Rental agreement

To rent your apartment

Do you have a house in Turkey and most of the year it is staying empty? Then maybe it is a good option to rent and make some financial profit. Off course in this case there are some matters to be concerned about, like a good rent contract, rent tax and income tax in Turkey.

Rental agreement

Rental contracts are standard documents with standard conditions. Parties are on the other hand free to insert extra preferred conditions. Some important conditions that must be taken in to the agreement are address information, payment conditions, the lease period, the term of notice and the rent increasing. Pay attention that all inventories of  the house are also recorded in the agreement.

The rental agreement is between a tenant and a landlord. The landlord is the rightful owner of the house and can be represented by someone who is authorized to act in name of the owner, like a real estate agent. It is common that before the agreement is closed the tenant pays a deposit (a guarantee) and an advance of the lease to the landlord. This is to guarantee the lease of the house. Besides, it is also wise for the landlord to guarantee the rent payments with Senets (legal bills). For example when there is a rental contract for one year with a monthly fee of 500 Turkish Lira’s there can be 12 Senets which are undersigned by the tenant in advantage of the landlord. These Senets give insurance to the landlord in case the tenant does not pay his rent or he suddenly leaves after a couple of months. On basis of the Senets the landlord can start a collection procedure against his tenant who is in default. Be aware that you have to ask each senet back after your payment.

Rent and income tax

The Turkish tax office started in 2012 sending tax forms to submit a tax-return received rental income. Some information in this tax form is already been filled in with the information collected from several parties for example insurance companies, Tapu offices and banks. In case you do not agree with the amount that is been calculated in the received tax form letter and you receive less rent then mentioned, you have the right to object and proof the opposite. In case you give wrong information and this will be noticed by the local tax office, you risk a fine amounting the yearly tax payment amount of the last 5 years including tax. It is therefore advisable that the tenant transfers the rent to the Turkish bank account of the landlord, so this can serve as evidence for the tax authorities.

A second home in Turkey must be officially registered at the Turkish tax authority, it is a property. According to the tax system of your native country it could be possible that you have to pay rental income tax to your own country. Check it with you own country tax system, you can also show your tax payment bills from Turkey.