Türkiye is a land of rich culture and history, offering breathtaking landscapes and unique opportunities for both residents and expatriates. For many who choose to make Türkiye their home, renting a property is the first step towards settling in.
Reaching the five year mark in a Turkish tenancy is often assumed to unlock special new protections for the tenant, an idea frequently summarised as 5 yılını dolduran kiracının hakları, the rights of a tenant who has completed five years. This guide corrects that assumption directly: the five year mark does not create additional eviction protection and does not cap rent increases more tightly than before. What it actually does is open the door to a specific court process, generally used by landlords, that can adjust rent to market levels. This article explains what genuinely changes at five years, what does not, and which later milestone, at ten years, actually matters far more for a tenant's security of tenure. This forms an important part of understanding long-term rental agreements in Turkey.
Quick Answer: Completing five years in a Turkish rental property does not, by itself, grant a tenant any additional protection against eviction, and it does not impose a new cap on rent increases. What it actually does, under Article 344 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, is allow either party, though in practice almost always the landlord, to file a rent determination lawsuit, kira tespit davası, asking a court to set a new rent based on comparable market rents rather than the standard consumer price index cap that governs ordinary renewals. The genuinely significant milestone for a tenant's security of tenure is not five years but ten: under Article 347, once ten years of lease extensions have passed following the end of the original fixed term, a landlord can terminate the tenancy without stating any reason at all, provided proper written notice is given at least three months before the end of that year's renewal period.
Under ordinary circumstances, a Turkish residential or commercial lease renews automatically each year, with the rent increase at each renewal capped at the 12 month average change in the Consumer Price Index, a limit that applies from the very first renewal and does not depend on how long the tenancy has run. This cap, set out in Article 344 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, applies uniformly to every tenancy in its early years, regardless of whether the property is a small apartment or a substantial commercial unit, and it is the same mechanism that governs rent increases in year two, year three, and year four of a tenancy.
What changes once a tenancy reaches five years is narrower and more specific than many summaries suggest: from that point onward, either party can file a rent determination lawsuit under the same Article 344, asking the court to set the rent according to comparable rents in the area, hak ve nesafet, fairness and equity, rather than the standard index based formula. This does not replace the ordinary annual renewal process; it exists alongside it, as an additional legal tool that becomes available once five years have genuinely passed.
It is important to be direct about this: the ability to file this lawsuit is not, on its own, a benefit to the tenant. In practice, this route is used overwhelmingly by landlords whose rent has fallen well behind the comparable market rate for similar properties in the area, precisely because long running tenancies with modest annual increases can leave the contractual rent significantly below what the same unit could command if rented out fresh today. A landlord who successfully brings this action can secure a rent increase considerably larger than what the ordinary index based cap would have allowed at that year's renewal.
Where this lawsuit is filed after five years have passed, the court sets the new rent taking into account the state of the property, comparable rents for similar properties in the vicinity, emsal kira bedelleri, and general equity. Courts have consistently applied what is commonly called an old tenant discount, eski kiracı indirimi, a reduction applied to reflect the practical reality that a sitting tenant with an established history in the property is not in exactly the same position as a brand new tenant renting the unit for the first time. This discount tempers, but does not eliminate, the increase a landlord can obtain through this process.
Where a landlord wishes to bring this action, written notice to the tenant is generally required at least 30 days before the end of the current contract year. There is no overall time limit on when this type of lawsuit can be filed once the five year threshold has passed; it remains available at any point afterward, and can also be filed again in later years, since after the first successful determination, this route can be used again in subsequent years as well. Once the court's determination is issued, the new rent generally applies retroactively to the start of the new rental year in question, meaning a tenant who continued paying the old rent while the case was pending can be required to pay the difference for that period.
Where rent has been agreed in a foreign currency, or indexed to one, a distinct rule applies: this type of rent cannot be judicially redetermined until the contract itself has been in place for five years, a protection specifically aimed at insulating tenants under foreign currency leases, which remain relatively common in certain parts of Türkiye, from earlier currency driven adjustment claims.
A separate and equally common misconception is that completing five years in a property either exposes a tenant to eviction or, conversely, shields them from it. Neither is correct. Turkish law does not treat the passage of five years, by itself, as a ground for eviction, nor as a source of special protection against it. A landlord cannot evict a tenant simply because five years have passed, and a tenant does not become harder to evict simply because they have reached that same point.
Eviction in Türkiye is instead governed by a specific, closed list of grounds that apply regardless of how long the tenancy has run, including the landlord's own genuine need to use the property personally or for a close family member, a properly documented need for substantial renovation or reconstruction, the tenant's failure to pay rent despite two valid written warnings within a single rental year, and a tenant's own signed commitment to vacate the property by a specific date. Our dedicated guide on eviction laws for tenants in Turkey covers these grounds in detail, and specific scenarios such as renovation-related evictions in Turkey carry their own detailed requirements that apply independently of tenancy length.
This closed list matters because it means a tenant cannot be evicted simply on the basis that a court has separately determined a new, higher rent under the process described in section 1 above. The two processes, rent determination and eviction, are legally independent of one another. A landlord pursuing a rent determination lawsuit is not, by that action alone, also pursuing eviction, and a tenant who successfully defends against an eviction claim is not thereby protected from a separate, later rent determination case.
If there is a single tenancy length milestone that genuinely changes a landlord's legal position in a meaningful way, it is ten years, not five. Under Article 347 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, once a fixed term residential or roofed workplace lease has been extended year by year for a cumulative period of ten years following the end of its original fixed term, the landlord gains the right to terminate the tenancy without providing any reason at all. This right requires proper written notice, given at least three months before the end of the relevant renewal year, and is most reliably delivered through a notary to ensure it can be clearly proven later if needed.
A detail that catches many tenants and landlords by surprise is that this ten year period is counted from the end of the original fixed term stated in the contract, not from the date the tenant first moved in. For a lease that began with a standard one year fixed term, for example, the ten year extension period does not start running until that first year concludes, meaning the landlord's no-cause termination right in practice does not arise until the eleventh year of the tenancy overall.
Unlike the rent determination process available after five years, which only affects the rent a tenant pays, the ten year right under Article 347 can end the tenancy altogether, without the landlord needing to show personal need, an intention to renovate, or any other justification. For tenants planning around long term housing stability in Türkiye, this is the milestone genuinely worth understanding and preparing for, and our overview of terminating a rental agreement after 10 years in Türkiye sets out the specific notice requirements and timing in full.
A tenant approaching five years in a Turkish rental property should expect that their landlord may become entitled to pursue a market rate rent adjustment through the courts, and should treat a notice of intent to do so as a serious matter rather than an empty threat, given that courts have consistently upheld this mechanism. At the same time, a tenant should not assume that five years brings any new protection against being asked to leave, since ordinary eviction grounds continue to apply exactly as they did in year one. Understanding that the real long term security question is what happens as the tenancy approaches ten years, not five, allows for more realistic planning, particularly for tenants who intend to remain in the same property for an extended period.
No. Turkish law does not grant any special eviction protection based purely on having reached five years in a tenancy. The same closed list of eviction grounds applies regardless of how long the tenancy has run.
No, and in practice the opposite is closer to the truth. After five years, either party can file a rent determination lawsuit asking a court to set the rent according to comparable market rents, which can result in a larger increase than the standard index based cap would have allowed.
Almost always the landlord, since this route is most useful to a landlord whose contractual rent has fallen behind the comparable market rate for similar properties in the area.
A reduction courts commonly apply when determining a new rent under this process, reflecting the practical reality that a long standing tenant is not in the same position as someone renting the unit fresh, which tempers, but does not eliminate, the increase a landlord can obtain.
No overall time limit applies once the five year threshold has passed; the lawsuit remains available at that point and can be used again in later years as well.
Generally yes, back to the start of the rental year in question, meaning a tenant who continued paying the previous rent during the case can be required to pay the difference for that period.
Yes. Rent agreed in, or indexed to, a foreign currency cannot be judicially redetermined until the lease itself has been in place for five years, a specific protection for this type of arrangement.
The more significant milestone is ten years. Under Article 347 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, a landlord gains the right to terminate the lease without stating any reason once ten years of extensions have passed following the end of the original fixed term.
From the end of the original fixed term stated in the lease, not from the date the tenant moved in, meaning the landlord's no-cause termination right typically does not arise until the eleventh year of the overall tenancy for a standard one year initial term.
Written notice given at least three months before the end of the relevant renewal year, ideally delivered through a notary so it can be clearly proven if the matter is later disputed.
Yes, where one of the recognised eviction grounds applies, such as the landlord's genuine personal need, a documented renovation requirement, repeated non-payment despite two valid warnings in a year, or the tenant's own written commitment to vacate; none of these depend on the tenancy having reached any particular length.
No. It is a separate legal process concerned only with the rent amount, not with ending the tenancy, and a landlord who also wants to evict the tenant needs to rely on one of the recognised eviction grounds independently.
Either party can technically file this lawsuit once five years have passed, though in practice it is used almost exclusively by landlords seeking to bring a below market rent up to comparable levels.
No. The ten year period under Article 347 runs independently from the end of the original fixed term of the lease and is not affected by a rent determination lawsuit or its outcome.
The five year mark in a Turkish tenancy is genuinely significant, but not for the reasons commonly assumed. It does not create new protection against eviction, and it does not cap rent increases; instead, it opens a court process, generally used by landlords, that can bring a below market rent up to a comparable market level. The milestone that actually matters most for a tenant's ability to stay in a property long term is ten years, when a landlord gains the right to end the tenancy without needing to give any reason at all. Understanding this distinction accurately, rather than relying on the commonly repeated but inaccurate idea that five years brings new tenant protections, is essential for planning a long term rental in Türkiye with realistic expectations.
Whether you are a foreign national navigating the Turkish rental market or a long term resident approaching either of these milestones, for detailed and personalised guidance tailored to your specific lease, it is advisable to consult with legal counsel. Contact Bayraktar Attorneys today to discuss your situation.
