A state decision to exclude bachelors from housing rights as part of a resettlement plan in the town of Hasankeyf in southeastern Turkey is a violation of rights, Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday.
A stipulation that prevents singles to qualify for purchasing residential property with state-supported financing is violation of property rights, CNN Türk news site cited the court ruling as saying.
Residents of Hasankeyf have been displaced by a huge controversial dam, which has effectively submerged their homes, and are in the process of being relocated to a new government-built town above the rising waters of the Tigris River.
The ruling by Turkey’s top court arrives after Hasankeyf resident Nuriye Arpa took legal action after being denied a housing unit by the Turkish public housing authority, TOKİ, on the basis that she failed to be designated as a “family” in accordance with Article 17 of Turkey’s Housing Law 5543.
Arpa was refused to acquire housing among the 710 residences built by TOKİ, CNN Türk said, prompting the woman apply to a local then appeals court before taking the matter to Turkey’s Constitutional Court.
The ruling is expected to set a precedent for the other over a dozen bachelors TOKİ housing in Hasankeyf, CNN Türk said, citing Arpa’s lawyer.
Ahval