How the calculator works
- An empty month costs more than the rent. It costs the rent the lower price would already be collecting, plus what only an empty flat runs up: aidat (the building's monthly service charge, which a tenant takes over), heating standing charges, cleaning. Property tax and DASK, the compulsory earthquake insurance, are owed either way, so they stay out.
- A higher rent keeps paying. Each renewal can raise the rent by at most the twelve-month average CPI, applied to the rent already in place (Article 344 of the Turkish Code of Obligations). A rent that starts higher stays higher by the same proportion at every renewal of its tenancy.
- Later lira buy less. A letting that starts later also gets every increase later, and with inflation running at the level of the cap that costs more than plain sums show. So the calculator gives the money in hand as it arrives, and judges the result in today's money: each lira counted at what it buys now.
- Five years is the horizon. After five years the cap no longer limits the rent: a new figure can be agreed with the tenant, or a court can set an equitable rent by reference to comparable rents. A gap set today matters less from there, which is why the comparison runs from one year to five.
Worked example: ₺45,000 or ₺40,000
The example from our guide to the true cost of an empty apartment: a flat that would let at once for ₺40,000, or sit empty for three months waiting for ₺45,000, with ₺4,000 a month of costs while it is empty. We assume every renewal adds 31.49%, the cap for October 2026.
| Compare over | Ahead, lira as they arrive | Ahead, in today's money | Longest ₺45,000 can wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | Lower rent, ₺87,000 | Lower rent, ₺89,594 | 1.0 months |
| 2 years | Lower rent, ₺50,618 | Lower rent, ₺68,355 | 1.7 months |
| 3 years | Lower rent, ₺2,778 | Lower rent, ₺47,117 | 2.2 months |
| 5 years | Holding out, ₺142,838 | Lower rent, ₺4,639 | 2.9 months |
The longest wait is in today's money and rounded down.
In the first year the lower rent wins by ₺87,000, or ₺89,594 in today's money: to break even, ₺45,000 would have to let within 1 month, not three. The longer the tenant stays, the more the higher rent can afford, because every renewal raises it by the same percentage. Counted in lira as they arrive, holding out pulls ahead after five years, by ₺142,838. Most of that is inflation: in today's money the lower rent still edges ahead, by ₺4,639, and the wait ₺45,000 can afford is 2.9 months. Which line your flat ends up on depends on two numbers only you can judge: how long the higher rent really sits empty, and how long the tenant stays.
What the calculator cannot know
The months you type are guesses, and the answer turns on them. The best evidence is how the flat has done so far. If the asking rent has drawn viewings but no offer, the market has already answered, and each further week moves the break-even against you. A tenant paying above the going rate also has more reason to move at the first renewal, which shortens the time the higher rent has to pay back.
Before you touch the price, rule out the other causes in why your Istanbul flat is not letting: photographs, a dark first impression, the wrong channel, slow replies. If the price is the problem, correct it once, cleanly. A thousand lira off every week tells tenants the owner is getting desperate.
General information, not financial, tax or legal advice. The figures assume every renewal raises the rent by the full current cap, which needs an increase clause in the lease, the tenant's agreement or a court; they are before tax and fees.