A month in Samsun

Turkish law treats a month in a flat as a tourism rental. Law 7464 covers every letting of a home for up to 100 days, for any purpose, so a 30 night stay needs the same Ministry of Culture and Tourism permit, plaque and listed permit number as a weekend. The contract ends on the date it states.

Past 100 days in one contract, the letting leaves Law 7464 and becomes an ordinary lease under the Code of Obligations. The Code's rules for homes do not cover property for temporary use let for six months or less. Where they do apply, a deposit may not exceed three months' rent.

The law also fines a landlord TRY 1,000,000 for letting the same home more than four times within a year on contracts of over 100 days each.

The city centre and the Atakum seafront both sit on the tram line, which matters for a month: an unlimited 30-day pass on a civilian Samkart costs TRY 1,150, and 50 rides within 45 days cost TRY 1,250. The centre has the shops and the squares on foot; Atakum has the beaches and the bicycle path along the shore.

With a car, SAMULAŞ lists monthly fees at several car parks: TRY 2,000 for the open area at Ağabali in Anneler Parkı or TRY 2,500 for the covered area, TRY 2,000 at the Fuar car park in the centre, TRY 1,750 at the Kurtuluş car park beside the port, and TRY 2,500 at P3 Çobanlı in Atakum. Of these, Ağabali is listed as open 24 hours; Fuar and Kurtuluş close at 23:00 and P3 Çobanlı at 01:00. SAMULAŞ does not say who may buy a monthly subscription, so ask at the car park.

Batıpark and Kurupelit suit shorter stays: SAMULAŞ lists no car park in Batıpark, and the Kurupelit car park opens only in the afternoon and evening.

Citizens of the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada may stay up to 90 days in any 180 without a visa, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and German and French citizens up to 90 days. Other passports may need an e-Visa from the official evisa.gov.tr site, which covers tourism and commerce only. The passport must be valid for at least 60 days beyond the permitted stay.

A stay beyond 90 days, or beyond the visa-free period, needs a residence permit. Law 6458 allows a short-term permit for tourism, for up to two years at a time, and asks for an address in Turkey and housing that meets general health and safety standards. First applications go through the e-İkamet system.

At check-in the host records the passport and reports it to the police, as a hotel does, so keep it at hand on arrival day.

Airbnb calls a booking of 28 nights or more a monthly stay. It charges the first month up front and releases it to the host 24 hours after check-in, then charges each later payment 10 days before it starts. A long-term cancellation policy applies, and cancelling after the stay has begun costs the following month. How other platforms label long stays was not checked.

Whatever the platform calls it, the Turkish rule stays the same: a flat let for up to 100 days shows its permit number in the listing.

A listing without a permit number. The law fines platforms that keep an unpermitted flat online after a Ministry warning, and a permitted host who does not hand over the flat as agreed must return the payment within 15 days or face a larger fine.

A listing that says nothing about parking. The regulation requires the host to state whether parking comes with the flat, and of the SAMULAŞ car parks in this guide only Ağabali is listed as open through the night.

The tax line. Hotels add the 1% accommodation tax as a separate invoice line in 2026; whether a flat host adds it was not confirmed, so ask for the full price in writing.

Staying past 90 days on a visa exemption without applying for a residence permit.