Turkey's equality agency fines landlord for rejecting tenant on basis of being a ‘single man’

Turkey’s Human Rights and Equality institution (TİHEK) has imposed a 4,000 lira-fine upon a landlord for denying housing to a tenant on the basis of being a "single man."

Friday December 03 2021 10:25 am

Duvar English

An individual in the northwestern province of Kırklareli took to Turkey’s Human Rights and Equality institution (TİHEK) after a landlord rejected his application to rent out an apartment due to his being a ‘single man,’ state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Dec. 2.

Upon being contacted by the individual who saw an ad for an apartment to rent on the Internet, the landlord allegedly told him he could not rent it out to "men" and "students."

TİHEK deemed that the prospective tenant was subject to discrimination on the basis of "marital status" and "gender" and imposed an administrative fine of 4,000 Turkish liras on the landlord.

In a written response to TİHEK, the landlord said he only sought tenants with families, as the apartment was located in a building occupied chiefly by families.

TİHEK stated that the landlord’s assumption that tenants with families would behave better than single men and wouldn’t disturb other families in the building lacked "objective grounds."