors will be held responsible for not complying with their commitments toward the quake-durability of buildings and can be sued for compensation.

Investigations continue over the Feb. 6, Kahramanmaraş-centered twin earthquakes that affected 11 provinces in Türkiye, took over 41,000 lives, left millions homeless and caused great destruction. The two earthquakes taught us lessons of unity, miracles and brotherhood, and showed us the consequences and cost of negligence.

After the collapse of thousands of buildings, inspection reports revealing the durability of the buildings came to the fore. Commenting on the report, which created a controversy between building owners and tenants, Beykent University Administrative Law Department lecturer Mustafa Yılmaz said: "A tenant can begin a lawsuit seeking compensation and file a case against the contractor who does not fulfill his commitment and sells buildings that do not comply with the earthquake regulation and zoning, which we call 'defective goods in law,'" he said.

The growing concern about the possible Istanbul earthquake has opened another debate about whether the buildings are earthquake-proof and whether appropriate zoning plans are applied. While tenants who do not know how to begin the process of building inspection can be assisted by the legislation and get their results.

Yılmaz explained what citizens should do in this process and said that if the report is negative, the building owners can file a compensation case against the contractor. While tenants who cannot reach the information because landlords do not let them have it or hide it, can request the report through a legal process.

Yılmaz stated that contractors are liable for compensation if the result of the building inspection report indicates that the building is "not suitable for earthquakes."

"It is stated in the decisions of the Supreme Court that the act of ‘conscious negligence’ will be applied if enough suitable materials are not used. In cases of deliberate negligence, the penalty is further aggravated, and if there is a fault, the person is obliged to pay more compensation before the civil court," he explained.

Yılmaz said: "The citizen can file a lawsuit by submitting the negative reports on the status of their building’s earthquake durability. In addition, he can also file a lawsuit against the contractor by adding interest to the value of the building or for how much he bought it."

Statements such as "I did not know how much iron my worker has used" are invalid. As the contractor is responsible if an earthquake-proof situation arises during the works, the building owners, especially the contractors, will be financially responsible. According to the law of obligations, it is also unacceptable that the building owners do not know that the buildings are defective.

Steps to follow

Tenants should call the concerned municipalities to test buildings by taking various samples. In fact, according to a statement by the Metropolitan Municipality, samples should be taken from buildings as part of the studies that the municipality wants to do on the durability of the structures. So, these are not things that can happen right away. Landlords may not give such documents to their tenants. Tenants can demand this from landlords through a legal process.

Yılmaz said issuing a zoning amnesty is "murder," and there should not be an application regarding zoning amnesties. Instead, a provision should be included that states "a zoning amnesty cannot be issued."