What the notice says, and why each line is there
- The date. Timing is the first thing anyone checks if the increase is ever disputed.
- The day the new rental year starts. The increase runs from that day, not from the day you remembered to write.
- The rate and where it comes from. The ceiling is the twelve-month average CPI change TurkStat (TÜİK) publishes in the renewal month, on the 3rd or the next working day, under article 344 of the Turkish Code of Obligations. Headline inflation is a different figure and is not the cap.
- Old rent, increase and new rent, in lira. "Increased by CPI" invites argument; three numbers do not.
- Payment into your bank account. Rent taken in cash carries a penalty and leaves you without evidence; the cash rent rule explains why.
Two letters, because the rate arrives late
TurkStat publishes each month's cap on the 3rd of that month, or on the next working day when the 3rd falls on a weekend or public holiday. A lease renewing on 1 November therefore has no figure until early November, yet the notice that counts in a dispute is the one sent at least 30 days before the new rental year. So a careful landlord sends two letters: an advance notice a month ahead that names the method, and a short follow-up with the figure once the rate is out.
Which one matters depends on your lease. With an increase clause, the increase applies at renewal anyway and the figure letter is the one your tenant needs. Without one, the advance notice is what keeps a court route open for the coming year (article 345). Set your dates in the form and it writes whichever letter fits. The timing rules are in our rent determination guide, and the cap itself in Turkey's legal rent increase cap.
Sending it from abroad
Most notices travel as a WhatsApp message or an e-mail, and a dated message your tenant replies to works in practice. If you expect a dispute, a notary notice (ihtarname) is the strongest proof, and a lawyer in Istanbul can send one for you. Keep the reply, or the notary's receipt, with the lease.
If you would rather not do this every year from another time zone, Full Management covers it: we apply the legal increase in writing at each renewal, and the new figure appears on your monthly statement. The tiers and what each includes are on the property management page.
When the increase is not the problem
On a tenancy that has run five years or more, the CPI cap is no longer the ceiling: a new rent can be agreed with the tenant, or a court can set an equitable rent by reference to comparable rents, which is not always the full market rent. If your rent has fallen well behind the flats around it, the notice is the smaller question. Start with a free valuation of today's market rent; the form above also flags the five-year point when you enter the date the lease was signed.