Rent hikes to be limited to 25 pct, says minister

ANKARA 

With a temporary clause to be added to existing law, rent price hikes will be limited to 25 percent, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has said.

The government has been working on a solution to curb exorbitant rent increases, especially in the country’s large cities, such as Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir.

Recently senior officials from the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry, the Justice Ministry, the Treasury and Finance Ministry and the Trade Ministry held a meeting to discuss the possible measures to be taken.

“Rents could be increased only by 25 percent,” Bozdağ announced, noting that the cap on rent price hikes will apply to lease contracts, which will be signed until July 1, 2023.

The new rent will be valid for a year, he added, noting that this would be a temporary measure that will be regulated with a clause to be added to the code of obligations.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) will submit the proposal to parliament’s Justice Commission, according to the minister.

“We tried to protect the rights of both the tenants and landlords,” Bozdağ said.

Under the current regulations, landlords could increase the rents by the 12-month average of the consumer price inflation (CPI).

According to the latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the 12-month average CPI was 39.33 percent in May, whereas the headline annual consumer price inflation was 73.5 percent.

“Introducing a cap on rent price hikes was necessary. Landlords were demanding huge increases from their tenants. If tenants refuse to comply with the demand, landlords may get tenants evacuated from the house. There are lots of eviction cases at courts,” said Çiğdem Kezer, a lawyer.

A study conducted by Endeksa showed that rents across Turkey increased by 152 percent over the past year in May, while the increase was 233 percent in the past four years.

Consequently, house rents climbed to 5,139 Turkish Liras (around $299) on average as of May.