Istanbul apartments & rentals: how to choose
An apartment in Cihangir, Moda or Balat is a much better way to understand Istanbul than a hotel room in Sultanahmet — you shop the same market twice, you learn which ferry you like. But Türkiye rewrote its short-term-rental law in 2024, and the legality check below is not optional here. An unpermitted listing can be shut down between your booking and your arrival, and you are the one left without a bed.
⚠︎ Book a permitted listing
Since 1 January 2024, Law No. 7464 has governed the renting of residences for tourism purposes in Türkiye. Letting a home to visitors for short stays requires an izin belgesi — a tourism-purpose rental permit issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism through its provincial directorate. To get one, the owner must obtain the unanimous consent of every flat owner in the building, not a majority; a ministry-issued plaque must be displayed at the entrance to the residence; and the permit number must appear in the listing and any advertising. Owners letting several units in the same building face additional licensing on top. Platforms and intermediaries are required to check for a permit, and advertising without one carries administrative fines. The Ministry publishes a public register of permit-holding residences, linked below — rules and enforcement are still being tightened, so verify against the official register before you pay.
Rules change — confirm the current requirements and check the listing’s permit number: Ministry of Culture and Tourism — register of permitted short-term rental residences.
Who a rental suits
Rentals suit families and groups who need more than one room, anyone staying a week or longer who wants a kitchen near Kadıköy Çarşı or the Beşiktaş market, and travelers who specifically want Cihangir, Moda or Balat, where hotel supply barely exists. For two or three nights focused on the Historic Peninsula, a hotel is simpler and the permit question disappears.
Verify before you book
- That the listing shows a Ministry of Culture and Tourism tourism-purpose rental permit number, and that the number appears in the Ministry’s public register of permitted residences — do this first, before anything else.
- Which floor the flat is on and whether the building has a lift (asansör). Beyoğlu and Balat are built on hills and five-storey walk-ups are the norm, not the exception.
- Whether there is real heating for a November–March stay and real air conditioning for July–August — many older Istanbul flats have neither properly, and both seasons are unforgiving.
- The exact walking route to the nearest metro, tram, Marmaray or ferry pier, measured in minutes uphill rather than metres on a map.
- Hot water and water pressure, mentioned by name in recent reviews — intermittent supply is a common complaint in older buildings across the city.
- Check-in logistics and who hands over the key, since the host is often off-site and the building entrance may need a code you only get on the day.
- Recent reviews mentioning street noise: flats near İstiklal, Karaköy or the Kadıköy bar streets are loud until the early hours in a way daytime photos never show.
Where to look for rentals
Cihangir and Galata have the most attractive permitted apartment stock — high-ceilinged flats in late-Ottoman and early-Republic buildings, walkable to Karaköy and the tram. Moda and the streets behind Kadıköy Çarşı give you more space per lira and the best neighbourhood food in the city, at the cost of a ferry to the sights. Balat has the most photogenic supply and the thinnest transit. Sultanahmet has plenty of listings, but it is also where enforcement of the permit rules is most active given the density of tourist letting — check the register there especially carefully.
Check live rentals & availability
Browse current Istanbul rentals on Vrbo — then confirm the listing shows a Ministry of Culture and Tourism permit number before you pay.
Check Istanbul rentals on Vrbo →Some booking links are affiliate links — if you book through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which options we recommend.
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