It directly concerns homeowners and tenants. A new era has begun. Conditions have changed completely. The legal regulation, which closely concerns those who rent their homes daily, came into force as of January 1.
How will short-term residential rentals of 100 days or less for tourism, education, business, health, sports or other purposes be handled? Who, where and how will apply to obtain a permit?
With the “Regulation on the Regulation of Renting Activities of Housing for Tourism Purposes” published in the Official Gazette on December 28, new rules and regulations regarding Airbnb and similar daily housing rentals came into force on January 1, 2024. Hürriyet’s Oya Armutçu answered the questions regarding the new law, which came into force on January 1, to tax expert Lawyer Dr. He directed it to Burak Aslanpınar.
What is the scope of the new law?
The rules for short-term residential rentals were written from scratch with Law No. 7464, which came into force on January 1, 2024. The name of the law in question includes the phrase “Renting of residences for tourism purposes”. However, this law concerns not only short-term daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal housing rentals in tourist areas.
Is it necessary to obtain a permit?
Any independent section registered in the land registry for residential purposes or with a residential floor easement or condominium on it is within the scope of the new regulation. If the title deed contains the words “dwelling”, “house” or “residence” and this house will be rented for 100 days or less, a ‘permit’ must be obtained.
What is the situation if there is a building registration certificate?
Although there are expressions such as “land”, “field”, “garden” in the title deed, if there are expressions such as “residence” or “house” in the “building registration certificate” issued within the scope of zoning amnesty for this real estate, short-term rental can be made. However, a ‘permit document’ is still required.
Where to apply for a permit?
Applications will only be made via e-Government and will not be accepted by hand or by mail.
Who can get a permit?
If there is a residence that has usufruct or superstructure rights on it, the owner of this right must apply for a permit that must be obtained for short-term rental. If there is no such right, the owner (title deed) will apply. If this person is a natural person who is a Turkish citizen, the application will be made by logging in via his/her own e-Government with his/her ID number, and if this person is a legal entity, he/she will be required to log in via his/her legal representative’s e-Government.
Will foreigners also be able to apply?
Foreigners will be able to apply via e-Government if they have a foreigner identification number. Applications of those who do not have a foreign identification number will be made by proxy.
Will the tenant be able to make short-term subleases?
“Sublease”, which is frequently seen in short-term rentals, that is, renting the house rented from the lessor for a long time to others for a short time, is clearly prohibited.
How long is the application period?
Those who engage in tourism/short-term rental activities must apply for a permit until February 1, 2024. Applications will be finalized within 3 months.
Will the residences be inspected?
Inspections will be carried out in residences within 30 days from the date of issuance of the ‘permit certificate’. Many detailed aspects will be examined, from hot water to pillowcases, from face towels to smoke detectors. A penalty of 100 thousand TL will be imposed on “permit certificate” holders of residences that are found to not meet the minimum qualifications, and 15 days will be given to correct the identified deficiencies. If it is determined that the deficiencies have not been corrected in the second inspection at the end of this period, the “permit certificate” will be cancelled.
Are there any exceptions for residences?
A ‘permit certificate’ can be issued to housing businesses that have the authority to rent residences. Real estate such as workplaces, offices and shops are not subject to this law.
Can a room in a house be rented short-term? What will happen if it is rented?
“According to the regulation, a permit cannot be issued for the purpose of renting one or more rooms of the lessor’s undocumented residence, which is used for residential purposes. A person will not be able to rent a room in his house short-term. Although it is not written in the law, it is stated in the regulation that a fine of 100 thousand TL will be imposed on this issue. A fine of 100 thousand liras may be imposed for renting for 1 day without a permit. Those who continue to rent without a permit despite the penalty may be fined one million.
TOTAL FINE 1.6 MILLION
The purpose of the law is to ensure that those who want to rent short-term housing operate within the framework of certain rules and subject to supervision. In this regard, very heavy penalties have been determined. For example, for renting a single residence without permission, a fine of 1.6 million TL, first 100 thousand TL, then 500 thousand TL and finally 1 million TL, may be imposed. This is a really harsh punishment.
What will taxation be like?
Those who rented short-term and especially large numbers of residences were subject to tax liabilities by the tax administration, that is, the Ministry of Finance, on the grounds that they earned “commercial income”. This approach will be continued. It is possible that those who rent with a permit will be directly included in the scope of those who earn “commercial income”.
On the other hand, a tourism residence certificate has become mandatory with the regulation. While there was a decrease in daily rental advertisements with the new decision, it was noteworthy that rental activities continued at full speed, especially in holiday resorts.
While it was seen that most of the advertisers still did not receive a tourism residence certificate, the fact that the prices were written differently in the advertisements was confusing. So much so that there were even apartments in the advertisement asking for a fee of up to 10 times the daily rental price.
WRITE DEBT PAYMENT
With the start of the semester break, we searched for cities such as Bursa, Erzurum, Afyonkarahisar and Antalya, where the demand for domestic tourists increased during this period. The owner of an apartment in Antalya stated that he applied to obtain a tourism residence certificate and the process is continuing, and said, “The room has everything you are looking for in a hotel.
Slippers, kettle, clean towels, bed linen… The price in the ad is 250 TL, but this is the annual fee. If you are going to rent for 5 days, it is 1,500 TL per day. “You can pay this through the bank, but please specify it as ‘debt payment’ in the description section.”
WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE HOLIDAY SEASON
The manager of a 2+1 house in Erzurum, which costs 200 TL per day, said: “This is a clean family apartment in the center. We did not get a tourism certificate, but we are investigating. You will not have any problems. 2 people will pay 1,000 TL, 4 people will pay 1,500 TL, and if you are going to stay for 6 people, it will cost 2,000 TL per day.” TL” he gave information.
While a 1+1 house located in the center of Bursa was stated as 500 TL per day in the advertisement, the owner of the house said that the daily price was 2 thousand TL. “We have 10 flats like this house. It is currently semester break, so the demand is very high. There are no vacant houses for this week. I have two flats available next week. Two adults and two children can stay comfortably.
2 thousand TL per day in season. 500 TL off-season price,” said the host, adding that they have not yet received a tourism certificate and their research is continuing. The host said, “You can easily go to Uludağ from here. “If you need a vehicle, we can also rent one,” he said. Source: Aydin Post