Türkiye’s Rent Regulations: Landlords & Tenants

Renting property in Türkiye is governed by clear statutory rules that balance a landlord’s return against a tenant’s need for stability. During years of high inflation, rent increases became one of the most litigated issues in Turkish civil practice — and one of the most misunderstood by foreign owners and expatriate tenants alike. This guide explains how increases are calculated, what limits apply, how a court can be asked to reset the rent, and what a tenant can do when a landlord oversteps.

The core rules sit in the Turkish Code of Obligations (Law No. 6098, “TBK”), principally Articles 344 and 345. These provisions are mandatory: parties cannot contract around them, and a clause that tries to is simply unenforceable for the part that exceeds the statutory ceiling.

When a Landlord May Increase the Rent

When a residential lease is first signed, the parties are free to negotiate the starting rent. There is no cap on the initial figure. The limits bite later — at renewal. A Turkish residential lease renews automatically for successive one-year terms unless the tenant gives notice to leave, and it is at each renewal that the landlord may raise the rent, within the statutory ceiling.

Under Article 344 of the TBK, a rent increase in a renewed period cannot exceed the 12-month average of the Consumer Price Index (TÜFE / CPI) for the previous rental year. The CPI is published monthly by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), and it is the twelve-month average — not the single headline month-on-year figure — that sets the ceiling. In short:

• The contract may set an increase rate, but it cannot beat the CPI ceiling.
• If the agreed rate is lower than the CPI, the lower agreed rate governs.
• The applicable figure is always the lower of the contractual rate and the CPI average.

What this means for you as a landlord: you do not need the tenant’s consent to apply the annual CPI increase, but you cannot exceed it, and you cannot apply it more than once a year. As a tenant: an increase demand is only valid up to the ceiling, whatever the letter says.

The 25% Cap Was Temporary — and Has Ended

To cushion tenants during a sharp spike in rents, the Turkish Grand National Assembly introduced a temporary cap of 25% on residential rent increases, in force from 11 June 2022. Where the CPI average exceeded 25%, the increase was held down to 25%.

This was always an emergency measure, not the permanent rule. The temporary 25% ceiling ended on 1 July 2024. Since that date, residential rent increases are governed again by the ordinary rule in Article 344 — that is, capped at the 12-month average CPI, with no separate percentage limit.

Two points follow:

• The 25% cap is history. For any renewal on or after 1 July 2024, do not apply 25%; apply the CPI ceiling.
• The cap only ever applied to residential leases. Commercial (workplace) leases were never subject to the 25% limit.

Renewal period	Applicable ceiling (residential)
Before 11 June 2022	12-month average CPI (Article 344)
11 June 2022 – 30 June 2024	Lower of CPI average and the temporary 25% cap
On or after 1 July 2024	12-month average CPI (Article 344) — 25% cap no longer applies

Beware of the “catch-up” trap. Some landlords whose rents lagged behind during the 25% cap years now try to demand a large one-off correction. There is no legal basis for a retroactive make-up increase — each renewal is still capped at that year’s CPI average. The only lawful route to a market-level rent is a court determination under Article 345.

Illegal Increases and Tenant Protection

A landlord cannot lawfully raise the rent mid-term or above the ceiling. If a landlord serves notice of an increase before the renewal date, or above the CPI limit, that notice has no legal effect for the unlawful portion. The tenant continues paying at the lawful rate.

Critically, a tenant cannot be evicted merely for refusing to pay an unlawful increase — even after the fixed term has expired. This is one of the most protective features of Turkish tenancy law and it surprises many foreign owners. Unlike in some jurisdictions, the mere end of the lease term does not entitle the landlord to reclaim the property. Eviction in Türkiye requires one of the specific statutory grounds, such as:

• the landlord’s (or a close family member’s) genuine and pressing need to occupy the property;
• reconstruction or major renovation that makes occupation impossible;
• acquisition by a new owner who needs the home, subject to strict notice periods; or
• the tenant’s repeated default — classically, two justified written payment warnings within the same rental year.

Declining an illegal demand is not one of these grounds. Where a tenant has already overpaid, the excess can be reclaimed under the principles of unjust enrichment, and claims of this kind are commonly combined with a rent-determination suit.

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Court-Determined Rent Under Article 345

Either party may ask a court to fix the rent. Under Article 345 of the TBK, a rent-determination (kira tespit) lawsuit may be filed at any time. But its effect on the current rental period depends on timing: the ruling applies to that period only if the suit is filed at least 30 days before the renewal date, or the landlord gave written notice of an increase within that window. Miss the window and the new figure only bites from the following year — an expensive mistake for a landlord chasing a below-market rent.

How the judge sets the figure depends on the age of the tenancy:

• Within the first five years: absent agreement, the court sets a fair rent in line with the property’s condition and equity, but not above the CPI ceiling.
• After five years: the court may look to market value as well as the CPI, and may set a figure above the pure CPI rate to reflect current conditions.

In practice the court appoints an expert (bilirkişi) to value the property against comparable rents in the area, and applies a “hakkaniyet” (equity) discount to avoid shocking a long-standing tenant with the full market jump at once. This is why the five-year mark matters so much: it is the point at which a landlord who has been trapped below market by successive CPI caps can finally realign the rent — but only through the court, never by unilateral demand.

Practical Steps and Common Pitfalls

For a residential renewal today, compare two figures and take the lower:

• The 12-month average CPI for the previous rental year; and
• The increase rate agreed in the lease, if any.

Applying anything higher exposes the landlord to a determination claim and a refund of the excess. Beyond the arithmetic, a few practical habits decide most disputes:

• Pay and collect rent through the bank. A transfer marked “kira – [month]” is far stronger evidence than any receipt. Since the tax authority’s 2023 change (VUK General Communiqué No. 575), all residential rent must be paid through a bank or PTT regardless of the amount — the former monetary threshold was abolished.
• Put notices in writing. An increase notice, an intention-to-occupy notice, or a payment warning that isn’t documented is often worthless in court. Use a notary where the stakes justify it.
• Watch the calendar. The 30-day pre-renewal window for Article 345, and the notice periods for eviction grounds, are strict and unforgiving.
• Do not use lock-changes or utility cut-offs. “Self-help” eviction is unlawful in Türkiye and can expose a landlord to both civil and criminal liability. The only lawful route out is through the courts or enforcement offices.

For foreign owners managing property from abroad, the practical answer is usually a power of attorney issued to a Turkish lawyer: a properly notarised (and, if issued abroad, apostilled) power of attorney allows counsel to serve notices, receive payments into a monitored account, file an Article 345 determination and, where necessary, pursue eviction — all without the owner travelling to Türkiye. Setting this up before a dispute starts is far cheaper than scrambling for one mid-litigation.

A landlord cannot evict simply because the lease “expired.” Foreign owners routinely assume the end of the term ends the tenancy — it does not. Plan any recovery of possession around a genuine statutory ground and its notice periods, or expect to lose.

When the stakes are significant — a long tenancy, a disputed market valuation, a foreign-currency lease, or a threatened eviction — get the calculation and the notice reviewed before acting. Rent disputes turn on precise dates, correct notice, and correct arithmetic, and the party who documented everything almost always prevails. If you are a landlord or tenant facing a contested increase or a possible eviction, seek advice from a Turkish lawyer before you commit to a position.