Article 342 of Law No. 6098 caps agreed security for residential and roofed commercial leases at three months’ rent. Its bank-protection rule has no one-year lease threshold. Bank release requires the statutory conditions; a separate tenant-request route applies if the landlord has not notified the bank of relevant proceedings within three months after termination. A current-rent-adjusted refund is not assumed for every contract.
Article 342 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (Law No. 6098) regulates agreed tenant security for residential and roofed commercial leases. The deposit is security for obligations under the lease, not an automatic payment to the landlord at the end of the tenancy.
Where the parties agree that the tenant will provide security within the scope of Article 342, it cannot exceed three months' rent. The provision covers both residential and roofed commercial leases; it does not limit its bank-protection rule to leases lasting more than one year.
The contract should identify the security, its amount and how it is held. Keep the signed agreement and proof of payment. A general guide cannot determine the application of these rules to a different class of lease or a historic contract without reviewing the relevant facts.
If the agreed security is money, Article 342 requires the tenant to place it in a savings account arranged so that it cannot be withdrawn without the landlord's consent. Negotiable securities are deposited with a bank. The bank may release the security only with both parties' consent, a finalised enforcement proceeding, or a final court judgment.
This statutory arrangement protects both sides. It is not equivalent to handing cash to the landlord or transferring money into an ordinary account controlled solely by the landlord. If the deposit has already been paid directly, preserve the receipt and obtain advice about the consequences and appropriate recovery route; do not assume the statutory bank mechanism already exists.
If, within three months after termination of the lease, the landlord has not notified the bank in writing that court or enforcement proceedings relating to the lease have been started against the tenant, the bank must release the security on the tenant's request. This is the specific mechanism in Article 342.
It is not a universal rule requiring every landlord to refund every deposit within one month, nor does it require a three-month wait where the parties already agree to release it. Establish the termination date and check what notice and proceedings, if any, exist before making a demand.
Article 334 distinguishes damage for which the tenant is responsible from deterioration caused by use in accordance with the contract. Ordinary wear is not automatically chargeable damage. Article 335 requires the landlord to inspect the property on return and promptly notify defects for which the tenant is responsible, with separate treatment for defects not discoverable by ordinary inspection.
At check-out, practical evidence may include dated photographs, an inventory, meter readings, key-delivery records, correspondence and repair invoices. A missing inventory does not by itself prove that no damage occurred; equally, an unsupported assertion of damage does not establish a deduction. Identify the obligation, evidence and amount of each disputed claim.
Do not assume a universal formula multiplying the original number of deposit months by the latest monthly rent. The wording of the agreement, payment currency, bank balance and interest, handling of the money and applicable remedies need assessment. A claim about revaluation should be supported by a verified judgment relevant to the particular contractual facts.
This guide does not represent that every tenant has a guaranteed current-rent-adjusted refund. It also does not treat the original nominal sum as necessarily resolving every dispute about interest or loss.
No. Its security rules also cover roofed commercial leases.
No. Article 342 does not contain that threshold.
The bank-release conditions in Article 342 require joint consent, a finalised enforcement proceeding or a final judgment. The tenant also has the specific post-termination release route described above.
No. Distinguish ordinary wear from damage attributable to the tenant and review the evidence.
No universal current-rent multiplier is stated here. The contract, bank arrangement, interest and applicable remedies must be assessed.
Source-check update: 27 September 2026. General information, not case-specific advice. Unverified case-number references and blanket refund formulas from the earlier version have been removed.
