Residential tenancies in Turkey are governed by the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098. The rules are considerably more protective of tenants than most foreign landlords expect, and considerably more technical than most foreign tenants realise. Both sides tend to discover this at the same moment: when one of them wants the tenancy to end.
For Foreign Tenants
Get the lease in writing, in a form you can actually use. A written lease matters beyond the tenancy itself: a residence permit application based on rented accommodation normally requires a notarised lease in the applicant’s own name, and an informal arrangement with a landlord will not satisfy it.
The points that cause the most trouble:
- The deposit. The law limits how large a deposit may be and how it is to be held. Deposits are frequently taken in cash and never returned, and recovering one afterwards is far harder than securing it correctly at the start.
- Rent increases. Increases on renewal of a residential tenancy are capped by law. A clause in your lease saying otherwise does not override the statutory limit. Where the landlord or the tenant is a foreign national, the rent may be agreed in a foreign currency such as US dollars. In that case the rent cannot be changed for five rental years: the same amount is paid, and a court rent determination cannot be requested before that period ends.
- The undertaking to vacate. Tenants are sometimes asked to sign a written undertaking to leave the property, occasionally undated, at the same time as the lease. This document has real force. Do not sign one without understanding what it does.
- Utilities and building charges. Unpaid utility debts and building management charges attached to the property can follow the occupier.
For Landlords, Including Foreign Owners
A landlord cannot end a residential tenancy simply because the fixed term has expired. Termination requires a ground recognised by law, such as non-payment following formal notice, genuine need of the owner or specified family members, reconstruction, or a valid undertaking to vacate, and it requires the correct procedure. Trying to remove a tenant without one is the quickest way to lose a case you would otherwise have won.
Rental income is also a tax matter. Income from letting property in Turkey is declarable, and owners living abroad are not exempt simply because they are abroad. See tax for foreigners.
Disputes
Most residential rent disputes must go through mandatory mediation before a claim can be filed in court. Rent determination claims, eviction proceedings and deposit recovery each follow their own route and their own timetable. Filing the wrong claim, or filing before mediation, costs months.
What We Do
We draft and review leases for tenants and for landlords, prepare and serve formal notices, handle mediation and litigation for eviction, rent determination and deposit recovery, and advise foreign owners on letting property they have bought in Turkey, including how the lease interacts with their title and their tax position.
Renting Property in İzmir
We act for landlords and tenants in İzmir, in English and Turkish, and for Farsi and Arabic speakers through an interpreter. From our office in Konak we handle:
- tenancy disputes over unpaid rent, rent increases, deposits, damage and early exit;
- evicting a tenant through the enforcement office or the court, from the first warning to the handover of the property;
- drafting and reviewing leases, including bilingual versions;
- for owners living abroad, planning how an İzmir property is let and managed so that it produces income, and dealing with the tenant and the legal steps on their behalf.
If a rent dispute is settled at mediation, the agreement is given an enforceability annotation by the civil court of peace where the property is located, and we make sure the signed agreement is enforceable. To discuss a lease or rent dispute in İzmir, contact our İzmir office.
Speak to Us Before You Sign
A lease reviewed before signature costs a fraction of a dispute after it. Contact our office or call +90 533 301 52 23.