How much should I expect to pay upfront for a rental — deposit, agent commission, and other costs?
General information, not legal advice. For high-stakes decisions, confirm with the official institution in the next-step below, or consult a qualified Turkish lawyer.
Pending expert review. This fact is sourced but has not yet been reviewed by an independent legal expert. Treat as a starting point.
A first-month rental move-in in Türkiye is rarely just first month's rent. The honest breakdown most foreign students pay upfront:
- First month's rent — paid before you receive keys.
- Deposit (depozito) — typically 1–2 months' rent, sometimes 3. Law 6098 Article 342 caps it at 3 months' and requires it to be held in a blocked bank account in the tenant's name. In practice, most small landlords ask for it in cash and keep it themselves. You're entitled to the legal version; whether you can negotiate it is local.
- Realtor commission (emlakçı komisyonu) — if you found the flat through an agent (emlakçı), the standard commission is 1 month's rent + 20% KDV from the tenant, plus the same from the landlord. This is the legal cap. Some agents try to charge more — they cannot legally.
- Notary fee (noter) — 1,500–3,500 TL for the notarized lease, scaling with annual rent. See Notarized rental contract.
- Aidat (building maintenance fee) — 500–2,500 TL/month depending on the building. Paid to the building manager (yönetici), not the landlord. Often not in the lease and quietly added the day you move in.
- Utility deposits (elektrik, su, doğalgaz) — about 500–1,500 TL total to set up new meters in your name. Pay this directly to the utility companies, not to the landlord.
For a 15,000 TL/month flat through an agent, that's roughly: 15,000 (rent) + 30,000 (deposit) + 18,000 (commission with KDV) + 2,500 (noter) + 1,500 (aidat first month) + 1,000 (utility deposits) ≈ 68,000 TL on day one. Going dorm-route bypasses most of this.
Watch-outs
- The 3-month deposit cap is law; the cash-deposit practice is not. If a landlord demands more than 3 months' rent as deposit, refuse. If they insist on cash to a personal account rather than the blocked tenant account, you forfeit easy recovery if the relationship sours. Reality: most small-landlord deals run on cash trust; large building agencies use the blocked account properly. Pick your battle based on which landlord type you're dealing with.
- The realtor commission is owed only if the agent actually facilitated the rental. If you found the flat on sahibinden.com directly from the owner and an agent later tries to attach themselves to "broker" the deal, they have no legal claim. Save your messages from the original sahibinden listing.
- End-of-tenancy deposit return is often slow and contested. Landlords deduct for "damage," "cleaning," and "missing items" sometimes invented. To protect yourself: take dated photos of every room on move-in day, save them outside your phone, and document every existing scuff. Move-out condition will be compared against move-in photos in a small claims process if it comes to that.
- Aidat increases mid-year as buildings face inflation. Your lease may quote 800 TL/month aidat at sign; by month nine, it can be 1,500. This is the building manager's call, not the landlord's, and it's lawful.
- Utility name-transfer fees vary by company. Some charge a transfer fee (50–200 TL); some require you to clear the previous tenant's debt before activating service in your name. Ask the landlord to confirm there's no outstanding utility debt before you sign.
Next step
Before you transfer any money for a flat, ask the landlord (or agent) for a written breakdown of: monthly rent, deposit amount, aidat amount, and any one-off setup fees. If they hedge on any of these, that's a signal. Walk in with the upfront-cost number in your head before you negotiate, not after. If you're going through an agent, Foundation uni dorms vs private rental covers when the agent route is worth it and when it isn't.
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