Tourism Minister Ersoy: “You have a house, but who goes in and out is not clear”

Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy gave an important interview and responded to questions from Candaş Tolga Işık (from TV100) regarding the agenda of the tourism sector. Ersoy also made statements about the leasing of residences for tourism purposes.

“Tourism develops its own inventions when necessary” said Ersoy, emphasizing that tourism develops its own inventions as it grows, and places developed for residential purposes eventually became available for tourist rentals. He explained that this is why they enacted a law, popularly known as the “Airbnb Law,” regarding the leasing of residences for tourism purposes. Ersoy said, “When cities are created, plans are made, and these plans indicate which areas will be residential, commercial, or accommodation areas. And the infrastructure related to those areas is implemented according to those plans. Social areas, schools, parks, etc…”

“It’s not clear what purpose they serve”

Ersoy noted that when this plan was disrupted, the backbone of the city started to deteriorate after a while. He expressed concerns about the alteration of the city’s loads, saying, “When tourism became very popular, it started to become a problem for us too. For example, you’ve bought a residence, but the upper or lower floors have started to be rented out by the hour. You and your family are there, and different groups of people enter and exit every hour… You don’t know them, and you wouldn’t be comfortable with that, would you? Neither is any identification made, nor is it clear who is coming in and out. It’s not clear who those people are, and the purpose is not clear. They don’t answer to anyone, a different person enters and leaves every hour…”

“PRIVILEGES GRANTED TO RESIDENCES

Ersoy pointed out the tax dimension of the issue, saying, “They don’t pay any taxes. We decided on this last year. We prepared a law, and the law passed through the parliament. There are some criteria here, of course. Firstly, it is necessary to prevent grievances.

If you have purchased a residence or if this residence is a compound, they have been granted privileges. How were they granted? It was said that if it is indicated in the floor management plan that it is intended for tourist accommodation and it is annotated on the title deed, then you do not need consent from all the floor owners.

Why? Because there is no grievance. You are knowingly buying it. It is already written on your title deed that it is intended for tourism. But if there is no such thing, you must get notarized approval from all floor owners without exception. We did not impose this requirement on detached (independent) units (houses etc.) because they do not have a common entrance.”

“They will be under registration this way”

“If you have these features, you will apply to us, get a license, and put this document up on the door,” said Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. “With the license, we have imposed obligations on both the seller and the operator. We told sellers not to sell anything that is not documented by us. We are now publishing those who have obtained their documents from the internet on the ministry’s internet addresses. In other words, everything is becoming a registered” he added.

“YOUR NEIGHBOR WILL REPORT YOU, DON’T WORRY”

In the program, there was a dialogue between Candaş Tolga Işık and Minister Ersoy regarding the control aspect of the business:

-So, how will the control of this business be? I tell you something, but I’m not doing it that way. I have the document, right?

-When you get the document, we see whether the system is working or not.

-I don’t comply with the cleanliness criteria you mentioned…

-Oh, a complaint comes, and if there is a complaint, we will check it. Complaints come immediately, don’t worry.

-Really?

-Of course, of course, citizens report.

-There are thousands of residences used illegally for this purpose; how will you control them?

-It is reported; don’t worry. Your neighbor will report you. Your neighbor doesn’t want such a thing anyway. They look, if there is no ‘Tourist Accommodation’ certificate outside, your neighbor will report you.