Announcement Regarding Arrangements on Leasing of Residential Properties for Tourism Purporses

“Law on the Leasing of Residential Properties for Tourism Purposes and Amendments to Certain Laws" (the “Law”) has been published in the Official Gazette dated 2 November 2023 and numbered 32357.

The relevant Law covers short- residential property leases of less than 100 days in duration and mandates obtaining a license from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism ("Ministry") to engage in such leases. Additionally, it requires the placement of plaques with fees and specifications determined by the Ministry at the entrances of these properties

The Law introduces regulations prohibiting individuals who lease residential properties for tourism or residential purposes from subsequently subleasing them for tourism purposes in their own behalves without obtaining the required license. Property owners or tenants who lease without a license may get fined 100,000 Turkish liras. Property owners leasing residential properties for tourism purposes without the license may get fined 500,000 Turkish liras, if they continue the activity within 15 days and 1 million Turkish liras if they continue for an additional 15 days.

Under this Law, platforms facilitating the electronic commerce and promotion of residential properties for tourism purposes without licenses may be warned by the Ministry to remove such listings within 24 hours. Failing to do so may result in administrative fines of 100,000 Turkish liras per property for the service providers defined in Law numbered 6563, dated 23 October 2014, regarding "Regulation of Electronic Commerce."

The Law stipulates that in order to obtain authorization for leasing residential properties for tourism purposes within a building with multiple individual units, the consent of all unit owners in the same building is required. In residential complexes consisting of multiple buildings with independent units, these provisions will only apply to the specific building where the property intended for tourism purposes is located.

According to the Law, licenses may be issued for a maximum of 25% of the independent units in buildings with more than three individual units. If the same lessor applies for licenses for more than five independent units within the same building, the unanimous consent of all unit owners in residential complexes consisting of multiple buildings with independent units is required.

Furthermore, the Law outlines conditions for the cancellation of license in cases where the purpose of tourism leasing is lost, where violations of public order occur, or when procedural irregularities are not rectified. The Ministry is granted the authority for regulation and oversight, with the ability to utilize provincial authorities when necessary.

The Law obligates those already engaged in tourism leasing activities at the time the Law goes into effect to apply for a licence within one month from that date.

Article 1 and Article 6 of the Law mentioned above will enter the force on 1 January 2024 and the rest of the articles has entered the force on the date of its publication, effective as of 2 November 2023, and you may find the detailed provisions of the Law in the Official Gazette.