Turkish legislation changes requires action

What’s new?

For anyone who has been renting their property in Turkey since 2012, you may remember when the laws affecting non Turkish citizens were first imposed; meaning short term property lets had to be established as a company. Turkey has recently announced changes for a further update to the legislation which requires any property used for short term or temporary rentals to have a license from the Municipal Council. In the past you could choose whether to register or not, however it is now mandatory to register the visitors via the GIYKIMBIL system (Gecic Yerlesim Kimlik Bildirim Sistemi – this is a central database the police and government have access to, that records all hosting services including guest information).

Why are they introducing the change?

Even though the law has been in effect for a long time now, due to increased terror threats to Turkey and the rest of the world, the government have taken the decision to escalate these changes to priority status in the interest of national safety and security.

How does that affect me?

This change in legislation means two things:

1. If you currently own a property in Turkey that is used for short term or temporary letting, you must obtain a license for the property. Once obtained you may continue to operate as long as you comply with the Turkey Business Law.
2. The government have declared a tax amnesty on all previous earnings from the rental of the property, providing you have registered your property by the deadline given of June 2017. Failure to do so could result in previous income received from rental to be considered eligible for taxation. If you have declared no income has been received, then they might request copies of your accounts as evidence.

The government have warned people they could be charged up to triple the amount of calculated lost taxes, if they declared their property a non-rental when it has in fact been used as a rental. Evidence used to support this will include any form of advertising, whether that’s via social media, websites, word of mouth etc.

If I don’t rent my holiday home, do I still need to register?

Regulations are only for those who create income from their rental. This even includes occasional rentals to friends or family if they contribute any sort of payment.

What next?

This is the extent of our knowledge on the matter, so if this does apply to you and has prompted some questions than it might be worth speaking to your property manager or seeking further legal advice. This article does not purport to be comprehensive or to give legal advice. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, Intasure cannot be held liable for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies contained within the article. Readers should not act upon (or refrain from acting upon) information in this document without first taking further specialist or professional advice. Intasure can help you get the cover you need as a Turkish property owner. Give our friendly Turkish home insurance team a call on 0345 111 0680 to find out more. *The opinions and views expressed in the above articles are those of the author only and are for guidance purposes only. The authors disclaim any liability for reliance upon those opinions and would encourage readers to rely upon more than one source before making a decision based on the information.