Most disputes in a tenancy arise at two points: the deposit and the condition of the flat on the way out. Both can be settled in advance by the agreement and an inventory report — yet most agreements handle both poorly.
Deposits: the cap and how they must be held
Under the Turkish Code of Obligations, a residential deposit may be at most three months' rent. Anything demanded above that has no legal basis.
The law also governs how it must be held: a deposit given in cash should be placed in a bank account that cannot be drawn without the tenant's consent. In practice this rule is routinely skipped and the money handed straight to the landlord.
Practical advice for tenants: pay the deposit by bank transfer, not in cash, with "deposit" in the reference. That single step removes most of the evidential problem when it comes to getting it back.
Practical advice for landlords: keep it separate. A deposit mixed into rental income creates a cash problem when repayment falls due.
When can a deposit be withheld?
The deposit secures the tenant's obligations under the agreement. Legitimate deductions:
- Unpaid rent and service charges
- Unpaid utility bills (electricity, water, gas)
- Damage beyond ordinary use
The last is the most argued. The distinction in law and practice is that ordinary wear cannot be charged to the tenant. Faded paint, normal wear on flooring, a loose hinge are ordinary. A cracked basin, a hole in a door, a removed cupboard are not.
The only way to make that distinction indisputable is an inventory report.
The inventory report: ten minutes, years of benefit
Drawn up at the start and again at the end, it records the condition of the flat. It should cover:
- The condition of each room (paint, floor, ceiling)
- Bathrooms and kitchen (fittings, tiling, plumbing)
- Any appliances and furniture — make, model, working order
- Meter readings — electricity, water, gas
- Number of keys
- Photographs — dated, for every room
Both parties sign and take a copy. Those ten minutes end almost every argument that would otherwise arise on the way out.
We prepare the inventory report for every property let from our portfolio — it is the one document that protects tenant and landlord at the same time.
What the agreement should contain
- The parties — identity numbers, addresses, contact details
- The full address and unit number
- Rent and the payment date, and the method (state the bank account)
- Term — start and end dates
- Deposit amount and the conditions for its return
- Who pays the service charge? — usually the tenant, but capital items (lift renewal, roof, façade) belong to the owner. Write the distinction down.
- Permitted use — residential / commercial
- Subletting and assignment — permitted or not?
- Fixtures list — cross-referenced to the inventory report
- The increase basis — see below
Rent increases
Annual increases on residential tenancies are capped at the 12-month average CPI. That figure is published monthly by TÜİK, and the value applying in the month the agreement renews is the one used.
We do not print a figure in this article, because the rate changes every month and a number sitting here would be wrong within one. Confirm the rate in force in your renewal month with TÜİK.
The calculation is simple:
New rent = Current rent × (1 + 12-month average CPI ÷ 100)
If the agreement specifies an increase above that rate, the excess is invalid. If it contains no increase clause at all, the statutory cap applies.
Eviction undertakings: what they actually do
Landlords often ask for one, and most tenants do not know what they are signing.
An eviction undertaking is the tenant's written statement that they will vacate on a given date. To be valid it must be dated after the tenancy agreement. Undertakings signed on the same day, with the date left blank, are for that reason contested.
For tenants: never sign an undated document. An undated eviction undertaking can be filled in later with any date the landlord chooses.
For landlords: if you take one, take it properly; a legally defective document is useless at the moment you need it.
When the tenant leaves
- Observe the notice period. As stated in the agreement, or the statutory period if it is silent.
- Redo the inventory report — compare with the one taken at the start.
- Read the meters and clear the bills. Transfer or close the accounts.
- Clear service-charge arrears and get a written confirmation from the building management.
- Request the deposit. Any deduction should be justified in writing, item by item, with amounts.
Do not skip that last point. "I kept this much" said verbally is not enough. A written, itemised justification protects tenant and landlord alike.