Türkiye's first state-built social rental housing scheme has completed its application stage in Istanbul, with Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum saying the first 1,071 homes will be allocated by lottery in October.
The project, run by the Housing Development Administration (TOKİ), aims to ease pressure from rising rents by offering newly built homes to low- and middle-income families at below-market rents. Istanbul is the starting point for a planned 15,000 rental units in the city.
Applications were accepted free of charge through the e-Devlet portal between Sept. 14 and Sept. 25. "Our homes are waiting for the people of Istanbul," Kurum said in a statement reported on Sept. 26.
Who can apply and what it costs
Applicants had to be married Turkish citizens aged at least 18 who have lived in Istanbul for at least a year without interruption. Household net income could not exceed 100,000 liras per month, and neither the applicant nor their spouse may own a home or have previously bought one from TOKİ.
Monthly rents are set at 10,000 liras for a one-bedroom (1+1) apartment, 12,000–17,000 liras for a 2+1, 15,000–18,000 liras for a 3+1 and 18,000–20,000 liras for a 4+1. Newly married couples are offered smaller units, while families with two or more children can be allocated larger homes.
Contracts run for three years and cannot be extended. Rents are fixed for the first 12 months after handover and then increase each January in line with consumer inflation. Tenants who acquire a home during the contract must vacate the rental. After three years, units are refurbished and allocated to new families through the same system.
Where the homes are
The first-stage homes are spread across four groups of districts: 360 units in Başakşehir, Gaziosmanpaşa, Beyoğlu and Güngören; 330 in Maltepe, Tuzla and Kartal; 291 in Ataşehir, Sancaktepe, Ümraniye and Üsküdar; and 90 in Arnavutköy. Applicants could choose any group regardless of where they currently live.
Longer term, the government has said it intends to build 500,000 social rental homes across the country over 25 years, helping about 100,000 people a year. Kurum has said rents in some areas could be as low as half of local market levels.
The scheme is separate from the government's 500,000-unit "Housing Project of the Century," under which social homes are sold to lottery winners on installment plans, with first handovers targeted for March 2027.
Sources
- Türkiye launches rental housing program for low-income households
- İstanbul'da TOKİ kiralık sosyal konutlarına kimler başvurabilecek? (Euronews)
- TOKİ İstanbul kiralık sosyal konut kurası ne zaman? (Politikam)
Photo: Zeynel Cebeci / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
