سفير تركيا
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Renting an apartment in Türkiye is easier when you understand the agreement, the costs and the responsibilities involved.
This guide takes you from the search for an apartment to signing the tenancy agreement and receiving the keys.
Editorial clarification — checked on 8 October 2026: The payment, agency-fee, deposit, renewal and utility-deposit sections below clarify the source against official rules. A written agreement is strongly recommended, but an ordinary tenancy is not automatically invalid because it is oral or unnotarised. Separate document requirements may apply when using a tenancy agreement for a residence permit.
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1. Main rental options━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
• An apartment in an ordinary building:
- may cost less;
- usually has fewer facilities, such as security staff, a pool or a gym.
• An apartment in a site (residential complex) or a development marketed as a “residence”:
- may have controlled access and cameras;
- sometimes includes a pool, gym, covered parking or gardens;
- may involve higher rent and aidat (service charges).
• Shared housing or a room in an apartment:
- can suit students and single adults;
- may reduce rent and bills, particularly in more expensive cities.
Compare the actual properties. A complex does not automatically provide better security or better value.
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2. Where to look━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Main routes include:
• Property-listing websites:
- listings commonly show photographs, an approximate location and an asking rent;
- watch for old listings or unusually low prices used simply to attract enquiries.
• An emlakçı (estate agent):
- acts as an intermediary between the parties;
- should hold the required property-trading authorisation;
- the total rental brokerage fee may not exceed one month’s contractual rent, excluding VAT. It is normally shared equally unless the brokerage agreement provides otherwise. Check the total, VAT and your agreed share before signing.
• Friends and acquaintances:
- a recommendation may help you find a suitable property or negotiate terms;
- still inspect the apartment and verify the agreement.
Do not reserve or pay an advance for an apartment that neither you nor a trusted person acting for you has seen.
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3. What affects the rent?━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Rent varies with:
• The city: Istanbul, Trabzon, Antalya and Konya have different markets.
• The neighbourhood: central, tourist-oriented or outlying.
• The age and condition of the building.
• Features such as a lift, central heating and parking.
• Whether the apartment is furnished.
Furnished apartments and complexes often have higher asking prices, but this is not a universal rule. Compare rent, facilities, condition and service charges together.
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4. What should the tenancy agreement cover?━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Use a clear written agreement that both parties understand, and keep a signed copy. A Noter (Turkish notary) may be needed for a separate official procedure; notarisation is not a general condition for the validity of every residential tenancy.
Include:
1) The landlord’s and tenant’s details:
- full names;
- identity or passport details;
- addresses and contact details.
2) Apartment details:
- full address;
- floor and apartment number;
- heating system, such as an individual gas boiler or central heating.
3) The tenancy period:
- a year is a common agreed term;
- for a fixed-term residential tenancy, the law generally provides a one-year extension unless the tenant gives the required notice at least 15 days before the end. Formal termination notice must be written. The landlord cannot end the tenancy merely because its stated term has expired.
4) Rent and payment:
- record the amount clearly, normally in Turkish lira, and the due date;
- ordinary monetary rent payments must be documented through a bank or PTT. A cash receipt from the landlord alone does not meet this tax-documentation requirement;
- keep the payment records and identify the rental period.
5) Depozito (security deposit):
- the source describes deposits of one month’s rent or more; the statutory residential limit is three months’ rent;
- where money is agreed as security, Article 342 provides for a restricted bank savings account and a statutory release process;
- record the amount and arrangement. Return or deduction depends on valid claims and the applicable procedure, not simply the landlord’s preference.
6) Annual rent review:
- record the agreed method;
- ordinary renewal increases are subject to the applicable legal limit, generally the twelve-month average change in the consumer price index under Article 344. Special rent-determination rules, including after five years, may apply;
- check the rule and index relevant to your renewal date rather than relying on an old fixed percentage.
7) Responsibility for costs:
- electricity, water, gas and internet usage are commonly paid by the occupant;
- property taxes and compulsory insurance are generally the landlord’s responsibility under the default rule, subject to applicable law and permitted agreements;
- clarify aidat and obtain a breakdown. Do not assume that every building charge or major repair is automatically the tenant’s expense.
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5. Checks before signing━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
• Verify the other party’s identity and legal right or authority to let the apartment.
- Check the tapu (title deed) or relevant evidence.
- Where a representative acts, check the scope of their authority, including any power of attorney.
• Before paying the deposit or first rent:
- agree clear terms;
- keep your signed copy;
- arrange the payment and security documentation correctly.
• Put additional promises in writing:
- included furniture;
- refurbishment;
- repairs and their timing.
A written record makes the terms easier to prove.
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6. Handover and keys━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Before moving in:
1) Photograph or film the whole apartment:
- walls, floors, windows, kitchen and bathroom.
2) Record defects:
- significant cracks;
- visible damp;
- broken fixtures.
Inform the landlord promptly and keep the written record, including any messages.
3) Count the keys:
- apartment;
- building;
- parking, if applicable;
- any locked cupboards or storage areas.
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7. Utility accounts after renting━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
• Arrange electricity, water and gas subscriptions in the appropriate account holder’s name according to the supplier’s procedure.
• Electricity and gas suppliers may require a security deposit. This differs from a connection or other non-refundable charge.
• On closure, the refundable balance is dealt with under the applicable rules after outstanding debts are settled; it is not necessarily just a fixed portion of the original payment.
• Keep subscription agreements, deposit receipts and initial bills.
Requirements vary by supplier, municipality, meter and property.
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8. Practical advice for a new tenant━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
✔ Take time to compare apartments and neighbourhoods.
✔ Ask neighbours about:
- noise;
- damp or building problems;
- heating arrangements.
✔ Investigate unusually cheap listings carefully.
✔ Budget for:
- rent;
- aidat;
- average bills and seasonal changes.
The full monthly cost matters more than the advertised rent alone.
Official references checked: Turkish Code of Obligations; Ministry of Trade: property-trading rules and brokerage fees; Revenue Administration: 2026 rental-income guide, section 3.3; EPDK electricity guidance and natural-gas guidance.
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