Law on Leasing Residential Properties for Tourism Purposes and Amendments to Certain Laws (the “Law“) was published in the Official Gazette dated 02.11.2023. The Law sets out the principles and procedures regarding the leasing of residential properties[1] to real and legal persons for tourism purposes. The important regulations in this scope are as follows.

1. Scope of the Law

  • Leasing of residential properties to users for a maximum period of one hundred days for all purposes is defined as “leasing for tourism purposes“; therefore, such leases are within the scope of the Law. However, leases for more than one hundred days at a time are excluded from the scope of the Law.
  • The Law stipulates that the lessor must obtain a license from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (“Ministry“) before entering into a lease agreement in order to lease a residential property for tourism purposes. In addition, it is regulated that the plaque determined by the Ministry shall be hung at the entrance of the residence leased for tourism purposes.

2. Scope of the Law

    • In order to obtain a license, it is mandatory to submit a unanimous decision taken by all landlords of the building where the independent section/apartment to be subject to the license is located. In residential complexes consisting of buildings with more than one independent section/apartment, this condition is required only for the building on which the residential unit is leased for tourism purposes.
    • In buildings consisting of more than three independent sections/apartments, a license can be issued in the name of the same landlord for a maximum of 25% of such independent sections/apartments. In the event that the number of independent sections subject to the issuance of a license in the same building on behalf of the same landlord exceeds five, it is also mandatory to submit the following in the application:
    1. License to open and operate a workplace,
    2. If the building subject to the application is located in a residential complex consisting of buildings with more than one independent section/apartment, in addition to the above, the decision taken unanimously by all independent section/apartment owners within the building.

    3. Prohibitions and Additional Liabilities

      • The liability to obtain the license rests on the landlord, and in the event that touristic leasing activities are carried out by persons other than a landlord, these leases can be carried out exclusively through certified (A) group travel agencies.
      • The residential lease agreement between the license holder and the user will expire at the end of the term specified in the agreement. In this context, it is understood that such agreements will not be subject to the automatic renewal provisions of the Turkish Code of Obligations regarding residential leases.
      • It is prohibited for the user to lease the residential property leased from the license holder to third parties on behalf of themselves. Also, tenants who rent residential properties for residential purposes may not sub-lease such properties to third parties for tourism purposes .
      • The provisions of the Law on Identity Notification shall apply to the residential properties for which a touristic leasing license has been issued. The person obliged to notify is the license-holder.
      • For high-end residence buildings containing more than one independent section/apartment whose management plan allows short-term lease activity; which have reception, security and daily cleaning service areas; which provide services such as health services, dry cleaning, laundry, transportation, catering and shopping services, gym and swimming pool, permission certificate can be issued without the unanimous decision of the condominium owners and the additional document requirements mentioned above.
      • It is stated that the leasing activities of high-end residence building* can also be carried out by a residence operating company, in which case the permit will be issued in the name of the residence operating company . In this case, it is also stated that the prohibitions on leasing by the users to third parties on their own behalf and account and leasing by tenants for tourism purposes will not apply.

      * Residence buildings containing more than one independent section where reception, security and daily cleaning services are available; health services, dry cleaning, laundry, , transportation, catering and shopping services, and services such as gyms and swimming pools are provided.

      •  It is regulated that if the license holder is a natural person, the license will become invalid if the application is not made by their heirs within three months from the date of them being deceased. If the license holder is a legal person and such legal person is terminated, the license will become invalid, but the rights of the users will continue until the end of the contract period.

      4. Administrative Sanctions

      • The administrative sanctions to be applied in case of unauthorized leasing activity are as follows:

      a) An administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish Liras shall be imposed on those who lease residential properties for tourism purposes without a license, and they shall be granted a period of fifteen days to obtain a license to operate.

      b) Those who continue to lease for tourism purposes without obtaining a license at the end of the fifteen-day period shall be imposed an administrative fine of five hundred thousand Turkish Liras and shall be given another fifteen-day period to obtain a license.

      c) An administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish Liras shall be imposed for each contract on those who sub-lease the residential property they have leased from the license holder for tourism purposes to third parties for and on behalf of themselves.

      d) An administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish Liras shall be imposed for each contract on those who sub-lease a residential property they had leased for residential purposes, to third parties for tourism purposes for and on behalf of themselves.

      e) An administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish Liras shall be imposed for each contract on those who mediate the leasing of residential properties without a license for tourism purposes.

      f) An administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish liras shall be imposed on the intermediary service providers defined in the Law on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce dated 23/10/2014 and numbered 6563, which enable the electronic commerce and promotion of the activities covered by this paragraph and which do not remove the content within twenty-four hours despite the warning issued by the Ministry. It will be decided to remove the content and/or block access to the broadcast, section, episode in which the violation occurred, and this decision will be sent to the Association of Access Providers for implementation. In addition, in case of failure to comply with this decision, an administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish liras shall be imposed on intermediary service providers for each residential property. The decision to remove the content and/or block access may be appealed to the criminal court of peace. The decision of the criminal court of peace may be appealed against in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law dated 4/12/2004 and numbered 5271.

      g) An administrative fine of one million Turkish Liras shall be imposed on those who continue touristic leasing activities without a license despite the application of the provisions of subparagraphs (a) and (b).

      h) An administrative fine of one million Turkish Liras shall be imposed on those who lease the same residential property more than four times within one year from the date of the first contract, despite entering into a lease contract for more than one hundred days each time.

        • Administrative sanctions to be imposed on license holders are as follows:

        a) In the event that the information and documents requested by the Ministry are not submitted within thirty days, are submitted incompletely, or misleading information or documents are submitted, an administrative fine of fifty thousand Turkish Liras shall be imposed.

        b) In the event that the landlord changes due to a legal transaction other than inheritance and this change is not notified within thirty days from the date of registration in the land registry, an administrative fine of fifty thousand Turkish Liras shall be imposed.

        c) If the document regarding the payment of the tourism contribution share within the scope of the Law on the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency dated 11/7/2019 and numbered 7183 is not submitted within the period determined by the Ministry or if this document is not presented during the inspections carried out, an administrative fine of fifty thousand Turkish liras shall be imposed.

        d) An administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish liras shall be imposed in cases where the location, quality and physical characteristics of the residential property leased for tourism purposes are misleadingly introduced to the user through articles, advertisements, posters, brochures, social media, web pages and similar means, or the conditions promised are not provided, or the residential property leased for tourism purposes is allocated to the user for a shorter period than the period specified in the contract.

        e) An administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish Liras shall be imposed in the event that the residential property leased for tourism purposes is not delivered to the user in accordance with the contract.

        f) In case the payment received is not returned within the fifteen-day period following the application of subparagraph (d), an administrative fine of two hundred thousand Turkish Liras shall be imposed.

        g) In the event that the plaque issued by the Ministry is not hung at the entrance of the residential property leased for tourism purposes, an administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish Liras shall be imposed and a period of fifteen days shall be granted for its hanging.

        h) In the event that the plaque is not hung at the entrance of the leased residential property for tourism purposes within fifteen days despite the application of subparagraph (f), an administrative fine of five hundred thousand Turkish Liras shall be imposed.

        i) In the event that the inspection reveals that the residential property does not meet the qualifications for the issuance of a license, an administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish Liras shall be imposed and a period of fifteen days shall be granted for the correction of the violations.

        5. Cancellation of License

        • The Law states that the license shall be cancelled in the following cases:

        a) If the license holder requests the cancellation of the license.

        b) If it is determined that the touristic leasing activity has been terminated.

        c) If the new landlord of the residential property leased for tourism purposes does not apply for the transfer of the license within the thirty-day period following the application of subparagraph (b) of the second paragraph of Article 4 of the Law on administrative sanctions, or if the obligations are not fulfilled despite the approval of the change of the license holder.

        d) Determination by authorized public institutions and organizations that the residence leased for tourism purposes is used in violation of public order, public security and public morality.

        e) Determination that the violations have not been eliminated despite the application of subparagraph (ğ) of the second paragraph of Article 4 of the Law on administrative sanctions.

        • In addition, it is stated that the rights of the users of the residential properties whose licenses have been cancelled will continue until the end of the contract period.

        6. Effective Date and Provisional Article

          The above-mentioned regulations will enter into force on 01.01.2024. In addition, under the provisional article, those who are engaged in touristic leasing activities as of the effective date must apply for a license within 1 month from the effective date of the Law.

          The Law is an omnibus bill and also contains amendments to other relevant legislation such as the Law on Travel Agencies and the Association of Travel Agencies, the Law on Tourism Promotion, and the Law on the Amendment and Adoption of the Decree Law on Workplace Opening and Operation Licenses.

          The full text of the Law (in Turkish) is available at the link below:

          https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2023/11/20231102-16.htm

          [1] Within the scope of the Law, a residential property is any independent section that is registered in the land registry for residential purposes or on which there is a residential condominium or a condominium ownership.

          Pelin Tırtıl Esin
          Partner | [email protected]
          Naz Ergörün
          Associate | [email protected]
          Behiç Ateş Gülenç
          Associate | [email protected]