Renting out your property without coming to Turkey.

01

Power of attorney: two routes

To let a property in Turkey from abroad, collect the rent and take legal steps when needed, you grant a notarized power of attorney to a person or company in Turkey. From abroad there are two routes.

The first is the Turkish consulate in your country. Consulates have notarial powers; a power of attorney executed there is directly valid in Turkey and needs neither apostille nor translation. An appointment, your ID (passport or Turkish ID card) and the agent’s identity details are enough.

The second is a local notary in your country. The document must then carry an apostille under the 1961 Hague Convention and be translated in Turkey by a sworn translator and certified by a notary. In countries outside the Hague Convention, consular legalization replaces the apostille.

02

Which powers the document should contain

A power of attorney is limited to what it says. Authority to let does not by itself cover collection, notices or litigation. For remote rental management the typical powers are:

• —To sign, renew and terminate leases; to set and increase the rent
• —To collect rent and deposit, issue receipts and operate the bank account
• —To handle dues, tax, insurance and utility matters; to take out DASK and home insurance
• —To serve notices, attend mediation, start enforcement and instruct a lawyer for eviction (power of substitution)
• —To file returns and obtain a tax number with the tax office and the Revenue Administration
• —Duration and revocation terms; whether several agents act jointly or separately

Authority to sell is a separate matter; it is not needed in a letting power of attorney and leaving it out is safer for the owner.

03

Foreign ID number and tax number

For Turkish citizens the national ID number serves for every transaction. Foreign owners need a tax identification number for tax matters in Turkey; it is obtained from a tax office or online through the Revenue Administration’s Interactive Tax Office with a passport. Holders of a residence permit receive a foreign ID number starting with 99, which also serves as the tax number.

Rental income returns, bank account opening and the DASK policy use these numbers. An agent can obtain the number on your behalf with the power of attorney.

04

Transferring rental income abroad

Non-residents may open accounts at banks in Turkey and send lira rental income abroad after converting it to foreign currency. Turkish exchange legislation (Decree No. 32) leaves such transfers free; the bank asks for the source of funds (lease, rent receipts) and documents the conversion with a foreign-exchange purchase document.

In practice: rent arrives in lira in the account in Turkey; the account holder or agent buys foreign currency; the bank sends it by SWIFT to the account abroad. Each transfer carries a bank charge and an exchange spread; periodic bulk transfers cost less than small monthly ones. Rent may be agreed in foreign currency for residential leases; the tax return is still made in lira at the Central Bank rate on the day of collection.

Document and limit practices differ between banks; ask the bank where the account is opened about its international transfer terms from the start.

05

The remote owner’s tax position

Those who stay in Turkey less than six months in a calendar year are limited taxpayers and declare only Turkish-source income (GVK Arts. 4–6). The residential rent exemption (2026: 58,000 TL) applies to them too; the return is filed in March. See the rental income tax guide for detail.

Turkish citizens living abroad are subject to the same limited-taxpayer rules as long as they do not reside in Turkey. If the country of residence also taxes this income, the double taxation treaty and that country’s credit rules apply.

06

Document list for letting from abroad

The agent needs the documents for whatever task they will carry out:

• —Copy of the title deed and the plot/parcel details
• —Notarial or consular power of attorney (with translation if apostilled)
• —Copy of passport or ID; tax identification number
• —Bank account details in Turkey (for rent and deposit)
• —Current DASK policy, latest property tax and dues receipts
• —Existing lease and tenant details, if any
• —Electricity, water and gas subscription details (for transfer to the tenant)