Are rent assistance or temporary housing provided to owners, tenants, and rights holders evacuated in urban transformation? Agreement condition, application period, and types of support.
When a risky building is evacuated, the first question that comes to the minds of rights holders is where they will stay during construction and whether they can receive rent assistance. Law No. 6306 foresees various supports for evacuated owners, tenants, and certain rights holders. However, benefiting from these rights is subject to specific conditions and timeframes. In this article, we address post-evacuation rent assistance and temporary housing support.
Basic Condition for Support: Evacuation by Agreement
The Law has made rent assistance and similar supports conditional on evacuation by agreement. Temporary housing or workplace allocation, or rent assistance and construction aid, may be provided to owners, tenants, and limited real right holders residing in buildings evacuated by agreement (Law No. 6306, Article 5/1). The phrase “evacuation by agreement” here is the fundamental condition for benefiting from the supports. The procedures and principles of aid, and the principles of aid to be provided for construction, are determined by the President (Law No. 6306, Article 5/1).
Who Can Benefit?
The scope of individuals eligible for support has been kept broad. Owners, tenants, and holders of limited real rights, provided they reside in the building, can benefit from temporary housing/workplace allocation or rent assistance in case of evacuation by agreement (Law No. 6306, art. 5/1). Furthermore, if the implementation requires it, temporary housing or workplace allocation, or rent assistance and construction aid, may also be provided to other individuals using the structures within the scope of the Law; the procedures and principles for agreements with these individuals, the payment of demolition costs, and interest support are determined by the President (Law No. 6306, art. 5/2). For an example of the practical operation of the rent assistance application, the article rent assistance for shantytown owners in urban transformation can be examined.
Application Period and Points to Consider
The right to rent assistance may be forfeited if not applied for within the specified period. In practice, it is accepted that rent assistance applications must be made within a certain period (usually one year) from the date of evacuation or demolition, and this period is of a forfeiture nature. Assistance amounts and durations are determined by the Ministry, vary by province, and are updated annually; therefore, current amounts and durations should be confirmed with the relevant administration before applying. Additionally, there may be limitations such as not providing both rent assistance and interest support to the same person. For current amounts and application conditions, announcements from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and e-Devlet should be monitored.
Interest Support and Other Aids
Other supports besides rent assistance may also come into question. Evacuated right holders may receive interest support from the special account for transformation projects for the loans they will use from banks that have signed a protocol with the Ministry; however, both rent assistance and interest support are not given to the same person simultaneously. The choice between rent assistance and interest support should be evaluated according to the right holder’s situation. For the current text of the legislation, the Legislation Information System should be followed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is rent assistance provided to those who are evacuated? Yes. Rent assistance or temporary housing/workplace allocation may be provided to owners, tenants, and limited real right holders residing in the building who are evacuated by agreement (Law No. 6306 art. 5/1).
What is the condition for rent assistance? The basic condition is that the building must be evacuated by agreement (Law No. 6306 art. 5/1).
When should the rent assistance application be made? In practice, the application must be made within a forfeiture period (usually one year) from the date of evacuation or demolition; the current period should be confirmed with the relevant administration.
Can both rent assistance and interest support be received? No. Both rent assistance and interest support are not given to the same person simultaneously; a choice is made between the two.
Why is Expert Lawyer Support Necessary?
Benefiting from rental assistance and other supports requires applying with the correct documents, to the right institution, and within the prescriptive period. Errors such as the improper preparation of the eviction report, late application, or missing documents can lead to the complete loss of rights. Urban transformation is a multi-layered process where administrative law, real estate law, and contract law intersect, and even a single procedural error can lead to significant loss of rights. For this reason, it is of great importance that support applications are handled by a lawyer specialized in the field.
As 2M Hukuk Avukatlık Bürosu, we provide services across Turkey, especially in Istanbul, where urban transformation is most intense; in Istanbul’s priority transformation districts of Tuzla, Pendik, Kartal, Maltepe, Ümraniye, Ataşehir, Kadıköy, Sancaktepe, and Küçükçekmece, as well as in Kocaeli’s Gebze and Darıca regions. As an Istanbul urban transformation lawyer and a Tuzla urban transformation lawyer, we offer legal support to rights holders in eviction, rental assistance, and demolition processes.
