Renting Commercial Property in Antalya: Leases, Withholding Tax and Rent Increases

Renting commercial space in Antalya involves more calculation than renting a home. For tenants, location and licensing come first; for landlords, withholding tax and contractual protection. This guide covers the issues shop and office tenants and landlords meet most often.

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Before you rent: does it suit your business?

• Licence: The tenant obtains the opening and operating licence for their own business from the municipality. Restaurants, cafés, pharmacies and hairdressers may face extra conditions. Before signing, ask the municipality whether your activity can be licensed at that address.
• Title deed use and management plan: The deed should say “shop” or “commercial unit”, and the building’s management plan must not ban your activity.
• Fit-out: Get written permission from the owner, and if needed the building management, for shopfront, signage, ventilation and interior works.

Clauses the lease should include

• Details of both parties, the full address and title deed information
• Term, start date and payment day
• Whether the rent is gross or net (crucial because of withholding tax)
• The annual increase clause
• Deposit and conditions for its return
• Who pays service charges, common costs, property tax and insurance
• Permissions for alterations, signage and subletting
• A handover report and inventory

Withholding tax: gross or net rent?

If the tenant is a company, a registered trader or a self-employed professional, and the landlord is a private individual, the tenant deducts 20% withholding tax from the gross rent and pays it to the tax office with its monthly return. The landlord receives the net amount.

Example: if the lease states a “gross” rent, the tenant withholds 20% of it. If it states a “net” rent, the landlord receives that amount and the gross rent is the net figure divided by 0.80. Leaving this unclear is a common source of disputes.

The landlord declares the annual rental income on their income tax return and offsets the tax already withheld. If the property is not part of a business’s assets, commercial rent received by a private landlord is generally exempt from VAT.

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Rent increases and rent review

• Under the Turkish Code of Obligations, annual increases for residential and roofed commercial leases cannot exceed the 12-month average CPI of the previous rental year.
• For leases lasting more than five years, the rent for the new year can be set by a judge on an equitable basis once five years have passed (rent determination case).

Deposit

The deposit can be at most three months’ rent. A cash deposit is placed in a time-deposit account that cannot be withdrawn without the landlord’s consent.

Term and termination

In a fixed-term commercial lease, if the tenant does not give notice at least 15 days before the end, the lease renews for one year on the same terms. Apart from the exceptions in the law, the landlord can end the lease without giving a reason only at the end of a ten-year extension period.

For landlords: letting your unit faster

• Photos and dimensions: state frontage width, depth, ceiling height and electrical capacity clearly.
• Licence history: mentioning which businesses were licensed there before shortens the tenant’s decision.
• Russian and English listings: Antalya has many Russian-speaking entrepreneurs. Listing in several languages increases demand.

You can find shops and offices for rent and sale in Antalya on our commercial property page.

Related articles

• Buying a Shop in Antalya
• Selling Commercial Property in Antalya
• Commercial Property in Antalya for Foreign Buyers

This content is for information only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a lawyer and an accountant about your lease and tax position.