In a bid to curb soaring rents, the Turkish government is set to introduce stringent regulations on short-term rentals, similar to vacation rental booking company Airbnb.
The bill submitted by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to the Parliament on Tuesday seeks to mandate landlords to secure permits from the Culture and Tourism Ministry for such rentals, Bloomberg News reported.
In addition, homeowners will be obligated to pay taxes, display a designated sign on their property, and fulfill a fee requirement.
The proposal comes as residents have struggled to find affordable homes due to soaring prices, attributed to stubbornly high consumer inflation.
Annual inflation rose to more than 61% in September, according to official data, and is expected to rise further toward the end of the year.
Türkiye has extended a measure limiting annual rent increases to a maximum of 25%, which was introduced in June last year, leading to a major surge in legal conflicts between landlords and tenants.
Before the regulation, once-a-year price hikes for existing tenants were capped at the average annual inflation rate over the past 12 months.
To avoid expensive and prolonged legal battles, homeowners have been increasingly resorting to short-term rentals through platforms like Airbnb.
According to Bloomberg, the proposed bill categorizes rentals lasting less than 100 days as "tourism-oriented." Under the draft legislation, landlords and real estate agents found violating these new regulations would face a penalty of TL 100,000 ($3,600) per housing unit.
