New Legislation Affecting Airbnb in Turkey

On 2 November 2023, the Law on Renting Houses for Tourism Purposes and Amendments to Certain Laws ("Law") published in the Official Gazette introduced the obligation to obtain a permit for renting houses for tourism purposes for less than 100 days. In addition, administrative fines are imposed for failure to obtain a permit. The Law contains significant restrictions affecting the Airbnb application, which is frequently used in residential rentals.

Mandatory Permit Requirement

According to Article 3 of the Law, it is compulsory to obtain permission from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for renting residences for tourism purposes for less than 100 days. This authorization must be acquired before finalizing any rental agreement. Additionally, the law mandates obtaining unanimous approval from other floor owners within a building if renting an independent section. This collective approval needs to be submitted to the Ministry.

Administrative Penalties for Failure to Obtain Authorization Certificate

Administrative penalties regarding the leases made without a license are determined as follows:

• Those who rent out houses rented for tourism purposes without a permit will be imposed an administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish Liras for each rented house. Subsequently, those who continue to rent for tourism purposes without obtaining a permit within the 15-day period granted for obtaining the permit will be imposed an administrative fine of five hundred thousand Turkish Liras. An administrative fine of one million Turkish Liras will be imposed on those who continue to carry out tourism leasing activities without a permit certificate despite the renewed period of time.
• An administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish liras will be imposed on those who rent out the tourism housing rented from the permit holder to third parties on their own behalf and account for each contract.
• An administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish Liras will be imposed for each contract on those who rent out the dwelling for tourism purposes on their own behalf and on their own account.
• An administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish Liras will be imposed for each contract on those who mediate the rental of houses for tourism purposes without a permit.
• An administrative fine of one million Turkish Liras will be imposed on those who rent out the same residential more than four times within one year from the date of the first contract, although each time they conclude a lease contract for more than one hundred days.

Penalties for Intermediary Service Providers

Some penalties have also been determined for platforms such as Airbnb, which act as intermediary service providers. First of all, when it is detected that unauthorized rental activities or promotion are carried out, the Ministry will request the intermediary service provider to remove the content within 24 hours. If the intermediary service provider fails to do so, an administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish liras may be imposed for each residence. In the event that a decision is made to remove the content and/or block access to the broadcast, section, episode in which the infringement has occurred, but this decision is not complied with, an administrative fine of one hundred thousand Turkish liras for each residence shall be imposed on the intermediary service provider. It is possible to apply to the criminal judgeship of peace against the decision to remove the content and/or block access.

Cancellation of Permit Certificate

In the event that it is determined by the competent public institutions and organizations that the house rented for tourism purposes is used in violation of public order, public security and public morality, the permit for renting a house for tourism purposes may be cancelled.

At this point, the Law has introduced serious restrictions on both the Airbnb platform and the persons renting houses through this platform. As a result, it is possible to foresee a significant decline in the use of Airbnb in Turkey in the near future.