Commercial Lease

A roofed workplace is premises within a building used for commercial, professional or industrial activity: shops, offices, warehouses, factory buildings. TCO Article 339 et seq. provides special tenant-protective rules for residential and roofed workplace leases. These do not apply to leases of six months or less of premises intended by nature for temporary use.

Protective Rules

• Security deposit: At most three months’ rent; if paid in cash, the tenant deposits it in a time deposit account (TCO Article 342).
• No changes against the tenant: Apart from setting the rent, no changes may be made to the lease to the tenant’s detriment (TCO Article 343).
• No additional payments: The tenant cannot be required to pay anything other than rent and ancillary costs; clauses imposing a penalty for late rent or accelerating future rents are void (TCO Article 346).
• Rent increases: In renewal periods, capped at the twelve-month average CPI change; after five years, set by the court considering comparable rents (TCO Article 344); see Rent Determination Action.
• No termination at expiry: The landlord cannot end a fixed-term lease merely because the term has expired; see Ten-Year Extension Period.
• Limited eviction grounds: The landlord may end the lease only through litigation on statutory grounds, which cannot be varied to the tenant’s detriment (TCO Article 354). See Eviction for Personal Need and Eviction Undertaking.

Rent in Foreign Currency

Agreeing rent in or indexed to foreign currency in real estate leases between Turkish residents is prohibited, subject to exceptions in foreign exchange legislation. Rent agreed in foreign currency cannot be changed for five years, subject to that legislation and to the hardship rule (TCO Article 344(4)).

Mandatory Mediation

Since 1 September 2023, applying to a mediator before suing is a precondition for disputes arising from lease relationships; summary eviction proceedings under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law are excluded. See Mandatory Mediation and our article Eviction of the Tenant in Residential and Roofed Workplace Leases.