If you own a flat or villa in Türkiye and want to let it to holidaymakers, the rules changed fundamentally on 1 January 2024. Law No. 7464 on the tourism-purpose rental of homes, published in the Official Gazette (Resmi Gazete) on 2 November 2023, made a permit from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism compulsory before any short-term holiday letting. This guide explains who needs the permit, how to apply, what it costs, the 2026 fines and the tax questions owners most often ask, with particular notes for villa owners in Fethiye, Kaş, Kalkan and Bodrum.
What the law covers
The permit – officially the "Turizm Amaçlı Kiralanan Konut İzin Belgesi" – is required when a home is rented out for tourism purposes for 100 days or less under a single contract. Nationality of owner or guests does not matter. In practice, almost every Airbnb, Booking.com or holiday-villa booking falls inside the scope.
The law does not apply to ordinary long-term residential leases, which remain governed by the Turkish Code of Obligations, or to businesses that already hold a tourism operation certificate or a simple accommodation certificate (hotels, boutique hotels, licensed apart-hotels and similar).
Do not try to avoid the rules by signing "long-term" contracts that are really holiday lets. The law specifically fines owners who rent the same home more than four times in a year under contracts longer than 100 days, and the base fine for that is 1,000,000 lira before revaluation.
Who can apply
Only the title-deed holder can apply, or the holder of a registered usufruct or surface right. A tenant on a long-term lease cannot obtain a permit to sublet the property for tourism. If someone other than the owner runs the letting, the law allows an A-group travel agency to apply on the owner’s behalf.
For foreign owners, the Muğla provincial directorate of culture and tourism explains that foreigners holding a Turkish residence or work permit (and therefore a foreigner identity number starting with 99) can apply themselves through e-Devlet, the government’s online portal. Foreigners without residence usually need to appoint a representative under a notarised power of attorney. If you are still setting up e-Devlet access, our moving to Turkey checklist covers the basics.
Consent from the other owners
This is the rule that stops most apartment owners. If your flat is in a building with more than one independent unit, you need a unanimous decision of all the unit owners in that building agreeing to tourism rentals, certified by a notary. The ministry’s guidance says a decision recorded in a notarised management resolution book is acceptable, but a general assembly majority vote or a clause in the management plan on its own is not enough. One objecting neighbour is therefore sufficient to block a permit.
There are further limits in larger buildings. In buildings with more than three units, a single owner can hold permits for no more than 25% of the units. If the same owner wants permits for more than five units in one building, a workplace opening and operating licence from the municipality is also required, and on multi-block sites the unanimous consent of all owners across the whole site.
Detached houses and villas standing alone on their own plot do not need neighbours’ consent, according to the Muğla directorate’s guidance, which is why the system is far easier for villa owners than for flat owners.
How to apply step by step
Applications are made online only; the provincial directorates do not accept paper applications. Log in to e-Devlet (turkiye.gov.tr), search for "Turizm Amaçlı Konut İzin Belgesi Başvurusu" and you will be routed to the ministry’s citizen system at vatandas.ktb.gov.tr. All documents are uploaded as PDFs.
You will typically need:
– a copy of your Turkish ID card or, for foreigners, your passport, plus a signature declaration if your ID does not show a specimen signature; – a current title-deed record (tapu); – if the deed describes the land as "tarla", "arsa" or "bahçe" (field, plot or garden) rather than a residence, a building registration certificate showing residential use, uploaded together with the deed; – for shared ownership, written consent of owners holding more than half of the shares (or of all owners in joint ownership) and a named representative; – the notarised unanimous consent of the building’s owners, where relevant; – a registered electronic notification address (UETS), which can be obtained at a PTT post office; – for companies, the tax number, trade registry or MERSIS number and signature circular.
If the ministry finds missing documents, you are told the reasons and must correct the same application rather than filing a new one; the Istanbul directorate’s guidance says identified deficiencies must be fixed within five days.
The 30 May 2024 amendment to the implementing regulation extended the ministry’s review period to 60 days and made an on-site inspection compulsory after an application is accepted. Inspectors check the home against minimum standards: at least one bed, a bathroom and toilet, a living area and a kitchen; hot and cold water; proper bedding and towels for each guest; a fire extinguisher; smoke detectors; and an escape plan posted behind the door. Capacity is fixed at two people per bedroom plus up to two more, with a ceiling of 12 guests (children under three are not counted).
Fees and the plaque
The law leaves the permit and plaque fees to the ministry. When the system launched, the Istanbul directorate’s applicant guide listed a permit fee of 5,000 lira and a plaque fee of 5,000 lira per home, paid into the ministry’s revolving-fund account at Ziraat Bankası, with the receipts uploaded within 15 days of approval. We could not find an official 2026 update to those figures, so check the amount shown in the system when you apply.
Once issued, the plaque must be fixed at the entrance of the home. Failing to display it carries its own fine, with 15 days to put it up.
Guest registration (KBS)
Permit holders fall under Law No. 1774 on identity notification, the same law that obliges hotels to report guests. The permit holder is legally responsible for registering each guest’s identity with the security forces – in practice through the police (or, in rural areas, gendarmerie) identity notification system known as KBS. Contact the local police or gendarmerie station after your permit is issued to obtain access, and register guests when they arrive.
Fines in 2026
The fines in Law 7464 are administrative fines that are increased every January by the official revaluation rate. For 2026 that rate was 25.49%. Based on the 2025 amounts reported in Fethiye inspections and the 2026 revaluation, the main penalties for renting without a permit are now:
– first detection: 180,617 lira per home, and 15 days to obtain a permit; – continuing after that deadline: 903,088 lira, with a further 15 days; – still continuing: 1,806,177 lira.
Intermediaries who arrange bookings for unpermitted homes face 180,617 lira per contract, and online platforms that fail to remove an unpermitted listing within 24 hours of a ministry warning face a fine per listing and can have access blocked. Lower fines (50,000 lira base, revalued annually) apply to permit holders who fail to answer ministry requests within 30 days, do not report a change of operator or do not prove payment of the tourism share; misleading listings or failing to deliver what was promised carry a 100,000 lira base fine. A home that no longer meets the standards can lose its permit if the defects are not fixed within 15 days.
Enforcement is real on the coast. In June 2025 the authorities in Fethiye fined the owners of 42 villas a combined 6.05 million lira for renting without permits.
Booking platforms are now part of the system too. Airbnb’s help pages state that from 1 April 2026, hosts in Türkiye must enter the permit number, the permit holder’s name and the listing address exactly as issued, and listings with invalid details cannot keep hosting.
Taxes and accommodation tax
The permit does not replace your tax obligations. Short-term rental income must be declared in the annual income tax return filed in March, and non-resident owners are taxed on income earned in Türkiye. Our rental income tax guide for foreign landlords explains returns, deductions and deadlines in detail.
The difficult question is whether holiday letting is ordinary rental income (gayrimenkul sermaye iradı) or commercial income with VAT. In a general letter dated 24 January 2025, the Revenue Administration (GİB) told tax offices to treat permit holders as commercial businesses, with income tax on business profits and 20% VAT. The Council of State (Danıştay) suspended that letter in October 2025; after procedural objections, the suspension was reinstated in April 2026 and an objection by the administration was rejected on 29 June 2026, according to lawyers following the case. The court reasoned that renting a home short term does not, on its own, make it a business unless it is run like a hotel or pension with services such as meals or daily cleaning. The final ruling on the merits was still pending when we checked, so the position may change. Take advice from a Turkish accountant (mali müşavir) before filing, especially if you offer hotel-style services.
The accommodation tax (konaklama vergisi) is normally 2% of the overnight charge, but Presidential Decision No. 11263, published on 1 May 2026, cut it to 1% until 31 December 2026. Whether it applies to a privately let home depends on the same commercial-activity question, so again, confirm with your accountant. Permit holders may also have to prove payment of the tourism share under Law No. 7183 within the period set by the ministry.
Notes for Fethiye, Kaş, Kalkan and Bodrum villas
The Muğla and Antalya coasts are where enforcement has been most visible, because so many detached villas are let by the week. A few local points:
– Many older villas sit on land registered as "tarla" or with only a building registration certificate (yapı kayıt belgesi) from the 2018 zoning amnesty. You need that certificate showing residential use; an expired or cancelled one will be rejected, and the ministry checks the QR code. – Villas on gated sites with several houses on one plot may count as a single building for consent purposes. Check how the title deeds are structured before assuming you are exempt. – Rentals managed by a local agency still need a permit in the owner’s name; the agency is fined separately if it rents an unpermitted home.
For a wider picture of the region, see our guides to living in Fethiye, Kaş and Kalkan and Bodrum. If you are buying with rental income in mind, read our guide to buying property in Turkey as a foreigner and recent changes such as the tighter listing rules for foreign property owners.
Common mistakes
– Buying a flat for holiday letting without first checking that every neighbour will sign the notarised consent. – Starting to take bookings while the application is pending; new applicants may not rent until the permit is issued. – Treating the permit as a tax registration – it is not, and income must still be declared. – Forgetting KBS guest registration or the plaque, each of which carries separate sanctions. – Letting a friend or tenant "manage" the home and sublet it in their own name, which is fined per contract.
Our free property guide brings these and other ownership checks together in one PDF.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Do I need a permit if I only rent my holiday home for a few weeks a year?
A: Yes. There is no minimum number of nights. Any tourism-purpose rental of up to 100 days per contract needs a permit before the contract is made.
Q: Can I apply as a foreigner without a residence permit?
A: Applications are made through e-Devlet, which requires a Turkish identity or foreigner identity number. Provincial guidance says foreigners without residence should act through a representative with a notarised power of attorney, or an A-group travel agency can apply where it runs the letting.
Q: My villa is detached. Do I still need neighbours’ consent?
A: Not for a single detached house on its own plot, according to ministry guidance. If your villa is one of several units in one building or on a shared site, consent rules may still apply.
Q: How much is the fine for renting without a permit in 2026?
A: The first fine is 180,617 lira per home, rising to 903,088 lira and then 1,806,177 lira if you keep renting after each 15-day deadline.
Q: Will I have to pay VAT on my holiday rental income?
A: That is disputed. The tax authority’s 2025 instruction to treat permit holders as businesses with VAT was suspended by the Council of State, but the final ruling is pending. Ask an accountant how to declare your income.
This guide is general information and not legal or tax advice; rules and fees change, so check with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, a Turkish lawyer or an accountant before acting.
Sources
- 7464 sayılı Konutların Turizm Amaçlı Kiralanmasına ve Bazı Kanunlarda Değişiklik Yapılmasına Dair Kanun (Resmi Gazete 02.11.2023, sayı 32357 – Lexpera)
- Konutların Turizm Amaçlı Kiralanması – başvuru sunumu (Muğla İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü)
- Konutların Turizm Amaçlı Kiralanması – başvuru rehberi (İstanbul İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü)
- Konaklama vergisi oranı %1’e indirildi – Cumhurbaşkanı Kararı 11263 (PwC Türkiye vergi bülteni)
- Yeniden değerleme oranı yüzde 25,49 oldu (CNBC-e)
- Evimi günlük kiraya vermek istiyorum: izin belgesi ve cezalar (Av. Mert Çelik, 2026 ceza tutarları)
- Yazlık konut kiralamada 6 milyon lira ceza (Ekonomist, Fethiye, Haziran 2025)
- Airbnb Vergisi: Danıştay Kararı Sonrası Kısa Süreli Konut Kiralamalarında Vergilendirme (Öner Hukuk, 2026)
- Danıştay’dan Airbnb kararı: evini turizm amaçlı kiralamak ticari faaliyet sayılamaz (Gazete Oksijen)
- Türkiye’de ev sahipliği ve yasal düzenlemeler (Airbnb Yardım Merkezi)
Photo: Kevin Carvill / Unsplash License, via Unsplash
