Short-term rental in North Cyprus: what the Holiday Homes Law says

What counts as a short-term rental

Article 2 defines a short-term rental as a rental agreement made for tourism purposes whose period, counting the day the user takes possession and the day the user leaves, does not exceed 60 days.

A holiday home is an independent accommodation unit built as a residence, not a hotel or tourist facility, arranged so that guests can cook their own meals. Article 6 lists five types: villa, detached house, studio apartment, apartment and residence apartment. Rentals longer than 60 days are outside the definition; the text read does not set out how they are treated.

Registration and operating permit

The owner, or an attorney or lessor acting for the owner, must apply to the Tourism Planning Department and obtain a Registration Certificate before letting a holiday home (Article 7(1)). The application form is Annex 1. The Department asks for missing items within a set period and must decide within 90 working days (Article 7).

After registration the lessor receives an Operating Permit Certificate, valid for one year and renewed each year; the renewal application is made in the 30 working days before expiry (Article 9(2)). Fees are set as a share of the monthly gross minimum wage in force at the start of the year: the Registration Certificate fee is one half of it, paid once (Article 8(2)). For the Operating Permit the standard class is 7 per cent and the luxury class 15 per cent (Article 9(2)). The text gives the comfortable-class figure inconsistently between first issue and renewal, so this page does not state it; read Article 9.

Conditions a holiday home must meet

Article 5 lists general conditions: an independent unit with its own area; no more than 5 bedrooms and no more than 10 guests; a kitchen where guests can prepare food; bedrooms laid out for at most two people each, small children excepted; one bathroom and one toilet for up to 6 guests, two of each for 7 to 10 guests; a separate entrance and exit; and a waste container in the garden. Detailed minimum standards and classification (standard, comfortable, luxury) are left to a regulation of the Council of Ministers (Articles 5(2) and 6).

Duties while letting

Article 10 requires, among other things, notices in Turkish and English; cleaning between guests; a rental day that starts at 14:00 and ends at 12:00 the next day unless agreed otherwise; a smoke or fire sensor; written notice if cameras are used; a parking notice; the building address on the waste container; a guest registration form signed by each user; and the inventory in a place the guest can see.

Under Article 13 the lessor sends two copies of the guest registration forms to the Department within 10 working days after each month end. The Department sends one copy to the Police within 3 working days (Article 16).

Inspection, fines and penalties

The Department inspects registered homes at least once every three years and may inspect at any time (Article 14). A home let without registration or permit can be sealed (Article 14(3)).

Article 17 provides for a written notice with 15 working days to correct a breach, then an administrative fine equal to the monthly gross minimum wage, doubled if unpaid within 15 working days, with suspension of the permit and sealing if the breach continues. Under Article 19, letting without registration, certificate or permit is an offence; on conviction the fine can reach 10 times the monthly gross minimum wage for the main offences and 5 times for others. Breaking a seal is an offence.

What it means for owners and buyers

Registration follows the owner. When a registered home changes hands other than by inheritance, the registration is cancelled and the new owner must apply again before letting it as a holiday home (Article 8(8)). On the owner's death the heirs must notify the Department within 30 working days (Article 8(5)).

Anyone already letting when the law came into force had to comply within four months of 1 March 2026 (Transitional Article 1). A buyer who plans to let short-term should ask the seller, in writing, for the Registration Certificate and the current Operating Permit and should confirm with an independent lawyer registered with the KKTC Bar how the registration would pass to them.