Exhobitant rent hikes force tenants to share rooms
Gülistan Alagöz – ISTANBUL
Rental pressures are forcing people to switch from sharing apartments, a common practice among university students, to sharing rooms, just like in dormitories, with sometimes up to eight people struggling to accommodate in a single room.
In response to the soaring demand, in recent weeks, room-sharing listings have started to come to the fore on rental platforms online.
Rooms are rented with two or three beds or even with bunk beds - just like dormitories, sometimes up to eight people share the same room.
While the kitchen and bathroom are shared by all the tenants, in some flats, living rooms are rented out as well with sofabeds, serving as a replacement for a proper bedroom.
In certain apartments, tenants are given lockable storage spaces, and for security reasons, surveillance cameras have been installed in common spaces.
Amid the worsening housing crisis, some of these rooms are rented not only by students but also by employees.
Speaking to local media on the issue, lawyer Ali Güvenç Kiraz stated that the process is legal and the landlord or the tenant who receives the right to sublease from the landlord can rent the property to multiple people.
“In long-term rentals, the identity information of all tenants must be reported to the building management and legal residence registration must be made.”
People who rent out these rooms should pay attention to the legal processes, such as signing a written lease contract and checking whether the tenant has the right to sublease if the room is not rented from the actual landlord, Kiraz added.
“If there is a hidden lease without the landlord's knowledge, even if a person makes regular payments, he or she may face eviction. In addition, if one is not a direct party to the contract, he or she will be adversely affected by all legal disputes between the landlord and the tenant subletting it to you.”
