Rental Deposit and Landlord Disputes for Foreign Tenants in Türkiye

Many foreigners rent on the Aegean coast before, or instead of, buying, and the most common friction with a landlord shows up at three moments: getting the deposit back at move-out, a sudden rent increase, and pressure to leave. Turkish law sets a defined path for these disputes and places real limits on what a landlord can do. Knowing the path, and following it in the right order, is what protects a tenant, regardless of nationality, because the residential-lease rules apply to everyone.

Key legal considerations

• Residential leases are governed by the Turkish Code of Obligations (No. 6098). Its rules on rent, deposits, increases and termination apply to a foreign tenant exactly as to a Turkish one.
• The security deposit is regulated, not at the landlord's free disposal. Under the generally accepted application of the Code of Obligations, a residential security deposit is limited and is meant to be held in a bank rather than simply kept by the landlord, and it must be returned where the tenant has met their obligations. The precise statutory cap and mechanics should be confirmed against the current law for a specific case.
• Rent increases are capped. The standing rule ties an annual increase to the change in the consumer price index (TÜFE) over the previous twelve-month average (Code of Obligations, Article 344). A temporary higher ceiling of 25% applied to residential renewals in a defined period (Law No. 7409); any such fixed percentage is time-limited, so the TÜFE-average cap is the rule to measure against.
• Lease disputes go to a specific court. The civil court of peace (Sulh Hukuk Mahkemesi) has jurisdiction, regardless of the amount, over all disputes arising from a lease relationship, including rent-claim actions (Code of Civil Procedure, Article 4).
• Mediation comes first. Since 1 September 2023, mediation (arabuluculuk) is a mandatory precondition before filing most lawsuits arising from a rental relationship (Law No. 7445). Skipping it leads to rejection on procedure.

Practical steps

1. Build the paper trail from day one. Keep the written lease, proof of the deposit (ideally a bank record, not cash), photographs at move-in, an inventory of the property's condition, and every message with the landlord.
2. At move-out, act in writing. Request the deposit back in writing and document the condition again with dated photos, so any claim of damage can be tested against evidence.
3. If there is a dispute, go to mediation first. Since September 2023 this is a required step before court for rental disputes, and it is faster and cheaper than litigation.
4. If mediation fails, bring the claim to the Sulh Hukuk Mahkemesi, the competent court for lease disputes, including deposit and rent claims.
5. For a rent increase, measure it against the cap. Compare the demanded increase to the TÜFE twelve-month-average rule; an excessive increase can be challenged.
6. You can act from abroad, pursuing mediation and court steps through a representative under a power of attorney.

Risks and common mistakes

• No inventory or photographs, which turns deposit disputes into one person's word against the other's.
• Paying the deposit in cash with no record.
• Filing a lawsuit without the mandatory mediation step, which causes a procedural rejection.
• Accepting an above-cap rent increase without checking it against the TÜFE-based limit.
• Assuming a foreign tenant has weaker rights: the lease law applies regardless of nationality.

Conclusion

For a foreign tenant, deposit and landlord disputes almost always come down to two things: evidence, and following the right order. Document the tenancy from the start, attempt the now-mandatory mediation first, and take any unresolved claim to the civil court of peace, while measuring rent increases against the TÜFE-based cap. Done in that order, the process protects a tenant in Bodrum, Fethiye, Marmaris or anywhere in Muğla.