The Law Introduced for Short-Term Leases

1. Authorization Document and Plaque Requirement

The Law defines the activity of leasing residences for a period of less than 100 (one hundred) days at a time as "tourism-related leasing." Accordingly, it becomes mandatory to obtain an authorization document from the Ministry before entering into a tourism-related leasing agreement, additionally, a Ministry-issued plaque must be located prominently at the residence’s entrance to denote its commercial leasing status.

According to the Law, only individuals or legal entities who have ownership rights to the residence or hold the right of usufruct or easement on the residence, or those authorized by the relevant legislation, specifically "Group (A) travel agencies," are eligible to conduct this type of leasing activity.

Additionally, it is mandatory to provide and submit with the application for the authorization certificate an unanimous decision from all condominium owners within the building that the particular independent unit in question is located. In our view, this requirement may significantly complicate the process of obtaining authorization documents, especially in multi-story buildings with many independent units. In addition to the requirement for unanimous consent, there is an additional stipulation for lessors who acquire authorization documents for more than five independent residential units within the same building to obtain and present a business license during the application process as well. Apart from these regulations, the Law does not provide detailed explanations regarding the procedure for obtaining the authorization document, we anticipate that implementation regulation of the Law will cover the details of this matter.

2. Limitations on Leasing

The Law also prohibits the execution of sublease agreements for residences that will be leased for less than 100 (one hundred) days at a time. According to this restriction, lessors who lease from holders of an authorization document are not allowed to sublet those properties to third parties under their own name. Similarly, lessors leasing residences for personal use cannot sublet these for tourism purposes in their name. Only legal entities are exempt from this prohibition, allowing them to provide the leased residence for the use of their employees.

3. Persons Liable and Penalties for Unauthorized Leasing

The Law prescribes administrative penalties not only for the lessors who lease residences without an authorization document as well as for intermediaries involved in the leasing process and intermediary service providers that facilitate the electronic commerce and advertisement of such rental activities.

i. Penalties for lessors:

• An administrative fine of 100,000.00 (one hundred thousand) Turkish Lira will be imposed for each residence leased without authorization, and the lessor will be given 15 (fifteen) days to obtain an authorization document.
• After the fifteen-day period, if the lessor continues tourism-related leasing activities without obtaining an authorization document, a fine of 500,000.00 (five hundred thousand) Turkish Lira will be imposed, and another fifteen-day period will be granted for obtaining an authorization document.
• For those who persist in conducting tourism-related leasing activities without an authorization document, even after the imposition of administrative fines and despite the opportunity to rectify the situation, a fine of 1,000,000.00 Turkish Lira (one million Turkish Lira) will be applied.

The Law provides for a fifteen-day period after the initial determination for obtaining the authorization document, which we interpret as the timeframe for submitting an application to the Ministry for said document. Moreover, as the Law specifies that the process for issuing authorization documents will be completed within three months from the application date, we believe that the second fine of 500,000.00 (five hundred thousand) Turkish Lira should not be imposed if the initial fifteen-day period has passed after the application and the authorization document has not yet been issued. However, due to the lack of explicit clarification within the Law on this matter, we anticipate that the implementation regulation of the Law will provide details in this regard.

ii. Penalties for Intermediaries in Leasing Activities:

Intermediaries facilitating the tourism-related leasing of residences without authorization documents will be subject to an administrative fine of 100,000.00 (one hundred thousand) Turkish Lira for each contract.


iii. Penalties for Intermediary Service Providers:

• Intermediary service providers enabling the electronic commerce and promotion of residences leased without authorization documents and failing to remove the content within 24 (twenty-four) hours after being warned by the Ministry, as defined in the relevant legislation, will be subject to an administrative fine of 100,000.00 (one hundred thousand) Turkish Lira for each residence.
• Furthermore, in the event of non-compliance with this decision, an administrative fine of 100,000.00 (one hundred thousand) Turkish Lira will be imposed for each residence on intermediary service providers. It is possible to appeal to the criminal judgeship of peace against the decision to remove the content and/or block access.

As mentioned earlier, the Law applies to residences that will be leased for a period of less than 100 (one hundred) days at a time, while leases for a period that exceed 100 (one hundred) days at a time are not covered by the Law.

As an exception to this, a severe penalty has been stipulated for those who, despite entering into rental agreements lasting longer than 100 (one hundred) days each time, rent the same residence more than 4 (four) times within one year from the date of the initial agreement, with the assumption that fraud is committed against the law in this case. In this situation, an administrative fine of 1,000,000.00 (one million) Turkish Lira will be imposed against the property owner for the respective residence.

4. Status of Current Leases

With the Law becoming effective on 01.01.2024, individuals and entities currently engaged in tourism-related leasing activities must apply to the Ministry within one month following this date to obtain an authorization document. The Ministry will complete the authorization document issuance process within 3 (three) months from the application date, as mentioned above. Those whose applications are not accepted will not be able to operate their activities, however the rights of the occupants of these leased properties will be upheld until their existing contracts expire.

You can access the full text of the Law here.


Serkan Pamukkale, Senior Partner
Cerensu Çetin Yenigün, Senior Lawyer
Esra İzmirli, Trainee Lawyer