The brokerage agreement (simsarlık sözleşmesi) is regulated by the articles 520-525 of the Turkish Code of Obligations; in addition, as established by article 520 of the TCO, the provisions regarding simple agency contracts are applicable.
A brokerage agreement is ‘a contract by which the broker makes an opportunity to facilitate the conclusion of a contract or conclude a contract and to have a right to a fee depending on the conclusion of the contract’.
The assignment carried out by the broker consists in creating the necessary connections in order to facilitate the conclusion of an agreement for the principal, building a bridge between supply and demand and receiving a brokerage fee if such agreement is successfully concluded.
As a general rule no formalities are required for the validity of the contract, with the exception of the brokerage contracts regarding real properties for which the writing form is necessary. However, even if is not mandatory by law, it is always preferable to use the written form in order to avoid future conflicts between the parties.
Article 521 of TCO establishes that the broker has the right to a fee only in case his activities bring to the successful conclusion of the contract between the parties. However it is possible for the principal and the broker to agree a different way of payment, according to which he will be allowed to claim his fee even if the contract is not concluded afterwards.
In case the contract, concluded because of the broker’s activity, is stipulated with a suspensive condition, then the fee will be paid only if the condition has occurred.
Moreover, the same article 521/3 TCO establishes that if the principal has contractually undertaken to reimburse the broker’s expenses, the broker may request such reimbursement even if the transaction fails to materialize, which means that if the agreement is not executed he will have the right to claim the refund of the expenses.
As regards to the amount of the fee, this should be determined by the tariff of fees, if there is not a fee tariff then it will be determined according to the custom.