The Law on the Renting of Residential Properties for Tourism Purposes and Amendments to Certain Laws (''Law'') has been published in the Official Gazette dated 02.11.2023.
The main provisions of the Law, which will enter into force on 01.01.2024, are summarized below:
With the Law, the renting of residential properties for tourism purposes for a period of less than one hundred days is subject to a permission certificate to be issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (''Ministry'').
Those who are engaged in renting activities for tourism purposes on the date of entry into force of the Law are required to apply to the Ministry within one month from the date of entry into force.
In the event that the residential units planned to be rented for tourism purposes are in the form of independent sections, a unanimous decision of the flat owners of the building must be submitted to the Ministry in order to obtain the authorization certificate.
In housing estates consisting of more than one independent section, it is regulated that only the unanimous vote of the flat owners of the building where the relevant independent section is located is sufficient.
In buildings with more than three independent sections, the landlord will be able to rent a maximum of twenty-five percent of the number of independent sections for tourism purposes.
If the number of independent sections in a building is more than five, in addition to the workplace opening and working license, the unanimous decision of the floor owners in the residential estates regarding the approval of the renting for tourism purposes will also need to be submitted to the Ministry.
In the event of the death of the landlord, if the inheritors do not apply to the Ministry within three months from the date of death, the permission certificate will become invalid. For legal entities, the permission certificate will become invalid upon the termination of the legal entity.
In the case of renting residential units for tourism purposes for a period not exceeding one hundred days without a permission certificate, an administrative fine will be imposed gradually on the landlord. Accordingly;
- For the first time, the landlord will be imposed an administrative fine of 100.000 TRY for each residential unit and must apply for a permission certificate within fifteen days.
- If the application for a permit is not made within fifteen days after the first administrative fine and the rental activity continues, this time an administrative fine of 500.000 TRY will be imposed. Besides, another period of fifteen days will again be granted for the application for a permission certificate.
- If no application is made within fifteen days after the second administrative fine and the rental activity continues, an administrative fine of 1,000,000 TRY will be imposed.
- In addition, in order not to fall within the scope of the Law, an administrative fine of 1.000.000 TRY will be imposed on the landlord if the relevant residential property is rented more than four times within one year from the date of the first contract and each time for more than one hundred days.
It is also prohibited to establish a subtenancy relationship in residences rented for tourism purposes. An administrative fine of 100.000 TRY will be imposed on those who rent out the residence rented for tourism purposes to someone else for tourism purposes.
Finally, if the intermediary service providers do not remove the content regarding those who promote rental activities for less than one hundred days for tourism purposes without a license within twenty-four hours despite the warning issued by the Ministry, an administrative fine of 100,000 TRY will be imposed on the intermediary service providers.