Finding somewhere to live in Istanbul

The three routes to a flat, and what each costs

Most listings sit on sahibinden.com, with emlakjet, hepsiemlak and zingat carrying much of the rest, and the three routes to a flat are advertisements, an estate agent, or people you know. Going direct to the owner costs you nothing in commission. Through an agent the tenant pays a one-off service fee, quoted sometimes as a percentage of the annual rent and sometimes as a flat month's rent, and its ceiling is set by the Taşınmaz Ticareti Hakkında Yönetmelik rather than by the agent. Ask which figure applies to your contract, and get it and who pays it in writing before you view anything.

• sahibinden.com is the dominant portal; emlakjet.com, hepsiemlak.com and zingat.com are the others worth watching.
• Establish whether the fee is quoted on the annual rent or as a month's rent, and whether a shorter contract changes it.
• A flat found directly from the owner carries no agency fee at all.

The deposit, the increase and the contract

The deposit is capped by the Code of Obligations at three times the monthly rent, so anything above that is not something a landlord can insist on. A rent increase at renewal may be written into the contract, but it cannot exceed the twelve-month average rate of change of the consumer price index announced by TÜİK. The temporary 25 per cent statutory ceiling that ran from June 2022 has lapsed, and the CPI formula is now the operative cap. Headline annual inflation was 31.51 per cent in August 2026 and has held in a 30 to 33 per cent band through the year, but the cap is the separate twelve-month average line in TÜİK's monthly release, so take that figure from TÜİK rather than from the landlord.

• The written lease should itemise the rent, the agreed increase rate, the contract period, the deposit amount and a full list of fixtures and existing defects.
• Existing defects belong in the contract, not in a conversation at handover.
• Damage you caused can be deducted from the deposit, and you owe the excess if it costs more than the deposit holds.

Earthquake cover, and who is actually liable for it

Compulsory earthquake insurance covers every dwelling in Türkiye, and the responsibility for it belongs to the owner rather than to you. A tenant may take the policy out on the landlord's behalf, but any payout goes to the registered owner, so paying for it does not buy you cover. You will still need to see the policy, because the electricity supplier and the gas company both ask for it before they will open a subscription. Premiums are set by floor area, construction type and seismic risk group, and Istanbul sits in the highest group.

• For policies starting on or after 1 September 2026 the tariff values reinforced concrete at TRY 11,737 per square metre and other construction at TRY 7,825, with a maximum sum insured of TRY 2,488,318.
• The tariff is revised every month — the figures from 1 August 2026 were TRY 11,562 and TRY 7,708 with a maximum of TRY 2,451,062 — so check the date attached to any figure you are quoted.
• Ask for a copy of the current policy when you sign, not on the day you need it for the utilities.

Utilities and aidat

Electricity, water and gas subscriptions have to be in the name of the person living in the flat, so the outgoing occupant closes theirs and you open new ones in yours. Each takes a refundable security deposit, the güvence bedeli, which comes back when you close the account, while a prepaid card gas meter takes no deposit and is simply topped up. What you can transfer is your own subscription from a previous Turkish address, not the last tenant's account. Aidat, the monthly building charge, is billed separately from the rent and pays for the caretaker, the lift and the communal heating and hot water.

• Electricity goes through the licensed supplier for your district, water through İSKİ, gas through the city distribution company.
• All three can be arranged in person, by power of attorney, or through e-Devlet.
• The aidat figure is one of the standard questions to put to a landlord before signing; ask for the number for that specific flat before comparing two flats on rent.

After you sign

Once the lease is signed the flat is your private space. The landlord may not enter without your permission, except for maintenance at a time agreed in advance, and cannot evict you during the lease without a justified reason. The address, though, is not only yours: it is the record your residence permit hangs off, and moving is an immigration filing with a twenty working day clock on it.

• Notify the İl Göç İdaresi Müdürlüğü of your address within 20 working days so it enters the Address Registration System.
• Report later address changes to the İl Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık İşleri Müdürlüğü as well.
• The muhtar issues a residence document only as a fallback, when the address is not yet in the MERNİS database.

In order

1. 1Get a potential tax identification number online at ivd.gib.gov.tr before you start viewing.
2. 2Check the exact address with the İl Göç İdaresi Müdürlüğü or YİMER on 157 before you sign, so the flat can support a permit.
3. 3Agree the agent's fee in writing before the first viewing, and establish whether the owner is letting directly.
4. 4Ask the landlord for the monthly aidat figure and what it covers.
5. 5Check the deposit against the three-month legal maximum and get the increase rate written into the contract.
6. 6Have the lease itemise the rent, the increase rate, the term, the deposit and every fixture and existing defect.
7. 7Ask the landlord for a copy of the DASK policy, which the utilities will demand.
8. 8Open electricity, water and gas in your own name, paying the refundable güvence bedeli on each.
9. 9Notify the İl Göç İdaresi Müdürlüğü of the address within 20 working days of moving in.