How do rental contracts and deposits work in Türkiye in 2026?

An oral residential lease can be legally effective because the Code does not impose a general written-form rule for an ordinary tenancy. It is still poor evidence for a mover. Put the parties, tapu (official property title record) address, term, rent in TRY (Turkish lira), payment date, adjustment method, deposit, notice, occupants, inventory and dispute route in writing.

Separate the aidat (monthly building or compound charge) from rent. State who pays ordinary cleaning and use-related maintenance, appliance faults, major repairs, shared services and a kombi (individual gas boiler) service. Under the property-ownership rules, a building may pursue an occupier for certain shared charges up to the rent amount, with qualifying payments deducted from rent, so unclear aidat wording can become more than a private promise.

Article 342 caps agreed residential security at three months' rent. If the security is money, the tenant should place it in a savings account that cannot be withdrawn without the landlord's consent. The bank releases it with both parties' consent, a final enforcement proceeding or a final court decision. If the landlord does not notify the bank within three months after the lease ends that a claim or enforcement case has started, the bank must release it on the tenant's request.

Cash handed directly to an owner is common market practice, but it is not the statutory bank structure. Keep first rent, advance rent, agent fee and deposit as separate labelled payments.

Article 344 limits an agreed annual residential rent adjustment by the twelve-month average change in TÜFE (the consumer price index) for the relevant renewal period. Do not freeze a percentage in an evergreen plan. Check the current Turkish Statistical Institute figure and the contract date. After five years, either side can ask a judge to reassess rent using TÜFE, the home's condition and comparable rents; this is not an automatic market reset by agent message.

For a fixed-term home lease, the tenant can normally end at term by giving at least 15 days' notice. Without that notice, it renews for one year. The landlord cannot end it merely because the written term expired. The Code provides specific termination and eviction routes, and after ten years of statutory extensions gives the landlord a separate no-cause route with at least three months' notice.

Leaving early can keep the tenant liable for a reasonable reletting period. That exposure can end sooner if the tenant supplies a solvent, suitable replacement ready to take the lease on the same terms. Record key return, condition, meter readings and every effort to relet.

Arabuluculuk (the mandatory mediation route for many civil disputes) is generally required before filing court proceedings arising from a lease, apart from the law's stated enforcement exception. If no agreement is reached, the relevant court or enforcement route follows. A landlord cannot replace these procedures by changing locks or removing belongings.