Cap on rent hike to be introduced, says minister

YOZGAT

Authorities are working on a new regulation that would introduce a cap on rent increases, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has said.

“The limit in rent hikes will be based on the inflation rate, and this will be a temporary measure,” Bozdağ told reporters in the Central Anatolian province of Yozgat.

Officials from the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry, the Justice Ministry, the Trade Ministry and the Treasury and Finance Ministry will soon conclude their study on the regulation regarding rent hikes, the minister said, adding that officials are looking at the practises in other countries.

When the cap is set, consumer price inflation will be taken into account, but it will be the rate which will be acceptable by both sides (landlords and tenants), said Bozdağ.

In earlier remarks, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum said that regulations designed to prevent exorbitant increases in rent prices will be submitted to parliament soon, adding that the government is also working to increase the supply of residential units.

The minister said that the legislation on rent could be sent to the national assembly within eight to 10 days.

Kurum reiterated that rent hikes cannot exceed the consumer price inflation. “However, some people increase rents for their properties well above the inflation rate, which is in fact the violation of laws. Tenants, who face such rent increases, should go to courts,” he said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will make the plans under consideration on rent public soon, then the bill be submitted to parliament, the minister added.

Not only the Environment Ministry, but other ministries were also be involved in the work on rent regulations which will protect both tenants and landlords, Kurum said.

More house supply

Erdoğan will also announce the details of plans to boost house supply in August, according to the minister.

Kurum recalled the recently unveiled scheme under which public lands will be sold to people for them to build houses, especially in large cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir.

He dismissed claims that the main beneficiary of this scheme will not be ordinary citizens but certain circles.

“Those lands will only be allocated to low-income people, to those who do not own a house,” Kurum said.

Elaborating on plans for the Housing Development Administration (TOKİ) to build more houses, the minister said that TOKİ will develop projects in all 81 provinces in Turkey but that it will focus particularly on the provinces where there are house shortages.

TOKİ will be able to offer the houses it builds to potential buyers at more affordable prices as land costs will not affect TOKİ’s projects in terms of sale prices, according to the minister.

TOKİ projects will also target those, who are not homeowners and low-income groups, Kurum said.

Meanwhile, according to a new regulation by the Treasury and Finance Ministry published in the Official Gazette, service providers that act as intermediators will be required to provide details of the advertisements on the internet for rental houses or houses on sale to authorities on a monthly basis. Advertisers will also have to provide the Finance Ministry with detailed information.