Formal notice: when and why to send one

When a debt goes unpaid or a contract is breached, the creditor's first legal step is often a formal notice. It is sent to prompt the other side to act, to trigger certain legal consequences and to record them.

Default and setting a deadline

Under Article 117 of the Code of Obligations, the debtor of a due obligation is in principle put in default by the creditor's notice. If a payment date was agreed, default occurs when it passes without any notice; in tort, default starts on the date of the act, and in unjust enrichment, on the date of enrichment. However, notice is required where the recipient of the unjust enrichment acted in good faith.

In contracts with mutual obligations, if one party is in default the other may, under Article 123, give a reasonable time to perform. Rights such as withdrawing from the contract or claiming damages instead of performance often arise only after this step.

When does the law require notice?

In some cases written notice is mandatory. For example, if rent is not paid, Article 315 requires the tenant to be given written notice allowing at least ten days, or at least thirty days for residential and roofed commercial premises, with notice that the lease will be terminated. The two justified warnings under Article 352 must also be in writing.

Why through a notary?

A notice served through a notary provides official proof of its content and the date of service, which helps establish what was notified and when in later proceedings. Whether service was properly made should also be checked.

How to write a good notice

The text should be short and single-purpose: the debt or breach, its basis, the deadline and the step that will follow. A vague demand may allow the other side to argue it was never in default.

Tracking notice and the payment period

For Article 315 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, the period runs from the day following the written notification to the tenant. The statutory minimum is ten days in general, and thirty days for residential and roofed commercial premises. The type of tenancy, the period and maturity of the debt, the time allowed for payment and the statement that the lease will be terminated if payment is not made should be reviewed together.

The starting point of default under Article 117 also depends on the circumstances. When considering an agreed due date or another statutory situation in which default arises without notice, the requirement to notify a good-faith recipient of unjust enrichment must be considered separately. Dispatch, notification and calculation of the period should be distinguished and supported by the documents in the file.

Our view

A formal notice is not a pleading; it is written to prompt action, not to lay out all the evidence. Unnecessary detail raises notary fees and lets the other side prepare early. Every sentence in a notice can later be used as evidence, so it should be read with that in mind.

Related reading: Contract law; Enforcement and insolvency.