Whether you are renting property in Turkey as an expatriate, a foreign national on an extended stay, or an international investor who has purchased an apartment and is now leasing it out, understanding how Turkish rental law works is essential. Turkey's rental regulations are structured around the Turkish Code of Obligations, and several of its provisions will surprise people accustomed to rental markets in the UK, Germany, or other European countries. This guide covers the key rights and obligations that apply to both tenants and landlords in the Turkish residential rental market in 2025.
Annual Rent Increase Cap: How It Works in Practice
Turkey's rental market has been subject to significant political and legislative attention in recent years, driven by sharp increases in urban housing costs. The mechanism that most directly affects both landlords and tenants is the annual rent increase cap, which limits how much a landlord can raise rent at the annual renewal point.
The cap is tied to the 12-month average of the Consumer Price Index (TÜFE) — Turkey's official inflation measure published by TÜİK, the Turkish Statistical Institute. At each annual renewal, the landlord cannot increase the rent by more than this 12-month TÜFE average. Given that Turkey has experienced elevated inflation rates in recent years, this cap can still represent a meaningful increase in absolute terms, but it prevents landlords from making discretionary rent jumps.
For landlords, the practical implication is that the starting rent agreed at the beginning of a tenancy is consequential — it sets the base from which future increases are calculated. Setting rent too low initially, even with good intentions, creates a compounding disadvantage over time. For tenants, the protection is real: a landlord who demands an increase beyond the TÜFE average at renewal is acting outside the law and the tenant can challenge this.
Security Deposit: Maximum Three Months
Turkish law places a firm cap on the security deposit a landlord can request: a maximum of three months' rent. Asking for more than this is not enforceable. In practice, most landlords request one or two months' deposit, and three months is the ceiling even for high-value properties.
The deposit must be returned to the tenant at the end of the tenancy, minus any documented deductions for damage beyond normal wear and tear. Disputes over deposit returns are a common source of conflict in Turkey's rental market, and both parties benefit from a detailed, photographic record of the property's condition at both move-in and move-out.
For landlords, keeping the deposit in a separate account — rather than treating it as operating income — simplifies the return process and avoids the practical problem of not having the funds available when the tenant leaves.
Eviction: Legal Grounds and Court Procedure Required
This is the area where Turkish rental law most significantly differs from what many international property investors expect. In Turkey, a landlord cannot simply terminate a tenancy and ask the tenant to leave at the end of a lease period without a legally recognised ground for eviction. Residential tenancy agreements in Turkey renew automatically unless the tenant chooses to leave, and the landlord's ability to end the tenancy is constrained by law.
The valid grounds for landlord-initiated eviction include: the landlord needing the property for their own residential use or the use of a close relative; the property requiring structural renovation that makes occupation impossible; the tenant failing to pay rent; the tenant causing damage or using the property in a way that violates the lease; and — in a special provision — the landlord notifying the tenant at the time of lease signing that they intend to terminate at the end of the contractual period (this specific mechanism has strict formal requirements).
All eviction proceedings require a court order. A landlord cannot change locks, remove belongings, or otherwise force a tenant out without going through the legal process. This process can take months. For international property investors in Turkey who intend to lease their properties and eventually sell vacant, understanding this timeline and building it into their planning is important.
Landlord Maintenance Obligations
Turkish law distinguishes clearly between routine maintenance (the tenant's responsibility) and structural or significant repairs (the landlord's responsibility). The landlord is obligated to keep the property in a condition suitable for its intended use throughout the tenancy. This means the landlord must address problems that are not caused by the tenant and that affect the habitability or structural integrity of the property — roof leaks, heating system failures, serious plumbing issues, and similar.
Tenants are expected to report such problems in writing and give the landlord a reasonable opportunity to resolve them. If the landlord fails to act after proper notification, the tenant may — in certain circumstances — undertake the repair themselves and deduct the cost from rent, or seek a rent reduction through the courts. These remedies require following specific procedural steps.
For landlords renting property in Turkey to international tenants, documenting the condition of appliances, systems, and fixtures at the start of the tenancy provides protection against disputes about who is responsible for repair costs at the end.
Subleasing: Written Permission Required
A tenant in Turkey does not have the right to sublease the property — either the whole property or individual rooms — without the landlord's explicit written permission. Subleasing without this permission is grounds for termination of the tenancy. For landlords concerned about short-term rental platforms or room-by-room subleasing, adding an explicit prohibition clause in the rental contract and ensuring it is understood by the tenant is strongly advisable.
For tenants planning to use a property for short-term rentals or co-living arrangements, obtaining written landlord consent before beginning is not optional. The absence of such consent creates legal exposure that is not worth the risk.