Under Article 20 of the Regulation on Real Estate Trade, a licensed agent may charge at most 4% of the sale price plus VAT for a sale and one month's rent plus VAT for a rental. This is one fee for the whole deal, split equally between buyer and seller (or landlord and tenant) unless the written contracts say otherwise, so typically 2% each. The brokerage contract must be in writing (Article 520 of Law No. 6098) and the fee is earned when the deal is concluded through the agent, including a direct deal with the owner during the contract term.
Foreigners buying or renting a home in Türkiye are often quoted a commission figure at the first viewing, sometimes 2 percent, sometimes "3 plus 3", sometimes a fixed sum in euros. Turkish law does not leave this to bargaining alone. The Regulation on Real Estate Trade sets a ceiling for both sales and rentals, decides how the fee is split when the contracts say nothing, requires a written authorisation contract and allows only licensed businesses to act as agents. The rules are also moving: amendments of 29 April 2026 and 1 October 2026 introduced a secure payment system for property sales that, unless the Ministry of Trade extends the date again, becomes mandatory for sales from 1 December 2026. This article sets out the commission cap, when the fee is earned, how deposits held by agents work and what to do when a dispute arises.
Two sets of rules apply together. The first is the Regulation on Real Estate Trade (Taşınmaz Ticareti Hakkında Yönetmelik), published in the Official Gazette of 5 June 2018 under the Law on the Regulation of Retail Trade, Law No. 6585, and amended several times since, most significantly on 14 October 2020. It is a public law instrument: it decides who may work as an agent, what their contracts must contain and how much they may charge, and breaches are sanctioned by the Ministry of Trade.
The second is the Turkish Code of Obligations, Law No. 6098, which governs the private law relationship between agent and client. Articles 520 to 525 regulate the brokerage contract (simsarlık sözleşmesi, the contract under which an agent is paid for bringing about a deal). Article 520 defines the broker as a person who prepares the opportunity for a contract or acts as an intermediary in concluding it and who becomes entitled to remuneration if that contract is concluded. Where the Regulation is silent, these provisions and the general rules on mandate fill the gap. A detailed look at the contract itself is in our article on the real estate brokerage agreement for a property sale; this article focuses on the fee.
Under Article 5 of the Regulation, real estate trade may only be carried out by businesses holding a yetki belgesi, an authorisation certificate issued through the Ministry of Trade's information system. Article 6 sets the conditions. The business must be registered with its professional chamber, be a taxpayer and have real estate trade in its field of activity, and it must employ at least one responsible real estate consultant. That person must be at least 18 years old, have at least primary education, not be bankrupt without rehabilitation, have no final conviction for the listed offences, have completed at least 100 hours of real estate training and have six or twelve months of experience within the last five years depending on education. Article 10 requires a Level 5 vocational qualification certificate for the responsible consultant and Level 4 for other consultants, with exemptions for graduates of relevant fields.
A certificate can be cancelled under Article 9, for example where a breach is not remedied within the time given or is repeated within the same calendar year, and a business whose certificate is cancelled cannot obtain a new one for one year.
The Ministry publishes the list of certificate holders under Article 11. Article 14(2)(i) also requires every listing to show the certificate number, the business name, the province, district, neighbourhood, block and parcel details and contact information. A listing or business card without a certificate number is a warning sign. Ask for the number before the first viewing and check it, because the protections described below assume you are dealing with a licensed business.
Article 520 of Law No. 6098 states that a brokerage contract concerning immovable property is not valid unless made in writing. Article 15 of the Regulation repeats this for the yetkilendirme sözleşmesi, the authorisation contract between the agent and the owner (or the buyer or tenant who instructs the agent), and requires at least two copies so that each side keeps one. An oral promise to "pay the usual commission" is not enough to found a fee claim on.
Under Article 15(2), the authorisation contract must at least contain: the agent's certificate number, contact details and the name and signature of the responsible consultant; the client's identity, contact details and signature; the services and the service fees; the rights and obligations of the parties; any cancellation fee and penalty clause, which for the agent may not exceed the total service fee; the term of the contract; and the parties' addresses for notices. Article 15(3) adds property details for sale and rental mandates, including title deed data, zoning status, size and any mortgage or attachment. The Regulation does not set a maximum term, so the term you sign is the term that binds you; three or six months is common in practice.
When the deal is reached, Article 16 requires a sale brokerage contract between the buyer, the seller and the agent in at least three copies, stating the sale price, the payment method, any cancellation fee and penalty, the service fee, the split of title deed fees and similar costs, and the dispute resolution method. Article 17 requires an equivalent rental brokerage contract that also records the rent, the annual increase and the payment method. Before that, every viewing should be documented in a property showing certificate under Article 19, signed by the person shown the property, which states the fee rate or amount. Article 19 also prohibits charging any fee for the showing itself. Our article on the property showing certificate explains why this signature matters later.
Article 20(1) of the Regulation provides that the fee for brokering a sale may not exceed 4 percent of the sale price, excluding VAT. Two further rules give this figure its real meaning:
VAT is added on top of the capped amount. The standard VAT rate has been 20 percent since 10 July 2023 under Presidential Decision No. 7346, and it should appear on the agent's invoice. Article 20(3) also prevents agents from stacking separate fees for related services, such as valuation help or paperwork, on top of the brokerage fee: only one fee may be charged, within the same cap.
| Example (equal split, VAT 20%) | Maximum lawful commission |
|---|---|
| Sale price 5,000,000 Turkish Lira | 200,000 Turkish Lira in total before VAT; 100,000 Turkish Lira plus 20,000 Turkish Lira VAT from each side |
| Sale price 12,000,000 Turkish Lira | 480,000 Turkish Lira in total before VAT; 240,000 Turkish Lira plus 48,000 Turkish Lira VAT from each side |
| Buyer agrees to pay the whole fee | Up to 4 percent of the price plus VAT from the buyer, nothing from the seller |
| Monthly rent 40,000 Turkish Lira | 40,000 Turkish Lira in total before VAT; 20,000 Turkish Lira plus 4,000 Turkish Lira VAT from each side |
| Two agents cooperate on one deal | Still one fee within the cap, shared between the agents under their service partnership contract (Article 20(7)) |
| Fee not stated in the contract | Article 522 of Law No. 6098 refers to tariff, then custom; the Regulation cap still applies |
The cap is calculated on the actual sale price. If the price stated at the land registry is lower than the price really paid, the commission dispute becomes entangled with a tax problem, which is one more reason not to accept an undervalued declaration. The other purchase costs are set out in our article on the cost of buying property in Türkiye.
Article 20(2) provides that the fee for brokering a lease may not exceed one month's rent, excluding VAT. The same equal split under Article 20(5) applies unless the contracts say otherwise, so by default the landlord and the tenant each pay half a month's rent plus VAT. Practices such as charging the tenant a full month's rent and the landlord another full month, or calculating the fee as 10 percent of annual rent where that exceeds one month, are not compatible with the cap. The commission is separate from the rent and from the security deposit paid to the landlord, and it should be invoiced separately. For the lease itself, see our article on rental contracts in Türkiye.
Article 521 of Law No. 6098 states that the broker is entitled to remuneration only if the contract is concluded as a result of the broker's activity, and that if the contract is subject to a condition precedent, the fee is payable once the condition is fulfilled. Article 20(4) of the Regulation adds that the agent earns the fee by providing the service covered by the authorisation contract. For a sale, Article 237 of Law No. 6098 requires official form, so the decisive moment is normally the title deed transfer at the land registry or a promise to sell signed before a notary. A private sale memorandum signed at the agent's office does not transfer the property, and whether it is enough to trigger the fee is a frequent point of dispute that turns on the wording of the authorisation contract and the facts. If the contract provides for reimbursement of expenses, Article 521 allows these to be claimed even when no deal is concluded.
Article 20(8) of the Regulation provides that if, during the term of the authorisation contract, the property is bought or leased directly from the owner, the agent still earns the fee. This is why the showing certificate matters: it proves that the agent introduced that buyer or tenant to that property. A buyer who was shown a flat by an agent and later contacts the owner directly to "save the commission" should expect a claim.
Authorisation contracts and sale brokerage contracts often contain a cancellation fee or a penalty clause payable if a party withdraws without good reason. Article 15(2)(d) limits these, for the agent, to the total service fee. Separately, Article 182 of Law No. 6098 requires the judge to reduce of its own motion a penalty clause it considers excessive. A clause demanding several times the commission from a buyer who withdrew before the title deed appointment is therefore open to challenge.
Under Article 523 of Law No. 6098, a broker who acts in the interest of the other party in breach of the duty undertaken, or who obtains a promise of remuneration from the other party contrary to good faith, loses the right to remuneration and expenses. Charging both sides openly within the cap is permitted by the Regulation. Secretly negotiating a higher price for the seller while acting as the buyer's agent, or hiding a side payment, is not. Article 14(2) of the Regulation adds parallel duties: honest and careful service, no misleading information, no concealment of facts that would affect the client's decision and no action against the client's interests.
Agents frequently ask a buyer or tenant for a kapora, a deposit paid to reserve the property, and sometimes keep it in their own account. The Regulation does not contain a specific provision on deposits held by agents, so the general rules of Law No. 6098 decide the outcome. Under Article 177, a sum paid when a contract is concluded is deemed to be earnest money evidencing the contract, not forfeit money, and is deducted from the price unless agreed otherwise. Under Article 178, if the money was expressly agreed as forfeit money, either party may withdraw: the payer loses the deposit, and the recipient who withdraws must return double. Our article on the down payment (kapora) in Türkiye covers these rules in depth.
When an agent takes the deposit, three questions should be answered in writing before any money moves: who holds it (the agent on behalf of the owner, or the owner), whether it is earnest money under Article 177 or forfeit money under Article 178, and what happens if the sale does not proceed because of a title problem, a missing permit or the seller's withdrawal. The deposit should never be described as the agent's commission. A further point concerns how the money is paid. Under Additional Article 1 of the Regulation, sale payments made in cash, by transfer or by electronic funds transfer must go through a secure payment system that makes the transfer of ownership and the payment simultaneous. Provisional Article 1 makes its use optional for sales until 1 December 2026, and the Ministry may extend that date by up to three months. How deposits paid before the title deed appointment fit into the system depends on the implementing protocol, which should be checked at the time of the transaction.
Article 12 regulates online listings. Agents may not publish misleading information, and under Article 12(2), as amended in 2020 and 2023, listing platforms must verify, before publishing, that the property belongs to the person posting it, a close relative or spouse, or that the owner has authorised the listing. Since the amendment of 30 May 2025, Article 12(3) also prohibits price increases in listings that are inconsistent with general economic data and have no justified reason. Article 14(2)(h) requires the agent to remove a listing within three days after a sale, lease, withdrawal or end of contract, and Article 14(2)(k) requires the agent to keep a file for each authorisation contract for at least five years. Under Article 14(2)(g), the agent must give you enough time to read documents before signing, explain their terms and hand over a signed copy.
Most problems foreign clients bring to us follow a few patterns. The contracts are in Turkish and are signed on the spot after a viewing, often by a client who did not realise a showing certificate commits them. The commission is quoted as a lump sum in foreign currency without reference to the price, so nobody checks it against the 4 percent cap. An agent working for a developer collects a fee from the developer and a second fee from the buyer without disclosing the first. Or a deposit is paid to an agent for a property with a mortgage or an annotation that the agent never mentioned, although Article 15(3) requires such encumbrances to appear in the authorisation contract.
A few habits prevent most of this. Ask for the certificate number. Ask for the contract in advance and have it translated or reviewed. Make sure the commission is written as a percentage of a stated price, plus VAT, with the payer identified. Do not pay a deposit until the title deed record has been checked. A lawyer supervising the purchase under our real property sales and title deed transfer service can handle these steps as part of the overall purchase procedure for foreigners.
Breaches of the Regulation, such as an agent without a certificate, a fee above the cap, a missing written contract or a misleading listing, can be reported to the provincial directorate of the Ministry of Trade, which has inspection powers under Article 22. Administrative fines are imposed under Article 18 of Law No. 6585 and, like other administrative fines, are increased each year by the revaluation rate under Article 17(7) of the Law on Misdemeanours, Law No. 5326, so the current amounts must be checked. A complaint does not return your money, but repeated or unremedied breaches can lead to cancellation of the certificate.
When a private individual instructs an agent for a home, the relationship is normally a consumer transaction: Article 3 of the Consumer Protection Law, Law No. 6502, expressly lists brokerage contracts. Disputes therefore go to the consumer courts under Article 73. Before suing, the claimant must apply to a mediator under Article 73/A, subject to the exceptions listed there. For claims below the monetary threshold in Article 68, which is revalued every year, application to the consumer arbitration board is mandatory instead; see our article on applying to the consumer arbitration board. Typical claims are repayment of a commission paid above the cap, return of a deposit after a failed sale, or, on the agent's side, payment of a fee after the client bypassed the agent. Evidence is decisive: the authorisation contract, the showing certificate, messages and bank receipts.
4 percent of the sale price plus VAT under Article 20(1) of the Regulation on Real Estate Trade, as a single fee for the whole transaction.
In total. Article 20(6) allows only one fee for the same property even where the agent has separate contracts with buyer and seller, so the default is 2 percent from each side plus VAT.
Both equally, unless the contracts say otherwise. The parties may agree that one side pays more or all of it, as long as the total stays within 4 percent.
At most one month's rent plus VAT in total, shared equally between landlord and tenant unless the contracts provide otherwise.
No. The caps are expressed excluding VAT, so VAT at the standard rate, currently 20 percent, is added on top and must be invoiced.
Yes. Article 520 of Law No. 6098 makes a brokerage contract on immovable property invalid unless made in writing, and Article 15 of the Regulation lists its mandatory contents.
When the sale or lease is concluded as a result of the agent's work, which for a sale normally means the title deed transfer or a notarised promise to sell.
Not during the term of the authorisation contract. Article 20(8) of the Regulation entitles the agent to the fee if the property is bought or leased directly from the owner in that period.
Not the commission, unless the contract was concluded, but you may owe agreed expenses or a cancellation fee, which for the agent is limited to the total service fee and can be reduced by a court if excessive.
No. Article 19 of the Regulation prohibits any fee for showing a property; the agent may only ask you to sign a showing certificate.
Ask for the authorisation certificate number, which must appear on every listing, and check it against the list of certificate holders the Ministry of Trade publishes.
It depends on what was agreed: earnest money under Article 177 of Law No. 6098 is deducted from the price, while forfeit money under Article 178 is lost if you withdraw and returned double if the other side withdraws.
Yes. Under Article 523 of Law No. 6098 an agent who acts for the other side in breach of duty, or secretly obtains a fee promise from the other side, loses the fee and expenses.
Report the breach to the provincial directorate of the Ministry of Trade, and for repayment apply to the consumer arbitration board below the annual threshold or go through mediation and then the consumer court above it.
Real estate agent commission in Türkiye is regulated, not merely customary. A licensed agent holding an authorisation certificate may charge at most 4 percent of the sale price or one month's rent, in each case plus VAT and as a single fee for the transaction, split equally between the parties unless the written contracts say otherwise. The fee is earned when the deal is concluded through the agent, including where the client bypasses the agent during the contract term, and it can be lost if the agent acts against the client. Deposits held by agents follow the earnest money and forfeit money rules of Law No. 6098, and from 1 December 2026, unless postponed again, sale payments are due to move into the Ministry's secure payment system.
Most commission disputes we see could have been avoided by reading one page before signing it. If you are about to sign an authorisation contract, pay a deposit or answer a commission claim, have the documents checked first by our legal team.
Beyond typical market rates, Turkish law sets a hard ceiling on agent fees. Under the Real Estate Trade Regulation, a real estate commission cannot exceed 4% of the property's sale value, and for rentals the fee is capped at one month's rent. The underlying contract is legally a "brokerage agreement" under Article 520 of the Turkish Code of Obligations: the broker earns the fee only once the deal is concluded, and the agreement should be in writing and signed by both parties to be enforceable. For a fuller treatment, see our overview of the real estate brokerage agreement for property sale in Turkiye.
There is an important exception to the "no sale, no fee" rule. If a transaction falls through because one party withdraws without a valid justification, Turkish courts, including the Supreme Court, have upheld the broker's right to claim the commission despite the sale not closing. Buyers should also understand the "kapora" (earnest money) they pay at the outset: depending on how it is framed, it can act as a binding commitment fee that solidifies the deal, or as a withdrawal fee that is forfeited if the payer backs out. The Turkish Code of Obligations distinguishes these in Articles 177 and 178, so the intended treatment should be stated clearly in writing to avoid disputes. Our guide on the legal nature of "Kapora" down payments in Türkiye explains this in depth.
