Rent increases and eviction in Turkey: how the cap works and when a tenant can be evicted

The short answer

• Rent increase: under Article 344 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (Türk Borçlar Kanunu, TBK), the increase for a renewed rental year cannot exceed the 12-month average CPI change of the previous rental year, published monthly by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).
• The 25% cap: the temporary cap for residential leases applied to renewals up to and including 1 July 2024. It no longer applies.
• After five years: the rent can be reset to market level through a rent determination case (kira tespit davası).
• Eviction: the main grounds are the landlord's own need, a written undertaking to vacate, two justified warnings, unpaid rent and the end of the ten-year extension period. Each has its own deadline.
• Mediation: mandatory before suing in rent disputes, except eviction through summary enforcement for unpaid rent.

How the rent increase cap works

For residential and covered business leases, an agreed increase for the new rental year is valid only up to the 12-month average CPI change of the previous rental year. If the contract says “X% every year” and X is higher, the excess is void but the rest of the contract stands; a lower agreed rate applies as written. If the contract is silent, the judge sets the rent within the same cap, taking the condition of the property into account. The rule also applies to business premises today, since the eight-year exemption for merchant tenants ended in 2020.

What happened to the 25% cap?

A temporary article added in June 2022 limited residential rent increases to 25%, and it was extended once. Under the last version it applied to residential leases renewed between 2 July 2023 and 1 July 2024 inclusive. Renewals after that are subject only to the CPI 12-month average. The 25% cap never applied to business premises.

How to calculate your increase using TÜİK data

1. Find your renewal date in the lease (for example, 1 November each year).
2. Open the “Consumer Price Index” (Tüketici Fiyat Endeksi) press release on the TÜİK website. It is published at the beginning of each month with the previous month's data.
3. Take the “change according to 12-month averages” (12 aylık ortalamalara göre değişim). The annual, monthly or year-to-date figures are not used for rent.
4. Use the latest release published before your renewal date; in practice a lease renewing on 1 November uses the September figure released in early October.
5. Current rent × (1 + rate/100) = the maximum new rent. You may agree on less.

If the rent is set in a foreign currency, it cannot be changed until five years have passed, subject to the rules on excessive hardship.

Rent determination case after five years

After years of CPI-capped increases, rent can fall well below market level. For leases longer than five years or renewed after five years, and at the end of every following five-year period, the judge may set the new rent by looking at the CPI rate, the condition of the property and comparable rents, usually with an expert report.

Timing matters (TBK Article 345). If the case is filed at least 30 days before the new rental year begins, or the landlord notifies the tenant in writing of the increase within that time, the rent set by the court applies from the start of the new year. If the lease contains an increase clause, a case filed before the end of the new year has the same effect. Tenants can file this case too. The competent court is the civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi), and mediation comes first. For how fees and court costs work, see our guide to attorney fees.

Grounds for evicting a tenant

A landlord cannot end a residential or covered business lease simply because the term has expired: unless the tenant gives at least 15 days' notice, a fixed-term lease renews for one year at a time (TBK Article 347). One of the legal grounds below is needed.

Need-based eviction

The landlord may sue if they, their spouse, children, grandchildren, parents or dependants genuinely need the property as a home or workplace; the court examines whether the need is real and compelling. The same route applies where the building must be emptied for reconstruction or major renovation. A new owner can give written notice within one month of acquiring the property and sue six months later. A property vacated for need cannot be let to anyone other than the former tenant for three years without good reason, otherwise the landlord owes at least one year's rent as compensation (TBK Article 355).

Undertaking to vacate (tahliye taahhütnamesi)

A written promise to leave on a set date is valid only if it was given after the property was handed over; undertakings signed together with the lease are usually held invalid. If the tenant stays past the date, the landlord can start enforcement or sue within one month.

Two justified warnings and unpaid rent

If, within one rental year, the tenant twice caused a justified written warning for unpaid rent, the landlord can sue within one month after that year ends. Separately, for unpaid rent the landlord can give at least 30 days to pay with a warning of termination; in practice this is usually done through summary enforcement proceedings, which are outside the mediation requirement.

Tenants of ten years or more

For fixed-term leases, once the ten-year extension period after the original term has passed, the landlord may end the lease without giving a reason by written notice at least three months before the end of any following extension year. For open-ended leases, the landlord may give notice after ten years from the start, observing the general notice periods.

Most eviction grounds come with a one-month window to sue or start enforcement; if it is missed, the right cannot be used for that rental year. A written notice to the tenant within that window that you will sue extends the deadline by one rental year (TBK Article 353).

Mandatory mediation in rent disputes

Since 1 September 2023, mediation has been a precondition for lawsuits arising from a lease (Mediation Law No. 6325, Article 18/B): rent determination, need-based or undertaking-based eviction, rent claims and deposit refunds. Eviction through summary enforcement proceedings (ilamsız icra) is excluded. The mediator must finish within three weeks, extendable by one week. A settlement, for example on a moving-out date or a new rent, becomes enforceable once the civil court of peace where the property is located grants an enforceability annotation.

When do you need a notary notice?

Termination notices for homes and covered business premises must be in writing (TBK Article 348). A notary notice (ihtarname) is not legally required, but it proves the date and content beyond dispute, so it is the safest choice for: notifying a rent increase 30 days in advance, default and justified warnings for unpaid rent, a new owner's notice of need, termination after the ten-year extension, notice that you will sue (to extend the deadline), and a tenant's 15-day notice that they will not renew. The wording of the notice determines which ground you rely on, so mistakes can weaken a later case.

How an eviction case proceeds

If mediation fails, eviction and rent determination cases are heard by the civil court of peace where the property is located; for Üsküdar and nearby districts this is usually the Istanbul Anatolian Courthouse. The simplified procedure makes these cases faster than many others, but depending on witnesses, site inspection and expert reports the first instance often takes from a few months to over a year, and an appeal is possible.

Which ground you rely on, how deadlines are counted and how the notice is worded all affect the outcome. If you would like your lease and correspondence reviewed, as a landlord or tenant, see our real estate and tenancy law page or reach us through the contact page. If your building is entering urban regeneration, our urban transformation guide explains owners' and tenants' rights.