Turkey Acts to Limit Rent Increases Amid Soaring Inflation

Buildings in Istanbul. Photo: Pixabay/btastinkaya

According to the new regulation, rent price hikes will be limited to 25 per cent until July 2023.

"Rents can only be increased by 25 per cent. We tried to protect the rights of both tenants and landlords," Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told reporters before the parliamentary vote on Wednesday.

The new regulation came after senior officials from the Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change Ministry, the Justice Ministry, the Treasury and Finance Ministry and the Trade Ministry held a series of meeting to discuss possible measures to address the problem.

However, market experts said that the decision favours tenants but will make landlords uncomfortable.

"We cannot say that there is a balanced and intermediary solution. Given the continuous inflation rate increases it is a comforting step for tenants," Ali Guvenc, president of the Real Estate Law Association, told Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet.

Guvenc said landlords will be displeased as the official annual inflation rate in May was 73 per cent according to TurkStat, but independent researchers say that the real inflation rate is up to 160 per cent.

Home ownership and affordable rents have become a pipe dream for many Turks as the country's economic crisis deepens.

Prices of goods, taxes and utility bills continue to increase due to high inflation rates as well as the loss in value of the Turkish lira.

On Thursday, the Turkish lira recorded another historic low, with one US dollar now equal to 17.2 lira. One US dollar was worth 14 lira only a month ago, and around 8.5 lira a year ago.

Consequently, prices of real estate - whether for rent or sale - have skyrocketed in Turkey, where the...

Continue reading on: