Renting Out Your Turkish Property: Management, Tenant Law and Short-Let Rules for Foreign Owners

Last updated: July 2026

You bought the apartment — for citizenship, for yield, or both — and you will hold it for at least three years. The question that decides whether those years are profitable or painful is operational: how do you actually earn from a Turkish property without living in Türkiye? Renting out property in Turkey as a non-resident owner is entirely workable, but it sits inside a specific legal framework — a strict short-let permit regime, strong tenant protections on long lets, and a tax declaration duty many foreign owners discover late.

This guide walks through the long-let vs short-let decision, Law No. 7464, tenant law realities, management costs and taxes — ending with an honest gross-to-net yield calculation.

Want the numbers run for your specific property? GMC prepares a fixed-fee rental strategy — realistic rent, management set-up and tax registration — for owners abroad. Start with a free Pre-Check®.

Decision One: Long-Let or Short-Let?

Everything downstream — permits, management, tax, tenant risk — depends on this first choice.

• Long-let (12-month renewable contracts): stable income, one tenant relationship, no tourism permit needed, but rent increases are capped and eviction is slow.
• Short-let (stays under 100 days): higher headline income in tourist-heavy locations, but since January 2024 it is a licensed activity with real penalties, meaningful operating costs and seasonal vacancy.

For most non-resident owners holding a citizenship property in a residential district, long-let is the default answer. Short-let only outperforms in genuinely touristic micro-locations — and only after permit, platform and cleaning costs.

The Short-Term Rental Law: Law No. 7464

Türkiye's short-let regime (Law No. 7464, in force since 1 January 2024) changed the game for Airbnb-style hosting:

• Permit required. Any residential rental of under 100 days requires a permit (izin belgesi) issued under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism framework — see ktb.gov.tr for the official process.
• Building consent. In apartment buildings, short-letting requires the unanimous consent of unit owners in the building (for the relevant block), documented in a formal decision — in practice the single biggest barrier for apartment owners.
• Signage. A standard plaque must be displayed at the entrance of the licensed property.
• Penalties. Unpermitted short-letting attracts heavy administrative fines that escalate with repeat offences, and platforms delist non-compliant properties.

Practical consequence: unless your building was structured for short-letting from the start (serviced or hotel-concept projects), assume the short-let route is closed and model long-let income. Our Turkish rental yields 2026 guide shows district-level long-let benchmarks.

Long-Let Framework: What Turkish Tenant Law Means for You

Long lets are governed by the Turkish Code of Obligations, which is tenant-protective by design. The essentials for a foreign landlord:

Rent increases are capped. Annual increases on renewing residential contracts are tied to CPI (the twelve-month average). The temporary 25% residential cap that operated during the inflation spike expired in mid-2024; since then increases have been CPI-linked. You cannot simply reprice to market each year while the same tenant stays.

Eviction is slow and formal. A tenant who pays rent is hard to remove. Owner-occupancy need, a properly served notice after the statutory period, or a written eviction commitment (tahliye taahhütnamesi) signed after the contract are the main routes — each takes months through enforcement offices or courts. Realistic timeline for a contested eviction: often a year or more.

Contracts matter enormously. Deposit (customarily up to three months' rent), a valid eviction commitment, aidat responsibility, and inventory records for furnished units should all be in the written contract — in Turkish, with a certified translation for your records.

The currency dimension. Rent on residential lets between residents is set in TRY. Your income is lira; your mindset is probably USD. Over a typical year, nominal TRY rent increases and lira depreciation partly offset — which is why we model yields in USD terms conservatively and revisit rents at every renewal.

Peak-intent moment: if you are comparing two properties right now, ask us for a side-by-side rental model before you buy either. GMC runs an independent, SPK-licensed valuation plus a realistic rent assessment on every property we shortlist — that discipline is the difference between brochure yield and banked yield. Book a consultation or message our team from the listing pages at glmbcp.com/gayrimenkul.

Property Management: What 8–12% Buys You

A competent management company typically charges 8–12% of collected rent for full service (as of July 2026 — confirm with GMC). For a non-resident owner this is rarely optional. What the fee should cover:

• tenant sourcing, screening and contract signing (with eviction commitment);
• rent collection and monthly transfer, with arrears follow-up;
• aidat (site fees) and utility administration;
• routine maintenance coordination and emergency response;
• annual rent-renewal negotiation within the legal cap;
• support with your annual tax declaration paperwork.

Furnished vs unfurnished: furnishing a mid-range apartment adds an upfront cost but commonly commands a rent premium and rents faster to corporate and expat tenants; unfurnished attracts longer-staying family tenants with less wear. In citizenship-holding scenarios, unfurnished long lets are the lowest-maintenance choice; furnished works where expat demand is deep.

Insurance: compulsory earthquake insurance (DASK) is mandatory and cheap; add a landlord package covering fire, water damage and liability. Budget modestly — it protects a USD 400,000+ asset.

Taxes on Rental Income for Non-Resident Owners

Rental income earned in Türkiye is taxable in Türkiye, whether or not you live there. Key points (see the Revenue Administration, gib.gov.tr, for current figures):

• Residential rental income above the annual exemption must be declared; the annual return is filed in March for the previous calendar year.
• Rates are progressive (roughly 15% up to 40% at the top band, as of July 2026 — confirm current brackets with GMC).
• You may deduct either actual expenses or use the lump-sum method; management fees, insurance and maintenance are relevant under the actual-expense method.
• Double-tax treaties may credit Turkish tax against home-country liability — take advice in both jurisdictions.

Full treatment — including purchase taxes and annual property tax — is in our Turkish property taxes for foreign buyers guide.

From Gross 6% to Net ~4%: The Honest Walk-Through

Illustrative long-let example — USD 400,000 apartment, gross yield 6% (all figures indicative, as of July 2026 — confirm with GMC):

Owner-paid aidat scenarios (common in serviced compounds) reduce net further. The point is not that 4% is disappointing — it is that 4% net, banked, compliant is the real number to compare against other markets, alongside any capital appreciation and the citizenship itself. Context: Türkiye citizenship by investment — complete guide.

Conclusion: Treat It Like the Small Business It Is

Renting out property in Turkey rewards owners who respect the framework: choose long-let unless your building genuinely supports permitted short-letting, contract properly under tenant law, price management at 8–12% as a cost of sleeping well, declare your income, and judge performance on net yield — realistically around 4% on a 6% gross, before appreciation and before the value of the passport itself.

GMC — Istanbul (Altunizade HQ), Athens and Dubai; IMC member — manages this end-to-end for owners abroad on a fixed-fee basis: hand-checked inventory, an independent SPK-licensed valuation on every purchase, vetted management partners and tax-registration support. Figures above are as of July 2026 — confirm current numbers with us.

Next step: run a free Pre-Check® with your property (or shortlist) and we will send back a realistic net-yield model and management plan — or browse income-ready, hand-checked listings at glmbcp.com/gayrimenkul.