Rental Disputes in Turkey: A Guide for Foreign Landlords and Tenants

Rental disputes in Turkey usually come down to three questions: how much the rent can rise, whether the tenant can be made to leave, and who pays for unpaid rent or damage. For foreign landlords and tenants, the rules are set mainly by the Turkish Code of Obligations, and since 2023 most of these disagreements must go through mediation before a court will hear them. This guide explains how rental disputes in Turkey actually work, what the law allows on each side, and where foreigners most often go wrong.

Whether you rent out a flat in Istanbul or live in one on a residence permit, the same law applies to you as to a Turkish citizen. Nationality does not change your rights or your obligations under a residential lease. Rental disputes for foreign landlords in Turkey therefore turn on the same rules that govern every other tenancy.

Common Rental Disputes in Turkey and How They Start

Most rental disputes in Turkey fall into a small number of recurring categories. Knowing which one you are in tells you which rule and which route applies.

• Rent increases. The landlord wants a higher rent than the tenant thinks the law permits, or the tenant refuses any increase at all.
• Eviction. The landlord wants the property back and the tenant does not want to leave, or disputes the grounds given.
• Unpaid or late rent. Rent is overdue, and the landlord moves to collect it and sometimes to end the lease.
• Deposit and damage. At the end of the tenancy the parties disagree over how much of the deposit should be returned and who caused the damage.
• Repairs and condition. The tenant wants repairs the landlord will not make, or the landlord says the tenant caused the problem.

A single tenancy can produce more than one of these at once. A tenant behind on rent may also be contesting the last increase, for example.

Landlord and Tenant Law in Turkey: The Basic Rules

Landlord and tenant law in Turkey is set out mainly in the Turkish Code of Obligations (Turk Borclar Kanunu, Law No. 6098), in its sections on residential and roofed-workplace leases. These rules are protective of tenants, and most of them cannot be waived by a clause in the contract. A lease term that gives the tenant less than the Code allows is generally unenforceable, even if the tenant signed it.

A few points of landlord and tenant law in Turkey matter to almost every dispute:

• A written contract is strongly advisable, but an oral lease is still valid and still protected.
• The security deposit for a residential lease is capped by the Code at three months' rent, and the Code says it should be held in a bank account rather than kept by the landlord.
• A residential lease renews automatically for a further year unless the tenant gives notice. The landlord cannot simply refuse to renew.
• The landlord can only end the lease on specific legal grounds, which we set out below.

Rent Increase Disputes in Turkey

Rent increase disputes in Turkey are governed by a cap tied to inflation. For a renewing residential lease, the Turkish Code of Obligations limits the yearly increase to the twelve-month average change in the consumer price index published by the Turkish Statistical Institute. A clause that promises the landlord more than that ceiling is not enforceable for the part above it.

Between 2022 and mid-2024 a temporary statutory cap of 25 percent applied to residential rent increases. That temporary cap has expired, and as of the time this article is written increases are again tied to the twelve-month average consumer price index. Because this figure changes every month, confirm the current rate before you rely on a number.

If the parties cannot agree, either side can ask a court to set the rent through a rent-determination case (kira tespit davasi). After five years, the court is not bound by the inflation cap and can reset the rent to a fair market level based on an expert valuation. Rent increase disputes in Turkey are one of the most common reasons foreign landlords and tenants end up in front of a judge.

Eviction: When a Landlord Can End the Lease

A landlord in Turkey cannot evict a tenant at will. The Code allows it only on defined grounds, and the landlord must use the correct procedure for the ground relied on. The main lawful grounds are these:

• Genuine need. The landlord, or close family, genuinely needs the property as a home or workplace.
• Reconstruction. The property must be rebuilt or substantially renovated in a way that makes living there impossible during the work.
• New owner's need. Someone who buys the property may claim it for their own or their family's use, following notice within the period the Code sets.
• Two written default notices. If the tenant is served two justified written warnings for late rent in the same lease year, the landlord can seek eviction.
• Tenant's written undertaking. A separate written promise by the tenant to vacate on a set date, given after the lease began, can be enforced.

There is also the long-tenancy route. After a residential lease has run for ten years of renewals, the landlord can end it without giving a reason, provided they give at least three months' notice before the end of the following lease year. For non-payment specifically, the landlord can start enforcement proceedings at the enforcement office (Icra Mudurlugu) with an eviction demand, which runs on a faster track than a full court case.

How to Resolve a Rental Dispute in Turkey, Step by Step

How to resolve a rental dispute in Turkey now follows a set order, because mediation comes before court for most money and eviction claims. These are the usual stages.

1. Put it in writing first. Send a clear, dated written notice stating what you want and giving a reasonable deadline. For formal effect, Turkish practice uses a notary notice (ihtarname).
2. Go to mandatory mediation. Since 1 September 2023, disputes over rent amounts, money claims from a lease, and eviction of leased property must go to mediation before any lawsuit. Filing straight at court without it gets the case dismissed on procedure.
3. Sign or close the mediation. If mediation produces an agreement, it is binding and enforceable like a court judgment. If it fails, the mediator issues a final report, which is the ticket you need to sue.
4. File at the right court. Rental cases go to the Civil Court of Peace (Sulh Hukuk Mahkemesi) where the property is located. Non-payment eviction can instead go through the enforcement office.
5. Enforce the result. A judgment or mediation settlement that is not honoured is carried out through the enforcement office, which can order the actual handover of the property.

Whether mediation or a direct enforcement route fits your situation depends on the ground, the amounts and the paperwork you already hold; a lawyer can assess it in a short consultation.

Mediation or Court: Which Route Applies

For most rental disputes in Turkey, mediation is now the compulsory first step and court is the fallback. The table below shows how the two compare on the points foreigners ask about most.

Mediation is not optional for the covered categories. Skipping it is the single most common procedural mistake we correct.

How Long Rental Disputes in Turkey Take

Rental disputes in Turkey vary widely in length depending on the route and the court's workload. As a rough guide:

• Mediation: usually a few weeks from the first session, sometimes faster if both sides are ready to settle.
• Enforcement-office eviction for unpaid rent: often a few months, assuming the tenant does not file a valid objection.
• Rent-determination or eviction lawsuit: commonly several months and sometimes more than a year, because expert valuations and hearing dates stretch the timeline.

These are general ranges, not promises. In our practice at Karanfiloglu Law Firm, the cases that drag longest are the ones where the landlord served notices informally and has to reconstruct a paper trail after the fact.

Common Mistakes Foreign Landlords and Tenants Make

A handful of avoidable errors cause most of the trouble we see. Each has a straightforward fix.

• No written notice. Verbal demands rarely count. Fix: send a notary notice (ihtarname) so the demand and its date are provable.
• Filing before mediation. A lawsuit filed without the required mediation step is dismissed on procedure. Fix: complete mediation first and keep the final report.
• Treating any ground as an eviction ground. Disliking a tenant is not a lawful reason. Fix: match the situation to one of the Code's defined grounds before acting.
• Mishandling the deposit. Keeping a deposit above three months' rent, or refusing to return it without proof of damage, invites a claim. Fix: hold the capped amount in a bank account and document the property's condition at move-in and move-out.
• Relying on contract clauses that override the Code. A clause giving the tenant fewer rights than the law is usually void. Fix: have the lease checked against the current Code before you sign or enforce it.

Foreign landlords sometimes assume a lease signed abroad or in English changes these rules. It does not; the Turkish Code of Obligations governs property located in Turkey regardless of the contract's language.

Costs of Rental Disputes in Turkey

The cost of a rental dispute in Turkey has two parts: official charges and everything else. Official charges include court filing fees, which in money claims are calculated as a percentage of the amount claimed, plus expert and service fees. The mediation stage carries its own fee scale, and where the parties do not settle the state covers the first couple of hours under the mandatory scheme as of the time this article is written.

Other costs include lawyer's fees, notary charges for formal notices, and translation or sworn-interpreter costs if documents are not in Turkish. Because official fees and the mediation tariff are updated regularly, treat any figure you read as a starting point and confirm the current amounts before you budget. A lawyer can give you a realistic estimate once the route and the amount in dispute are clear.

Summary

Rental disputes in Turkey are governed by the tenant-protective Turkish Code of Obligations, run through mandatory mediation before court for most rent and eviction claims, and turn on whether the right notice, ground and procedure were used. Foreign landlords and tenants have the same rights and duties as Turkish parties. Most rental disputes for foreign landlords in Turkey settle at the mediation stage when the paperwork is in order. Getting the paperwork and the sequence right from the start is what keeps a disagreement from becoming a long case.

Talk to a Lawyer in Istanbul

If you would like advice on your own situation, Karanfiloglu Law Firm is a registered law office in Istanbul serving foreigners and Turkish clients across Turkey. You can reach us by phone or WhatsApp at +90 532 659 35 11, by email at karanfiloglu.lawyer@gmail.com, or visit us at Merkez Mah. Hasat Sk. No:12, Şişli, İstanbul. Contact us to discuss your situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are rental disputes in Turkey resolved?

Most rental disputes in Turkey are resolved first through mandatory mediation, and only through the courts if mediation fails. Since 1 September 2023, disputes over the rent amount, money claims from a lease, and eviction of leased property must go to mediation before a lawsuit can be filed. Rental cases that do reach court are heard by the Civil Court of Peace where the property is located.

Can a landlord evict a tenant in Turkey without a reason?

No, a landlord cannot evict a tenant at will. Eviction is allowed only on the grounds set out in the Turkish Code of Obligations, such as genuine need, reconstruction, a new owner's need, or repeated default. The main exception is the long-tenancy route, where after ten years of renewals the landlord can end the lease without a reason, provided the correct three-month notice is given.

How much can rent be increased in Turkey?

For a renewing residential lease, the yearly increase is capped at the twelve-month average change in the consumer price index published by the Turkish Statistical Institute. A temporary 25 percent cap applied from 2022 to mid-2024 but has expired. Because the index figure changes monthly, confirm the current rate before applying it.

Is mediation compulsory for landlord and tenant disputes in Turkey?

Yes, mediation is compulsory for most money and eviction claims arising from a lease. Landlord and tenant law in Turkey requires the parties to attempt mediation before court for these categories, and a lawsuit filed without it is dismissed on procedure. A settlement reached in mediation is binding and enforceable like a court judgment.

How long does a rental dispute in Turkey take?

It depends on the route. Mediation usually takes a few weeks, enforcement-office eviction for unpaid rent often a few months, and a full rent-determination or eviction lawsuit commonly several months and sometimes more than a year. Expert valuations and hearing dates are what usually stretch court timelines.

What can a tenant do if the landlord will not return the deposit?

The tenant can demand the deposit back in writing and, if refused, pursue it through mediation and then the Civil Court of Peace. The deposit for a residential lease is capped at three months' rent and should be held in a bank account. The landlord can only withhold amounts they can prove relate to unpaid rent or damage beyond ordinary wear.

Do the same rules apply to foreign landlords and tenants?

Yes, rental disputes in Turkey are decided under the same law for everyone. The Turkish Code of Obligations governs property located in Turkey regardless of the parties' nationality or the language of the contract. A lease written in English or signed abroad does not change the protections the Code gives.

About the Author

Kaan Karanfiloğlu is the founder of Karanfiloglu Law Firm, an Istanbul-based registered law office serving Turkish and international clients across Turkey. He is a lawyer registered with the Istanbul Bar Association (Reg. No. 58270) and the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (No. 133074), and has practised law in Turkey since 2017. He holds an LL.B. from Galatasaray University Faculty of Law (2016) and advises clients in Turkish, English and French; the firm also serves clients in Russian and Chinese with experienced in-office translators.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information about Turkish law and is not legal advice. Laws, regulations, official fees and procedures change over time and every situation is different. For advice on your specific circumstances, please consult a qualified lawyer. No liability is accepted for any loss arising from reliance on the information in this article.