Renting out a flat in Beşiktaş: from the shore to Etiler.

01

Character of the district

Beşiktaş stretches from the Bosphorus shore to the office towers of Levent and is known for its universities and waterfront life. The market area and Ortaköy are shore and nightlife, Etiler and Ulus are residential, Levent and Gayrettepe are business. There is a sharp gap in profile between shore and hill: the same district holds student flats and corporate housing alike.

02

Neighbourhoods and housing stock

• —Central Beşiktaş, Sinanpaşa, Abbasağa, Yıldız: apartment buildings from the 1960s–1990s, small and medium flats; walking distance to the universities; students and young employees.
• —Akaretler, Vişnezade, Ortaköy: restored historic row houses and older buildings; dense with culture and dining; single and couple households.
• —Bebek, Arnavutköy, Kuruçeşme: shore apartments and a few waterside mansion flats; foreign executives and families.
• —Etiler, Ulus, Akatlar: gated complexes with gardens and low-rise apartment blocks from the 1980s–2000s; family tenants; strong demand for parking and security.
• —Levent, Gayrettepe, Dikilitaş: new residences and converted blocks; walking distance to the offices; single and couple households.

03

Who rents in Beşiktaş

Students and academics thanks to Boğaziçi, Yıldız Technical and Galatasaray universities; senior executives and foreign staff thanks to the Levent–Zincirlikuyu offices; families with children in Etiler and Ulus. Corporate housing and consular tenants are common; these tenants usually want one- to three-year leases and payment through the institution.

04

Transport and daily life

M2 metro (Levent, Gayrettepe), M6 (Levent–Boğaziçi University/Hisarüstü), ferries from the Beşiktaş pier to Kadıköy and Üsküdar, buses along the shore road. Parking and evening noise in the market area, and street gradients and stairs in the hill neighbourhoods, are the things tenants ask about first. Shopping centres in Etiler and Levent, walking and sports along the shore.

05

What a landlord needs to know

• —With student tenants a guarantor (parent) and an eviction undertaking are standard in practice; the maximum amount must be handwritten on the guarantee (TBK Art. 583).
• —In shore buildings damp and salty air wear metal parts quickly; check exterior joinery and balconies once a year.
• —In complexes, the rules between site management and the tenant (pets, parking space, guests) should be added to the lease; the site management plan is binding.
• —With a corporate tenant, withholding must be settled in the lease: what triggers it is the tenant’s status, not how the flat is used. If the tenant is one of the payers listed in GVK Art. 94 — a trading company, a corporation, an association or foundation, a cooperative, or a trader or professional declaring actual income — 20 per cent is withheld from the gross rent even where the flat houses an employee (Art. 94/5-a).
• —Some buildings in Bebek and Arnavutköy are listed; even permit-free repairs need consent, from an authority with a KUDEB conservation office or, failing that, the regional conservation board directorate; substantial intervention needs the board’s consent (Law No. 2863, Arts. 9 and 57).