The two-page stationery-shop lease bothers nobody while things go well. When things go wrong, it leaves the landlord with no solid increase mechanism, no inventory record, and not one document that would make an eviction easier. Most of the disputes we see could have been prevented by five extra minutes of thought, and a few extra clauses, at the signing table.

This guide covers the clauses a residential lease in Turkey should always contain and how each should be written. It is a field checklist, not a law lecture; for contested or unusual situations, have a Turkish lawyer review the draft, especially if you are signing from abroad through a representative.

Full identification of the parties and the property

It looks basic, and it is where the most mistakes happen. The lease should record the tenant's Turkish ID number (for foreign tenants, passport and tax number), notification address and phone; and the flat's full address down to the door number. State who will live there too: a clause that the property "may be used only by the tenant and first-degree family members" prevents you from later finding strangers in the flat.

Rent, payment day and payment method

Write the amount in both figures and words; if they differ, the words prevail. Fix a clear payment day ("no later than the 5th of each month") and require payment to a bank account, with the month written in the transfer description. "April 2026 rent" in a bank record is your strongest evidence in any later dispute.

Do not accept cash. This is not merely good practice in Turkey: rent payments must be documented through a bank or the postal service whatever the amount, and cash collection exposes landlord and tenant to separate tax penalties. For a non-resident owner there is a second benefit: a clean bank trail makes the annual rental income tax filing far simpler.

A lease with no increase clause produces a negotiation — and friction — every single year. The correct formula: "The rent shall be increased at each renewal period by the twelve-month average change in the consumer price index (CPI) published by TurkStat (TÜİK)."

Under Article 344 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, that CPI average is the ceiling even if the contract states a higher rate; the temporary 25% cap that once applied to residential leases ended on 1 July 2024. You can check the rate that applies to your renewal month with the rent increase calculator.

The deposit: capped at three months

The deposit is not freely negotiable. The law caps it at three months' rent. The lease should record:

  • The amount and the date it was received
  • What it secures: unpaid rent, utility bills and damage to the property
  • The return condition: handover by written record, undamaged and debt-free
  • If you follow the statutory method, the money sits in a blocked term deposit account in the tenant's name

In practice deposits often change hands in cash; at minimum, a clear written clause on the amount and the return conditions resolves most move-out arguments before they start.

The vacate undertaking: separate paper, later date

The vacate undertaking (tahliye taahhütnamesi), the tenant's written commitment to leave on a specific date, is the strongest document a Turkish landlord can hold. The critical validity rule: it must be drawn up and signed after the tenant has moved in, not at the same time as the lease. Undertakings signed on the same day as the contract are routinely held invalid by the courts.

A specific vacate date, a signature date, and the tenant completing it in their own handwriting all strengthen its evidentiary force. Notarisation is not mandatory but sharply reduces the room for dispute. What this document is worth when you actually need it is covered in evicting a tenant in Turkey.

The inventory list and the handover record

Attach a signed list of everything in the flat: boiler, built-in appliances, air-conditioning units, cupboards, number of keys. On handover day, record the state of the property in a short protocol:

  1. Electricity, water and gas meter readings
  2. That fixtures were handed over in working order
  3. Existing defects, if any (scratched parquet, stained counter), with photographs
  4. The number of keys delivered

Without these two documents you cannot prove a single damage claim at move-out, and deposit deductions have nothing to stand on. For furnished lettings, itemise down to brand and model; for an empty flat, even a ten-minute protocol is enough.

Aidat and the sharing of charges

"Who pays the aidat (the building's monthly service charge)?" is solved with one sentence in the lease, and produces years of friction when left unwritten. The settled division: ordinary usage costs (the monthly aidat, cleaning, doorman, communal electricity) belong to the tenant; expenditure on the building's fabric (roof repair, façade, lift replacement and other capital items) belongs to the owner.

In managed complexes the monthly aidat can run to several thousand lira, which is why leases that skip this clause are the single most disputed group we see. Recording the current aidat figure in the lease also lets the candidate do their sums honestly. The full breakdown, item by item, is in who pays the aidat.

Use and transfer prohibitions

Three short, effective clauses:

  • No sub-letting and no transfer of the right of use
  • No non-residential use (office, production, daily short-term rental)
  • No alterations or permanent changes without the owner's written consent

These are your insurance against situations that can end with the owner facing administrative fines, an unauthorised daily-rental operation in your flat being the classic example.

Term, renewal and notice housekeeping

The term is usually written as one year. But the term ending does not remove the tenant; by law the lease renews on the same terms, year by year. Clauses like "the property shall be vacated when the term ends" have no practical effect; if you are planning an exit, your instruments are the vacate undertaking and the statutory eviction grounds.

It is still worth writing a notice regime into the lease: at least 30 days' written notice for an early exit by the tenant, key return by written record, and final utility bills settled with receipts shared. These clauses do not win lawsuits, but they regulate behaviour and settle most disagreements without a courtroom.

And one discipline that costs nothing: keep the lease, the undertaking, the protocols and the correspondence in a single file, with digital copies. Disputes typically surface years after signature, and on that day your rights are exactly as good as your paperwork.

The final check before signing

Prepare two originals, have both parties initial every page, and if there is a guarantor, have them write the guaranteed amount and date in their own hand. The contract is half the job. Choosing the right tenant is the other half, and the screening criteria are in tenant screening in Turkey.

If you would rather have the whole letting run to this standard, contract included, that is what we do: start with a free valuation and we take the process end to end, keeping you updated in English.