Illegal renting, selling of properties to foreigners on radar

Salim Uzun - ANTALYA

Antalya Governor Ersin Yazıcı has declared that unregistered rentals to foreign tourists will be subject to inspection, following the decision from the Culture and Tourism Ministry regarding the imposition of taxes on short-term rental services in the tourism industry.

Speaking to daily Hürriyet, Governor Yazıcı said that after the Russia-Ukraine war, there has been a serious boom in the number of houses rented or bought by foreigners, especially in Konyaaltı district, one of the tourism hotspots, and this phenomenon has brought along several problems regarding legal processes.

Similar to the tourism industry, the real estate industry laments the illegal rental and sale of housing, the governor said, adding that police teams and the tax office in the southern province are evaluating all reports of unregistered transactions with sensitivity.

“If an unregistered commercial activity is detected during inspections, the tax office rises to the occasion immediately. We are also asking our citizens for their help. If a house is rented out informally, please report it,” Yazıcı said, urging the public to be sensitive on this issue as well.

“Everything must be registered during the rental processes. Of course, there are conditions for getting a license. Those who are engaged in the short-term rental business or real estate are currently under the radar of the state. The tax office, police forces and the relevant chambers are working in coordination. If there is a report, we will conduct no-knock inspections on the reported properties,” the governor added.

The rise of short-term rentals, driven by platforms like Airbnb, has significantly impacted the hospitality sector, negatively affecting hotel revenues.

Despite the record-breaking flock of tourists to the country this year, many hotels struggled to meet their targeted occupancy rates due to the increasing popularity of short-term rentals.

Recently, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced new regulations to ensure service provider taxation to short-term rental property owners and disclosure of ID information for guests choosing to vacation in said properties.

The minister emphasized that while they are not opposed to short-term rental practices, they are looking into ways for incorporating such practices into a regulated system to maintain equality in competition with hotels and other accommodation services.