This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at İş Yeri Kirası: Çatılı İşyerlerinde Kiracının Hakları.
Whether the tenant is a merchant changes which rules apply to a commercial lease. Some tenant-protective provisions of the Turkish Code of Obligations can be contracted out of where the tenant is a merchant. But the cap on increases and the ten-year extension rule apply to commercial leases just as they do to residential ones.
A lease for a shop usually gives more protection than the tenant realises: roofed commercial premises are governed by the same chapter of the Code as dwellings. TBK means the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098.
Which Provisions Apply
The Code deals with leases under three headings: general provisions, residential and roofed commercial leases, and agricultural leases.
"Roofed commercial premises" is a wide concept: shops, stores, offices, workshops and warehouses all fall within it. Open-air lettings — a parking area, an open storage yard — may not.
The distinction matters because the provisions on residential and roofed commercial leases are protective of the tenant and largely mandatory.
TBK art. 346: no payment obligation other than rent and ancillary charges may be imposed on the tenant. In particular, agreements that a penalty clause becomes payable on late rent, or that future rent is accelerated, are void.
The Cap on Increases
Under TBK art. 344, an agreement on the rent for a renewed period is valid only up to the twelve-month average change in the consumer price index for the previous lease year.
The rule applies equally to contracts of more than one year and, where the parties have agreed nothing, the same ceiling governs.
A higher rate written into the contract does not change the result; the excess cannot be claimed.
After five years: for leases running more than five years, or renewed after five years, the court sets an equitable rent, having regard to the index, the condition of the property and comparable rents.
Foreign currency: where the rent is denominated in foreign currency, no change may be made until five years have passed — subject to the separate legislation restricting the use of foreign currency.
The Ten-Year Extension Rule
TBK art. 347 is a strong protection for the tenant.
In residential and roofed commercial leases, unless the tenant gives notice at least fifteen days before a fixed term expires, the contract is deemed extended for one year on the same terms.
The landlord cannot end the contract merely because the term has expired.
But at the end of the ten-year extension period, the landlord may terminate without giving any reason, on notice at least three months before the end of each subsequent extension year.
So a commercial tenant cannot be evicted without cause for ten years. That period runs not from the start of the contract but from the date extension began.
In indefinite-term leases, the tenant may terminate at any time under the general provisions, and the landlord only after ten years from the start of the tenancy.
| Point | Rule | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Increase cap | Twelve-month average change in the consumer price index | TBK art. 344 |
| Determination after five years | Court sets it on comparables and equity | TBK art. 344/3 |
| Ten-year extension | Landlord may terminate without cause at the end of it | TBK art. 347 |
| Eviction for genuine need | Landlord, spouse, descendants, ascendants | TBK art. 350 |
| Reconstruction and redevelopment | Substantial repair or alteration | TBK art. 350 |
| Two justified warnings | Two warnings within one lease year | TBK art. 352/2 |
| Assignment and sublease | Landlord's written consent required | TBK art. 323 |
The ten-year period is counted in extension years running after the initial term expires, not by the total length of the relationship.
Grounds for Eviction
Before the ten years are up, eviction is possible only on limited grounds.
Grounds arising from the landlord (art. 350):
- Genuine need — where the landlord, their spouse, descendants, ascendants or dependants must use the premises for business;
- Reconstruction or redevelopment — where substantial repair, extension or alteration is necessary and makes occupation impossible during the works.
New owner (art. 351): a purchaser who needs the premises for themselves or those persons may bring the action six months after acquisition, provided they gave written notice to the tenant within one month of it.
Grounds arising from the tenant (art. 352): a written undertaking to vacate, and two justified warnings within one lease year.
Default (art. 315): where rent is unpaid, the landlord serves a warning allowing at least thirty days; if payment is not made, the contract may be terminated.
An important rule (art. 353): premises recovered on the ground of need may not be let to anyone other than the former tenant for three years without just cause. Otherwise the landlord owes the former tenant compensation of not less than one year's rent as paid in the last lease year.
Assigning the Lease
TBK art. 323 matters greatly to commercial tenants.
A tenant may not assign the lease without the landlord's written consent. But in commercial leases the landlord may not withhold that consent without just cause.
For a trader who wants to sell the business, this is a critical protection: the landlord cannot block the assignment arbitrarily.
On assignment, the outgoing tenant remains jointly liable with the incoming tenant until the end of the lease, and for at most two years.
Sublease (art. 322): a tenant may sublet or transfer the use of the property provided this causes no detrimental change for the landlord — but in commercial leases the landlord's written consent is required.
The distinction is worth holding on to: subletting is freer in residential leases, while in commercial leases written consent is needed — and yet, for an assignment of the lease, that consent cannot be withheld without just cause.
Under TBK art. 323, in commercial leases the landlord may not refuse consent to an assignment of the lease without just cause. And before the ten-year extension period expires, eviction is possible only on the grounds listed in the statute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a cap on commercial rent increases?
Yes. On renewal, the increase may not exceed the twelve-month average change in the consumer price index for the previous lease year.
What does the ten-year rule mean?
The landlord cannot end the contract merely because the term expired. Only after the ten-year extension period may they terminate without cause, on three months' notice before the end of an extension year.
Can I assign my shop lease?
The landlord's written consent is required, but in commercial leases it cannot be withheld without just cause. The outgoing tenant stays jointly liable for at most two years.
Can I be evicted immediately for unpaid rent?
No. The landlord must serve a warning allowing at least thirty days; the right to terminate arises only if payment is not made in that period.
Can the premises be re-let after eviction for genuine need?
Not to anyone other than the former tenant for three years without just cause; otherwise compensation of not less than one year's rent is payable.