Turkey’s apartment maintenance fees through the roof, according property platform data

Duvar English

The mandatory monthly apartment maintenance fees ("aidat" in Turkish) increased by an average of 97 percent in 2023, leading to record highs, data by property management platform Apsiyon revealed on Feb. 1.

Aidat payments can cover a wide diversity of services, ranging from gardening, security, and gym fees, to shared space electricity costs.

According to Apsiyon, with a user base of over 3.5 million and administering a monetary stream of over 28 billion liras (944 million dollars), Muğla tops the list as Turkey’s most expensive province, with an average fee of 2,607 liras (85,9 dollars) per apartment in 2023.

Istanbul came in close second with an average monthly bill of 2483 liras (81,8 dollars). The centrally located province Ankara trailed behind with 1743 liras (57,4 dollars).

The five provinces seeing the relatively sharpest increases are Van (98.7%), Kırşehir (97.9%), Kastamonu (97.9%), Giresun (97.7%), and Çanakkale (97.5%).

Apsiyon noted the lowest average payments in the rural provinces of Kırklareli (228 liras), Düzce (309 liras) and Aksaray (316 liras).

Istanbul’s centrally located Beşiktaş district took the lead as Turkey’s most expensive county, with monthly contributions averaging 5,635 liras (185,7 dollars).

Neighboring district Şişli claims the second spot with 4,706 liras (155,1 dollars), leaving behind the 4,699 liras (154,9 dollars) residents pay per apartment in Istanbul’s Sarıyer district.

These surges in mandatory monthly maintenance fees come on top of already skyrocketing rents, surging by an average of 127.9% between October 2022 and October 2022, according to real estate platform Endeksa, with the average 100 m2 rental in Istanbul hitting 17,111 liras.

Meanwhile, amidst heavy lira deprecation and soaring inflation, the minimum wage is currently set at 17,002 liras (560.5 Dollars).

(English version by Wouter Massink)