with the Law on Renting Residential Buildings for Tourism Purposes adopted on 25.10.2023 and published in the Official Gazette on 02.11.2023 and Amending Some Laws, the purpose is to determine the procedures and principles for renting residential buildings to real and legal entities for tourism purposes, except for residential buildings that have been rented for more than a hundred days at a time. It covers the provisions related to the general principles related to the rental of residential buildings for tourism purposes, the issuance of permits, administrative sanctions and the legislation to which residential buildings rented for tourism purposes will be subject. the lessor is obliged to obtain a permit certificate from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and a plaque indicating the nature of the residence. This law entered into force on 01.01.2024.
PERMISSION CERTIFICATE AND ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS
In order for the houses to be rented for tourism purposes, a permit document must be obtained before a rental agreement for tourism purposes is concluded. The plaque determined by the ministry should be hung at the entrance of the residence rented for tourism purposes.
The obligation to obtain a permit certificate belongs to the lessor. At the same time, these rentals can also be made through group (A) travel agencies.
In the permit certificate applications, it is mandatory to submit the decision taken unanimously by all the floor owners of the building where the independent department where it is deemed appropriate to carry out rental activities for tourism purposes is located.
The law provides for administrative sanctions against these residences rented without a permit, not only for the lessor of the rented residence, but also for those who mediate the rental of the residence and intermediary service providers who enable electronic commerce and promotion of the rental activity.
i. Sanctions related to the lessor
An administrative fine of 100,000.00 TL (one hundred thousand Turkish liras) will be applied for each residence rented without permission, and fifteen days will be given for the lessor to be able to operate by obtaining a permit.
At the end of the given fifteen-day period, an administrative fine of 500,000.00 TL (five hundred thousand Turkish liras) will be applied to those who continue renting activities for tourism purposes without obtaining a permit, and fifteen days will be given once again to enable them to operate by obtaining a permit.
Although time has been given for the implementation of these administrative fines and the elimination of the deficiency, an administrative fine of 1,000,000.00 TL (one million Turkish liras) will be applied to those who continue their rental activities for tourism purposes without a permit.
Although the 15-day period granted to the lessor after the initial determination and a 15-day period for “obtaining” the permit document were mentioned, in our opinion, this period is a period brought to “apply” to the Ministry for obtaining a permit document.
ii. Sanctions related to those who mediate rental activities:
An administrative fine of 100,000.00 TL (one hundred thousand Turkish liras) will be applied for each contract for those who mediate the rental of residences for tourism purposes without a permit certificate.
iii. Sanctions related to intermediary service providers
An administrative fine of 100,000.00 TL (one hundred thousand Turkish liras) will be applied for each residence for intermediary service providers defined in the relevant legislation who allow electronic commerce and promotion of these residences rented without a permit and do not remove the content within 24 (twenty-four) hours despite the warning made by the Ministry. The broadcast in which the violation occurred will be stopped, the removal of the content and/or blocking of access will be ensured.
In addition, if this decision is not complied with, an administrative fine of 100,000.00 TL (one hundred thousand Turkish liras) will be imposed on intermediary service providers for each residence.
As mentioned above, the Law applies to residences that will be rented for less than 100 (one hundred) days at a time; rentals made for more than 100 (one hundred) days at a time are excluded. As an exception to this, a heavy sanction has been issued for those who rent the same house more than 4 (four) times within a year from the date of the first contract, despite entering into a rental agreement for more than 100 (one hundred) days at a time, in recognition of cheating against the law, and in this case, an administrative fine of 1,000,000.00 TL (one million Turkish liras) will be applied against the owner of the house in the specific housing.
THE AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT SUPERVISION AND REGULATION
The Ministry has the authority to conduct audits on leases for tourism purposes and may also exercise its supervisory authority through the governor’s office if necessary.
The ministry determines the procedures and principles related to eliminating the hesitations and disruptions that will arise during the implementation of the law, making arrangements, and implementing the law.
PREVIOUSLY MADE LEASES FOR TOURISM PURPOSES
It is obligatory for those who are engaged in rental activities for tourism purposes to apply to the Ministry for obtaining a permit certificate within one month from the date of entry into force of this article. The procedures for issuing a permit document are finalized within three months from the date of application. Those whose applications are not accepted cannot participate in activities, but the rights of the users of these residences will continue until the end of the contract period.