If you are thinking about short-term rentals for your property in Turkey, read this first or you could land yourself in trouble.
If you rent out your Turkish holiday home or investment property via Airbnb, a holiday letting agent or via your own website, even to friends and family, you need to be aware of imminent changes to the law in Turkey.
Turkey is still under in a state of emergency following the attempted coup earlier this year.
The laws are said to help prevent terrorism following the attacks on Istanbul airport where the attackers rented temporary accommodation.
All landlords who rent their properties in the short term, even for a day, may need to register all bookings and occupants with the authorities.
Landlords who do not comply could be prosecuted.
New legislation for short-term rentals
Last week, the Turkish daily newspaper Hürriyet Daily News (HDN) reported that in an endeavour to prevent terror related crimes, new legislation for rented properties is being introduced.
Referring to the original story in the Turkish language daily, Star, HDN explained that residential property owners and rental companies, letting their properties short-term without a contract, will be dealt with severely if they fail to register tenants’ information with the authorities and do not pay tax.
Tough penalties for Non Compliance
The paper added that, according to regulations drawn up by the Customs and Trade Ministry, those who fail to give notice of their tenants’ information, however temporary their occupation, could be faced with prosecution for activities related to terrorism.
Currently, rental management companies and homeowners are able to rent their residential property for a short period, even by the day and these transactions require no written record or contract.
The ministry are concerned that this informal arrangement increases the risk of aiding terrorist organizations in their criminal activities, including those relating to the sex trade, as it helps them to stay below the radar and avoid being spotted by the security services.
Active discouragement
In order to discourage these unlawful activities, the new legislation will require all private and commercial property owners to give the authorities all the relevant information on their tenants, whatever the length of their short-term rentals, for each and every rental activity undertake.
This legislation has already been introduced in parts of Istanbul, following the June 28 Atatürk Airport terrorist attack.
Those responsible were reported to have made a short-term rentals close to the scene of the attack.
Stay Alert
All landlords should therefore keep an eye on the passage of the legislation and ensure they comply with any requirements that are enacted.
Landlords should also ensure that their tax records are up to date to avoid any anomalies that could arise if data is cross matched.
As soon as we get any update on this, we will post here.
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