Renting a Flat in Istanbul: Lease, Costs and Offices
A flat lease in Istanbul: what each payment is, which papers water, gas and address offices ask for, and where a rent dispute goes.
Table of Contents
A flat lease in Istanbul is a paper between a kiracı (a tenant) and an ev sahibi (a landlord). Once it is signed, the tenant deals with the water and gas offices, the population office and the earthquake-insurance pool, and each asks for its own papers. Since 01.09.2023 a rent dispute goes to a mediator before it can go to court.
In short · checked 31.10.2026
Papers, payments, the right office.
- Water: a foreign tenant applies at an İSKİ branch with the lease, a title-deed copy and the NVİ address record.
- Gas: the contract is signed by whoever uses the gas, landlord or tenant.
- Address: declared within 20 working days at the district population office; the duty applies to foreigners too.
- Earthquake policy: a tenant may take it, with the owner’s ID number in it; compensation goes to the owner named in the title deed.
- Rent disputes: since 01.09.2023 a mediator comes before court, and applying is free.
Try it · the entrance panel
Ring the right bell
Ten bells, one for each side of a lease. Turn the key to a stage, ring a bell, and its card shows the papers it asks for, the sums it names and a line to say in Turkish.
0 of 9 bells rung
Moving in · landlord
The landlord, ev sahibi
The owner’s name and papers turn up in three places.
- Water
- İSKİ asks a tenant for a title-deed copy.
- Policy
- A tenant’s DASK policy carries the owner’s ID number.
- Gas
- Whoever uses the gas signs.
Tapu fotokopisini alabilir miyim?Can I have a copy of the title deed?
İSKİ, DASK, İGDAŞ · checked 31.10.2026
Moving in · agent
The agent, emlakçı
An agent works under a trade licence (yetki belgesi).
- Fee
- At most one month’s rent for a rental, before KDV.
- Shared
- Both sides pay half unless the contract sets another split.
Yetki belgesi numaranızı alabilir miyim?May I have your licence number?
Ministry of Trade rules, in Real Estate Agents in Turkey · checked 29.10.2026
Moving in · building manager
The manager, yönetici
The manager appears in two papers.
- Gas
- For central heating the manager signs, after the flat owners’ decision.
- Address
- A paper signed by site or apartment management can confirm an address, when asked.
Yönetici kim, nasıl ulaşabilirim?Who is the manager, and how can I reach them?
İGDAŞ, NVİ · checked 31.10.2026
Moving in · notary
The notary, noter
When another person acts for the tenant, İSKİ and İGDAŞ ask for a notary-certified power of attorney (vekâletname).
- Fee, 2026
- At least 58.82 TL an act; 80.68 TL a page for writing.
Vekâletname için ücret ne kadar?How much is the fee for a power of attorney?
İSKİ, İGDAŞ, Ministry of Justice tariff · checked 31.10.2026
Moving in · population office
The population office, Nüfus Müdürlüğü
Declared within 20 working days, in person or online. Foreigners too.
- Papers
- A contract or bill for electricity, water, gas, a landline or fixed internet.
- Fines, 2026
- 814.00 TL if late; 17,051.00 TL if false.
Adres beyanı için hangi belgeler gerekiyor?Which papers are needed for the address declaration?
NVİ · checked 31.10.2026
Moving in · earthquake policy
The earthquake policy, DASK
The compulsory policy (ZDS) covers a flat a year.
- Tenant
- May take it; the owner’s ID number goes in.
- Paid to
- Owner named in the title deed.
- Checked
- At water and electricity subscription.
DASK poliçesi var mı, ne zaman bitiyor?Is there a DASK policy, and when does it end?
DASK · checked 31.10.2026
Moving in · water
Water, İSKİ
Foreigners apply at a branch, for the NVİ-recorded address.
- Papers
- Lease (original shown), title-deed copy, NVİ record, one of the foreign identity papers on İSKİ’s list.
- Deposit
- 1,965.60 TL for a home.
Yeni su aboneliği için hangi belgeler gerekiyor?Which papers are needed for a new water subscription?
İSKİ · checked 31.10.2026
Moving in · gas
Gas, İGDAŞ
Whoever uses the gas signs the contract.
- Papers
- Consumption-point number, title deed or lease, ID; foreigners also an identity paper issued by the Presidency of Migration Management.
- Güvence
- Mechanical meter: at signing; prepaid: none.
Sayaç ön ödemeli mi, güvence bedeli var mı?Is the meter prepaid, is there a güvence?
İGDAŞ · checked 31.10.2026
Moving in · electricity
Electricity, Elektrik
A new subscription is completed only after the earthquake policy is checked.
- Check
- With the policy and owner’s ID numbers, or the original policy.
- Address
- The policy’s address is checked against the flat’s.
Elektrik aboneliği için DASK poliçesi gerekiyor mu?Is a DASK policy needed for the electricity subscription?
DASK · checked 31.10.2026
During the lease · landlord
The yearly rise
Agreed rent for a renewed year is valid only up to the 12-month average change in consumer prices over the previous lease year.
- TÜİK, 05.10.2026
- 31.49 % for a rise due in October (Ministry of Justice notice).
Kira artışı hangi orana göre yapılıyor?What rate is the rise based on?
TBMM Petitions Committee, 12.09.2025; Ministry of Justice notice · checked 31.10.2026
During the lease · earthquake policy
Renewal
The policy runs one year and is renewed yearly. A renewal up to 30 days after expiry keeps the discount.
- Not covered
- Household goods, loss of rent, the cost of another home.
Poliçeyi yenilediniz mi?Have you renewed the policy?
DASK · checked 31.10.2026
During the lease · mediator
Mediation, arabuluculuk
Since 01.09.2023 a rent dispute goes to a mediator before court.
- Apply
- At the courthouse mediation office, else the civil court’s clerk’s office. Free.
- First meeting
- Staying away without an excuse costs half of the trial costs.
Arabuluculuk bürosuna başvurmak istiyorum.I want to apply to the mediation office.
Ministry of Justice · checked 31.10.2026
Moving out · notary
The notary, a proxy’s papers
İSKİ and İGDAŞ both ask a proxy who cancels for a notarised power of attorney.
- Fee, 2026
- At least 58.82 TL an act; 80.68 TL a page for writing.
Vekâletname için hangi belgeler gerekiyor?Which papers are needed for a power of attorney?
İSKİ, İGDAŞ, Ministry of Justice tariff · checked 31.10.2026
Moving out · population office
The next address
The next address is declared within the same 20 working days, in person or online.
- Papers
- A subscription contract or a bill for electricity, water, gas, a landline or fixed internet.
- Fines, 2026
- 814.00 TL if late.
Yeni adresimi bildirmek istiyorum.I want to declare my new address.
NVİ · checked 31.10.2026
Moving out · water
Ending the water subscription
İSKİ ends a subscription on request (istek iptali): on e-Devlet, in İSKİ’s online branch or app, or at a branch.
- Proxy
- ID and a notarised power of attorney.
- Deposit
- Refunded at the current price.
Abonelik iptali için hangi belgeler gerekiyor?Which papers are needed to cancel?
İSKİ · checked 31.10.2026
Moving out · gas
Ending the gas contract
The user who moves ends the contract at a branch, on e-Devlet, in the app or online.
- Papers
- Consumption-point number and ID; a proxy adds a notarised power of attorney.
- Güvence
- Refunded after debts are collected, with a price-index update.
Aboneliği sonlandırmak istiyorum.I want to end the subscription.
İGDAŞ · checked 31.10.2026
The lease and who stands behind it
A lease is a kira sözleşmesi. The person who rents a flat is the kiracı, the tenant. The owner who lets it is the ev sahibi or kiraya veren, the landlord. Water, gas, the population office and the earthquake pool each ask which of the two is applying.
Plain words
- kiralık · eşyalı
- For rent · furnished.
- daire · site
- A flat · a housing estate with shared grounds.
- emlakçı · yönetici
- A real-estate agent · a building manager.
- tapu
- The title deed, the record of who owns a property.
An emlakçı works under a yetki belgesi, a trade licence. For a rental the fee is at most one month’s rent, before KDV, value added tax. More on licences and fees: Real Estate Agents in Turkey.
What is paid and to whom
Each kind of money has its own payee. These sums are set by an office or a tariff for 2026.
Offices and tariffs · 2026
Four sums that are fixed.
Notary: at least 58.82 TL an act, and 80.68 TL a page for writing.
İSKİ: a deposit of 1,965.60 TL for a home.
Population office: 814.00 TL for a late address declaration, 17,051.00 TL for a false one.
DASK: the premium follows a tariff, in the next chapter.
Money words
- depozito · güvence · teminat
- A deposit. The everyday word is depozito; güvence and teminat are the words on gas and water papers.
- aidat
- The regular payment to a building’s management for shared costs.
- noter ücreti
- The notary’s fee.
The yearly rise
The Code of Obligations (Law 6098), as the Parliament’s Petitions Committee quotes it in a decision distributed on 12.09.2025, limits the rent agreed for a renewed lease year: it is valid only up to the change in the 12-month average of the consumer price index over the previous lease year. Where nothing was agreed, a judge sets the rent within the same limit.
TÜİK, the statistics institute (Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu), announced the 12-month average change on 05.10.2026: 31.49 %, the figure for a yearly rise due in October, as a Ministry of Justice notice prints it.
Sources: TBMM Petitions Committee decision no. 25 (art. 344 of Law 6098); Ministry of Justice notice; checked 31.10.2026.
- Agent (emlakçı)
- At most one month’s rent for a rental, before KDV; both sides share it equally unless the contract sets another split.
- Notary (noter)
- At least 58.82 TL an act; 80.68 TL a page for writing; 667.67 TL a page for a translation, half for ten lines or fewer. The same fees apply to work done electronically.
- Water (İSKİ)
- A deposit of 1,965.60 TL for a home, a water-installation share of 3,295.80 TL and a sewerage share of 2,307.00 TL.
- Gas, earthquake policy
- The gas deposit by device is in chapter 4, the DASK premium in chapter 3.
The earthquake policy and its price
DASK, the Natural Disaster Insurance Institution (Doğal Afet Sigortaları Kurumu), is a public body that does not work for profit. It provides the compulsory earthquake insurance, Zorunlu Deprem Sigortası (ZDS), for dwellings inside municipal limits.
- Who The owner, a usufructuary or a tenant can take the policy. One policy covers one flat.
- Name When a tenant takes it, the owner’s ID number goes into the policy. The tenant is the policy-taker (sigorta ettiren) and the owner is the insured (sigortalı). The premium can be collected from the owner or offset against the rent.
- Paid to Compensation goes to the owner named in the title deed.
- Renewal The policy runs one year. A renewal up to 30 days after expiry keeps the discount.
- Where At an insurance company, any agent or any bank branch. Alo DASK 125 answers questions.
Not covered
- Household goods
- Loss of rent
- The cost of another home
Contents need a voluntary home policy.
The premium is the insured sum times the tariff rate. The insured sum is the unit cost for the building style times the dwelling’s gross area, up to a maximum (2,552,268 TL for policies starting 01.10.2026). DASK sets the unit cost for each month: 12,039 TL a m² for reinforced concrete and 8,026 TL for other buildings on 01.10.2026, 12,288 TL and 8,192 TL on 01.11.2026. The risk group follows the earthquake-zone maps, the ground and the building’s features, and DASK publishes the groups on its site.
A 100 m² home, policy starting 01.10.2026, paid in cash up front. Reinforced concrete means a steel or reinforced-concrete frame; other means every building outside that.
| Risk group | Reinforced concrete: rate and premium | Other: rate and premium |
|---|---|---|
| I | 2.82 ‰ · 3,395 TL | 4.96 ‰ · 3,981 TL |
| II | 2.51 ‰ · 3,022 TL | 4.25 ‰ · 3,411 TL |
| III | 2.13 ‰ · 2,564 TL | 3.73 ‰ · 2,994 TL |
| IV | 2.00 ‰ · 2,408 TL | 3.49 ‰ · 2,801 TL |
| V | 1.50 ‰ · 1,806 TL | 2.79 ‰ · 2,239 TL |
| VI | 1.07 ‰ · 1,288 TL | 1.86 ‰ · 1,493 TL |
| VII | 0.73 ‰ · 879 TL | 1.09 ‰ · 875 TL |
Water, gas and electricity
A new home has a subscription (abonelik) with each supplier. İSKİ is Istanbul’s water and sewerage administration (İstanbul Su ve Kanalizasyon İdaresi). The gas and electricity offices have their own papers.
İSKİ
Foreigners apply at a branch; there is no digital application. The contract is only for the address on the NVİ record. Papers: the current lease (the original is shown), a title-deed copy, the NVİ address record and one of the foreign identity papers on İSKİ’s list.
İGDAŞ
Whoever uses the gas signs the contract. Papers: the consumption-point number, the title deed (owner) or the lease (tenant), and an ID with the T.C. number. Foreigners also bring an identity paper issued by the Presidency of Migration Management, at a branch.
The earthquake check
A new subscription, or a change of subscriber, is completed only after the earthquake policy is checked: by the policy and owner’s ID numbers, or with the original policy. The policy’s address is checked against the flat’s.
Gas deposit by device
- kombi
- 4,097 TL each
- ocak
- 249 TL each
- şofben
- 498 TL
- Gas stove (doğalgaz sobası)
- 3,599 TL
- merkezi sistem
- 3,599 TL times the number of flats
The güvence is taken at signing from subscribers with a mechanical meter, and from none with a prepaid meter. EPDK, the energy regulator, sets the amounts every year.
The electricity bill itself: Electricity Bills in Turkey. Home internet is a separate contract: Home Internet in Turkey.
The address declaration
A move changes the address on the population record. The declaration is the adres beyanı.
- Where At the district population office (ilçe nüfus müdürlüğü), in person or online. The duty applies to foreigners too.
- Time Within 20 working days.
- Papers A subscription contract or a bill for electricity, water, gas, a landline or fixed internet confirms the address. When asked, a paper signed by the owner of a detached house, by the site or apartment management, or by the muhtar (the elected head of a neighbourhood) does it too.
- Fines, 2026 814.00 TL for a late declaration and 17,051.00 TL for a false one. A defence can be given within 7 days and an appeal made within 15 days.
- Who Adult members of a household can declare for each other.
- Address standard
- Province (il), district (ilçe), neighbourhood (mahalle), street, site, block (blok), outer door number (dış kapı no), inner door number (iç kapı no) and postcode.
- Numbers
- A building has a 9-digit identity number and a flat a 10-digit address number. Municipalities hold the door numbering (numarataj).
How an address is written: Turkish Address Format.
When a dispute starts
Since 01.09.2023 a dispute over rent, a shared property, a condominium or a neighbour goes to a mediator (arabulucu) before a lawsuit can be filed.
- Apply At the mediation office (arabuluculuk bürosu) in the courthouse. Where there is none, the clerk’s office of the civil court takes the application. Applying is free.
- Mediator Chosen from the register or by agreement of the sides. The sides attend in person or through a lawyer, whose power of attorney needs a special mediation authority.
- The fee With no agreement, the Ministry of Justice pays two hours of the fee. With an agreement the fee is shared equally, unless the sides decide otherwise.
- First meeting A side that stays away without an excuse bears half of the trial costs even if it wins, and the lawyer’s fee awarded to it is cut by half.
- No agreement The way to court is open. A side that cannot pay the mediation fee can ask the civil judge for legal aid (adli yardım).
Moving out
- Water İSKİ ends a subscription on request (istek iptali) on e-Devlet, in its online branch or mobile app, or at a branch. A proxy brings an ID and a notarised power of attorney. The deposit is refunded at the current price.
- Gas The user who moves ends the contract: the named person, or a representative, applies at an İGDAŞ branch, on e-Devlet, in the mobile app or at the online centre. The güvence is refunded after debts are collected, updated by the consumer price index, at İGDAŞ counters or PTT with an ID, or to an IBAN. An automatic-payment order is cancelled at the bank.
- Address The next address is declared within 20 working days, in person or online.
Papers for a proxy
- İSKİ: ID and a notarised power of attorney.
- İGDAŞ: the consumption-point number, ID and a notarised power of attorney; foreigners also the Migration Management identity paper.
Words and lines to say
Twelve lines to ask or say
- Kira sözleşmesinin bir örneğini alabilir miyim?Can I have a copy of the lease?
- Tapu fotokopisini alabilir miyim?Can I have a copy of the title deed?
- Aidat ne kadar ve neleri kapsıyor?How much is the aidat, and what does it cover?
- Abonelikler kimin adına?In whose name are the subscriptions?
- Yönetici kim, nasıl ulaşabilirim?Who is the manager, and how can I reach them?
- Yetki belgesi numaranızı alabilir miyim?May I have your licence number?
- Vekâletname için ücret ne kadar?How much is the fee for a power of attorney?
- Adres beyanı için hangi belgeler gerekiyor?Which papers are needed for the address declaration?
- DASK poliçesi var mı, ne zaman bitiyor?Is there a DASK policy, and when does it end?
- Yeni su aboneliği için hangi belgeler gerekiyor?Which papers are needed for a new water subscription?
- Sayaç ön ödemeli mi, güvence bedeli var mı?Is the meter prepaid, and is there a güvence?
- Arabuluculuk bürosuna başvurmak istiyorum.I want to apply to the mediation office.
- kira · kiracı · ev sahibi
- Rent · tenant · landlord.
- kira sözleşmesi · kiraya veren
- Lease · the one who lets.
- tapu · daire · site
- Title deed · flat · housing estate.
- depozito · güvence · teminat
- Deposit.
- aidat · yönetici
- Building payment · manager.
- emlakçı · yetki belgesi · KDV
- Agent · trade licence · value added tax.
- noter · vekâletname
- Notary · power of attorney.
- adres beyanı · Nüfus Müdürlüğü · muhtar · numarataj
- Address declaration · population office · neighbourhood head · door numbering.
- abonelik · sayaç · istek iptali
- Subscription · meter · cancellation on request.
- kombi · ocak · şofben
- Combi boiler · hob · water heater.
- arabulucu · arabuluculuk
- Mediator · mediation.
Sources and limits
- Dava Şartı Olarak Arabuluculukta Sıkça Sorulan Sorular — Ministry of Justice, Department of Mediation, checked 31.10.2026
- KİRA UYUŞMAZLIKLARINDA ZORUNLU ARABULUCULUK — Ministry of Justice, press office, dated 05.04.2023, checked 31.10.2026
- 2026 Yılı Noterlik Ücret Tarifesi — Ministry of Justice, General Directorate of Legal Affairs, tariff of 30.12.2025 for 2026, checked 31.10.2026
- Adres Hizmetleri — Directorate General of Population and Citizenship Affairs (NVİ), checked 31.10.2026
- Adres Hizmetleri Sıkça Sorulan Sorular — Directorate General of Population and Citizenship Affairs (NVİ), checked 31.10.2026
- Tarife ve Primler — DASK, checked 31.10.2026
- Sıkça Sorulan Sorular — DASK, checked 31.10.2026
- Elektrik Aboneliği — DASK, checked 31.10.2026
- Su Aboneliği — DASK, checked 31.10.2026
- Yabancı Uyruklu Kişilerin Abonelik İşlemleri — İSKİ, checked 31.10.2026
- Yeni Abonelik İşlemleri — İSKİ, checked 31.10.2026
- Abonelik İptal İşlemleri — İSKİ, checked 31.10.2026
- Abonelik Sözleşmesi — İGDAŞ, checked 31.10.2026
- Sözleşme Fesih (İptal) — İGDAŞ, checked 31.10.2026
- Genel Kurul Kararı, Sayı: 25 (Dilekçe Numarası: D28-12537) — TBMM Petitions Committee, distributed 12.09.2025, checked 31.10.2026
- Ticari Ünitelerin Ekim Ayı Kira Artış Oranı %31,49 Olarak Açıklandı — Ministry of Justice, Prisons Workshops Agency, notice of October 2026, checked 31.10.2026
- Real Estate Agents in Turkey — Ministry of Trade rules on property trade, checked 29.10.2026
Limits: the amounts and rules are those of the offices on the dates checked, and the yearly ones change. A general rule may not fit one lease. The plain meanings of kiracı, ev sahibi, depozito, aidat, tapu, site, muhtar and the gas devices are word glosses, not definitions from the offices. Rent, deposit and service charges are agreed per lease and no market figure is given. No agent, listing site or housing complex is named or recommended. The photographs show Istanbul streets and buildings and are not presented as any one landlord’s property; the cover and the moving picture are drawings.
