About the Project

Access to Rental Housing in Türkiye: Causes, Social Processes and Public Policy Recommendations (TÜBİTAK 124K756) is a research project carried out at the Department of Sociology, Anadolu University. It examines the economic, social and political dimensions of Türkiye’s deepening rental housing crisis. Unlike housing policies that focus mainly on homeownership, the project places access to rental housing and security of tenure at the centre of the research.

The central question of the research is why the rental housing crisis has emerged in Türkiye, how different social groups experience it, what consequences it has, and which public policies could resolve it. To this end, rising rents, the structural transformation of the housing market, the economic and social difficulties tenants face, and the housing policies of central and local governments are examined together.

The ultimate aim of the project is to evaluate the findings of the fieldwork alongside international experience, and to develop evidence-based public policy recommendations that improve access to rental housing in Türkiye, strengthen security of tenure and contribute to a sustainable rental housing system.

The research, carried out in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, is based on a mixed-methods approach. The project consists of six work packages and combines the analysis of national and international policy documents, the examination of micro and macro datasets on the housing market, surveys of tenant households, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews with sector representatives, experts and other stakeholders.