Türkiye’s Trade Ministry has fined 152 real estate and car dealership businesses a combined 15.2 million lira for advertising properties and vehicles on social media in breach of listing rules, Anadolu Agency reported on Sunday, citing a ministry statement.
In the latest round, 70 estate agencies and car dealers that posted non-compliant listings on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok were fined a total of 7 million lira. The ministry also fined the Turkish units of the two platforms: Meta Platforms İstanbul was fined 20 million lira and TikTok İstanbul 4 million lira. Meta’s fines under the campaign now total 36.2 million lira.
What the rules require
The penalties are tied to the Electronic Listing Verification System (EİDS), which the ministry introduced to stop fake listings, duplicate ads and consumer harm in the property and second-hand vehicle markets. Under the rules, any real estate or vehicle listing published electronically — including on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and TikTok — must pass identity and authority verification, confirming that the advertiser is the owner or an authorised agent.
On social media, photos, videos and descriptions of a property or car may only be shared together with a link to an EİDS-verified listing, and the visuals must relate to that specific property or vehicle. The ministry also said listings should include a price, warning that leaving it out can harm consumers.
The platforms were fined because the ministry found they had not integrated with EİDS and had not met their own verification obligations. The ministry said it would keep monitoring property and vehicle ads closely.
Why it matters for foreign buyers
Social media has become a major shop window for Turkish property, particularly for coastal homes marketed to buyers abroad through Instagram reels and paid ads. For foreigners, an EİDS-verified link is a quick first check that the person advertising a home is entitled to sell or rent it, and the requirement to show a price makes "price on request" posts harder to justify.
The crackdown is part of a wider push on advertising. The ministry recently announced fines of 249 million lira for misleading ads across sectors, while a planned secure payment system for property sales has been pushed back to December 1. Demand from abroad remains steady, with foreigners buying 1,949 homes in August.
Buyers should still carry out full due diligence, including a title deed check and independent legal advice; our guide to buying property in Turkey as a foreigner sets out the main steps.
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Sources
Photo: Santeri Viinamäki (both photo and screenshot) / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
