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ISTANBUL, Turkey - The housing crisis in Turkey has deepened to the point that many can no longer afford to pay rent, as housing rent has increased two-fold compared to last year, especially in Istanbul.
This dangerous development forced the Turkish government to renew a previous decree that housing rent cannot increase by 25 percent in a year.
In July 2022, the Turkish government declared that rent prices cannot exceed 25 percent per year. This decision was originally meant set to take effect until June 2023, but prices have gone up beyond the limit set by the government despite the decree.
However, a large number of landlords do not pay attention to this decision, a problem that is clearly seen between tenants and landlords in courts.
In Istanbul, the minimum rent for houses in the districts and neighborhoods far from the city would have started from 7,000 lira (approx. $270). That rent has now doubled.
Bayram Sabuncu, 42, is a native of Agiri and has four children. Bayram has been working as a houseware transporter in Istanbul for many years, but due to the high cost of rent, he cannot bring his family to Istanbul. Due to the high price of the bus ticket, he could not go to visit his family this holiday. Five years ago, Bayram rented a one-room house for 2,000 lira in a poor neighborhood of Istanbul with a friend.
"We have left our family behind and we have come to this place to earn a living. We pay a large portion of our profits for rent, electricity and water bills. The costs are very high," Sabuncu lamented. "This is cruelty."
According to research from Bahcesehir University, housing rent has increased by 109 percent in Istanbul compared to July 2022.
An estimated 16 million people registered with the government live in Istanbul, in addition to four million unregistered people. Up to 70 percent of the buildings in Istanbul are reported to have been built before the year 2000.
This dangerous development forced the Turkish government to renew a previous decree that housing rent cannot increase by 25 percent in a year.
In July 2022, the Turkish government declared that rent prices cannot exceed 25 percent per year. This decision was originally meant set to take effect until June 2023, but prices have gone up beyond the limit set by the government despite the decree.
However, a large number of landlords do not pay attention to this decision, a problem that is clearly seen between tenants and landlords in courts.
In Istanbul, the minimum rent for houses in the districts and neighborhoods far from the city would have started from 7,000 lira (approx. $270). That rent has now doubled.
Bayram Sabuncu, 42, is a native of Agiri and has four children. Bayram has been working as a houseware transporter in Istanbul for many years, but due to the high cost of rent, he cannot bring his family to Istanbul. Due to the high price of the bus ticket, he could not go to visit his family this holiday. Five years ago, Bayram rented a one-room house for 2,000 lira in a poor neighborhood of Istanbul with a friend.
"We have left our family behind and we have come to this place to earn a living. We pay a large portion of our profits for rent, electricity and water bills. The costs are very high," Sabuncu lamented. "This is cruelty."
According to research from Bahcesehir University, housing rent has increased by 109 percent in Istanbul compared to July 2022.
An estimated 16 million people registered with the government live in Istanbul, in addition to four million unregistered people. Up to 70 percent of the buildings in Istanbul are reported to have been built before the year 2000.
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