How Is the Rent Increase Calculated?

The annual increase on residential rents cannot exceed the rate of change in the twelve-month average of the consumer price index published by the Turkish Statistical Institute. Where the parties agree a higher figure, the excess is void.

The 25 per cent cap is gone

Between 11 June 2022 and 1 July 2024 a temporary cap of twenty-five per cent applied to residential rents. That measure has ended and the benchmark is once again the twelve-month average of the index. No such cap ever applied to commercial leases.

Which month's figure is used?

The twelve-month average announced for the month before the renewal month is taken. For a tenancy renewing in September, the figure announced in August is used. Because the rate changes every month, identifying the renewal month correctly matters.

What if you do not raise the rent on time?

• The right to increase is not lost; it can be claimed retrospectively and pursued through the courts.
• But an increase not actually collected also lags in the following year's calculation — the loss compounds.
• Giving notice of the increase in writing makes it easier to prove in the event of a dispute.

Tenancies that have run five years

Once the tenancy has run for five years, the benchmark may be the market rent for the property rather than the index cap. If the parties cannot agree, the court sets the new figure by weighing comparable rents and the condition of the property. At that point local comparable rent data becomes decisive.