Determining residential and roofed business rent after five years in Türkiye: comparable rents, equity, notice, increase clauses, mediation and court procedure.
1. Ordinary annual increases and five-year assessment
For residential and roofed business leases, Article 344 of the Code of Obligations distinguishes ordinary renewal increases from a judicial assessment after five years. A five-year assessment does not mean that a landlord can unilaterally set any market price.
Under the ordinary renewal rules, agreed increases are valid only within the preceding rental year's twelve-month-average consumer-price-index (TÜFE) change. If there is no agreement, the judge determines an equitable amount within that ceiling, taking the property's condition into account.
Code of Obligations, Article 344(3) — explanation
For leases longer than five years or renewed after five years, and at the end of each subsequent five-year period, the judge assesses the new rental year's rent equitably by considering the twelve-month-average CPI change, the property's condition and comparable rents.
In that assessment, CPI remains a factor but is not the sole ceiling. An adjustment based on exceptional hardship under Article 138 is a different legal route with different conditions.
2. Calculating the five years
Identify the true commencement of the tenancy and each rental year's start. Ordinary annual renewal does not reset the relationship to zero. A later document must be examined to determine whether it merely records the continuing lease or has a different legal effect.
For example, in an uninterrupted tenancy beginning on 1 March 2021, five years are completed on 1 March 2026 and the sixth rental year begins then. The effect of any earlier judicial determination or genuine new arrangement must also be checked.
The current Article 344(3) refers to each subsequent five-year period. An older decision describing three indexed years must not be copied as a universal current rule that market-based reassessment becomes available every three years.
For earlier periods, historical index rules and temporary restrictions may matter. The relevant date is the rental period being assessed, not simply today's date or the date the lawyer is consulted.
3. Article 345: filing, notice and the effective rental period
A rent-determination action may be brought at any time, but the period from which the determined amount binds the tenant depends on Article 345.
Thus a judgment issued after filing may apply to the beginning of an already-started rental year where the statutory conditions are met. It is misleading to say it can never have that effect. Nor can a landlord select arbitrary closed past periods without satisfying the applicable rules.
Check the clause, notice content, delivery evidence and dates. Plan mandatory mediation early; do not assume that mediation automatically substitutes for the Article 345 notice or preserves every effective-date condition.
4. Comparable rents, experts and equity
The court examines the property's location, size, condition, use and other relevant features. Expert inspection and genuinely comparable leases help assess what it could obtain on a new letting, followed by an equitable evaluation of the existing tenancy.
- Use comparable properties with similar characteristics and relevant dates.
- Distinguish actual agreed rents from advertised asking prices.
- Check whether figures are monthly or annual and net or gross.
- Address differences such as renovation, floor, access and commercial use.
- Explain the existing tenant's position in the equity assessment.
An old-tenant equity reduction is not a statutory fixed percentage. A decision applying 10% in a particular file does not establish that every court must use 10%, or any other universal rate. The report and the judgment should explain the comparison and resulting assessment.
Do not assume that a listing alone proves the requested rent. The claimant's requested amount, the amount already paid and the applicable procedural limits must also be examined.
5. Does a contractual increase prevent determination?
No. Article 344(3) applies whether or not the parties agreed on renewal increases. Paying the valid contractual increase does not by itself prevent a qualifying five-year assessment.
Conversely, the presence of a clause does not make every contractual rate enforceable beyond mandatory protections. Its wording matters both for annual calculation and for the effective-date rule in Article 345.
For rent denominated in foreign currency, Article 344(4) preserves the currency-protection legislation and the hardship provision, and contains its own five-year framework. It is not permission to make every residential lease in foreign currency; the applicable restrictions and exceptions must be checked separately.
6. Court and mandatory mediation
Under Article 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure, rent-determination disputes ordinarily fall within the civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi), irrespective of the amount. Venue is examined under Articles 6 and 10 and any applicable special rules.
Article 18/B of Law No. 6325 makes pre-action mediation a prerequisite for rental disputes within its scope. The statutory exception concerning non-judgment eviction enforcement should not be mistaken for a general exemption for a rent-determination action.
Prepare the original lease, later agreements, payment records, renewal dates, increase clause, notices, comparable leases and final mediation record. The court assesses the evidence and expert report; the parties should identify concrete errors or missing comparisons.
A rent-determination judgment is not an eviction order. Eviction requires its own legal ground and procedure.
7. Rent differences, payment and historical caps
The period for which a newly determined rent applies must be distinguished from when a difference can be collected, the judgment's finality and the starting point of interest. Do not assume that interest on every difference automatically runs from the first day of the rental year.
Examine the operative judgment and the applicable collection rules before commencing proceedings for the difference. A declaration of rent and an order for payment are not the same type of relief.
Temporary 25% residential-renewal restrictions concerned specified historical periods. They should not be shown as a current general ceiling for 2026 or treated as a universal rule governing a five-year assessment. If a historical period is disputed, examine the exact temporary provision, dates and scope.
Historical judgments referring to ÜFE rather than today's TÜFE wording must likewise be read within their applicable legislation.
8. Checklist for landlords and tenants
Landlord
- Prove the true commencement and relevant five-year cycle.
- Check Article 345 and any contractual increase term.
- Plan notice and mediation in time.
- Present comparable evidence rather than an arbitrary increase.
- Distinguish rent determination, collection and eviction.
Tenant
- Keep the original lease and payment history.
- Check the requested period and the landlord's notice.
- Compare the expert's examples with the actual property.
- Identify net/gross differences and relevant equity factors.
- Continue to assess existing payment obligations; a pending case is not permission to stop rent.
A decision about one building or a fixed reduction in one case should not be presented as a guaranteed outcome for another tenancy.
9. Legislation and official sources
- Code of Obligations No. 6098: principally Articles 344 and 345.
- Mediation Law No. 6325: Article 18/B.
- Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100: Articles 4, 6 and 10.
- Official Court of Cassation judgment search.
General information
General information on Turkish law as at October 2026. The original tenancy, renewal dates, increase terms, notices and earlier judgments must be examined. Foreign-currency and special transitional rules require separate assessment. The Turkish legislation governs.