My Landlord Raised the Rent Too Much, What Should I Do?

According to the Turkish Code of Obligations, in order to protect tenants, the increase in the rental price for residential and roofed workplace leases is limited to not exceed 25% of the previous year's rental price between June 11, 2022 and July 1, 2024...

What is the Problem?

A lease agreement is one of the contracts regulated under the Turkish Code of Obligations, which results in the lessor's obligation to the lessee to use or benefit from any movable (bicycle, car, etc.) or immovable (apartment, detached house, etc.) property or a right in return for a rental fee. Although it is regulated that no changes can be made to the detriment of the lessee in housing and roofed workplace leases, which are regulated more in favor of the lessees due to social need, the amount of the rent is foreseen as an exception to this rule and the amount of the rent increase to be applied in the next lease year is subject to the mutual agreement of the parties. However, as stated in Provisional Article 1 and Provisional Article 2 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (TCO), the rent increase to be applied in the new lease years between June 11, 2022 and July 1, 2024 cannot be more than twenty-five percent of the rent applied in the previous lease year. If the lessor wishes to realize an increase above this amount, the agreement regarding this excess amount will be invalid.

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

As mentioned above, the determination of the rent increase to be applied in the next lease year depends on the agreement of the parties. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, according to the temporary articles in question; the increase in the rent amount to be applied in the next lease year by the decision of the judge as a result of the rent determination lawsuit to be filed by the lessor against the lessee will be at most twenty-five percent of the rent received in the previous lease year. However, if the twelve-month increase rate in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) valid in the previous lease year is less than this twenty-five percent rate; the rate of increase in the rental price can be at most as much as this CPI increase rate.

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

First of all, the amount of the rent increase to be applied in the next lease year can only be determined by an agreement between the lessor and the lessee, and in any case, the amount of this rent increase must be at most the twelve-month rate of change in the CPI calculated in the previous lease year. Any agreement on the amount of rent increase exceeding this rate is invalid for the excess amount.

On the other hand, if the parties cannot come to an agreement, the rent to be applied in the next lease year may be increased with the decision to be rendered as a result of the rent determination lawsuit to be filed by the lessor against the lessee based on the regulation in Article 344/2 of the TCO. However, the rate of increase in the rental price to be ruled by the judge may be at most as much as the CPI increase rate valid in the previous lease year. If the date of the lease year to which the lessor wants the rent increase to be applied is between June 11, 2022 and July 1, 2024 and the CPI increase rate of the previous lease year is more than twenty-five percent; according to the aforementioned temporary articles of the TCO, the rent increase rate to be ruled by the judge may be at a maximum rate of twenty-five percent.

Although the rate of rent increase is limited in the law, at the end of each five-year period starting from the beginning of the lease agreement, the lessor may request from the judge to increase the rental price to be applied in the next lease year up to the current rental price obtained from the immovables of similar quality to the immovables that are the subject of the lease agreement in the rent adjustment lawsuit to be filed against the lessee based on Article 344/3 of the TCO. In this case, the rent increase rate to be determined by the judge may be more than twenty-five percent or the CPI increase rate of the previous lease year, and may be at most as much as the increase rate of the fair rental price of the comparable immovable properties of the same value as the leased immovable.

The lessor may file the rent determination and rent adjustment lawsuits against the lessee in the civil court of peace in the place where the lessee resides or where the payment of the rent is agreed. However, in order to file these lawsuits, the parties must first apply to a mediator as a condition of the lawsuit. If one of these lawsuits is filed without applying to the mediator, the lawsuit will be dismissed procedurally. If the parties fail to reach an agreement after applying to the mediator, these lawsuits can be filed as of the mediator's determination of this issue with a final report. Furthermore, these lawsuits are subject to simple trial procedure.

TCO Art. 345 of the TCO, in order for the court decision to be rendered as a result of these lawsuits to be filed pursuant to Art. 345 of the TCO and ruling on the increase of the rental price to take effect as of the beginning of the lease year requested and demanded by the lessor; if there is an article regarding the rent increase in the lease agreement, the lessor must file one of these lawsuits until the end of this lease year; If there is no such clause in the lease agreement, the lessor must file one of these lawsuits at least thirty days before the beginning of this lease year, or file a lawsuit until the end of this lease year after notifying the lessee in writing (for example, by sending a notice through a notary public) that the rent will increase on this date. Otherwise, this court decision will take effect from the beginning of the next lease year, not from the lease year requested by the lessor.