Setting Up Utilities in Turkey
Electricity, water, natural gas and internet are four separate contracts with four different providers, and every one of them is decided by your address rather than by your choice. Here is what each requires, in what order, and the handover mistakes that cost owners money.
Four contracts, four providers, one address that decides all of them
Almost every foreign buyer arrives at the utility question late. The purchase completes, the keys change hands, and only then does it become clear that the apartment has no electricity account in anyone’s name, that the water was closed by the outgoing owner three weeks ago, and that the building’s natural gas connection is a separate matter again. None of this is difficult. It is simply four processes rather than one, and each has its own counter, its own document list and its own deposit.
The thing that surprises people most is how little choice is involved. In most European markets you shop for an energy supplier. In Turkey, the physical infrastructure — the wires, the pipes, the mains — belongs to a regional company that holds a licence for your area, and the address on the title deed decides which company that is. Water is municipal. Natural gas is a regional monopoly. Only internet offers real competition, and even there the underlying line is often the same one.
What you do control is sequence. Get the prerequisites in place before you start — a Turkish tax number, a valid DASK earthquake insurance policy, the title deed or a notarised lease, the occupancy permit and the meter numbers — and each application becomes a single short visit. Start without them and you will make the same trip three times.
This guide covers what each of the four utilities requires, how to handle the handover from a previous owner or tenant, why you should open a new subscription rather than inherit an existing one, and how utilities differ from the building service charge you will also be paying. It is written for owners and long-term tenants alike, with notes where the two are treated differently.
Turkish Utilities — At A Glance
Who supplies what, and what each one needs from you
What each supply actually involves
Electricity, water, gas and internet are regulated in quite different ways, and the differences change what you can negotiate and what you simply have to accept.
Electricity — two companies, one supply
Turkish electricity is split in two, and understanding the split saves a great deal of confusion later. A regional distribution company owns the network and the meter for your building; it is the organisation you call when the power fails or the meter is faulty, and you cannot change it because it holds the licence for your geographic area. A retail supplier sells you the energy itself and issues the bill. In Istanbul, for example, buyers encounter names such as CK Boğaziçi and Enerjisa depending on which part of the city the property sits in.
For a standard residential subscription the practical effect is small: you apply, you pay a refundable security deposit, and the account is opened in your name. What matters is having the meter or installation number for your specific unit before you go. That number is not derivable from the address. It is printed on the meter, held by the building manager, or shown on any previous bill for the property — and asking the seller for a copy of the last electricity bill at handover is one of the highest-value, lowest-effort things you can do.
Water — municipal, and therefore local
Water and sewerage are run by the municipality, which means the provider changes with the city: İSKİ in Istanbul, ASKİ in Ankara, and the corresponding municipal utility in Antalya, Izmir, Bodrum, Fethiye and everywhere else. Because these are public bodies, the document requirements tend to be the most formal of the four. Owners are asked for the title deed; tenants are asked for a notarised rental contract, and a plain signed agreement will generally be refused.
Both are asked for a DASK policy, a passport, a Turkish tax number and the water meter serial number for the unit. Many municipalities now accept applications online through their own portal or through e-Devlet, but that route assumes you already hold a foreign identity number beginning with 99 and an e-Devlet login — which many non-resident owners do not. In person, with documents in hand, remains the more reliable option.
Natural gas — not every building has it
Natural gas distribution is a regional monopoly, with one licensed distributor per area — İGDAŞ in Istanbul, and the equivalent company elsewhere. The first question is not what documents you need but whether the building is connected at all. Many coastal developments, particularly older ones and those built for seasonal use, have no gas supply and rely on electric heating, air-source heat pumps or LPG cylinders instead. If the brochure mentions “central heating”, establish what actually fuels it.
Where gas is available, the process differs from electricity and water in one important respect: after the contract is signed, an inspection of the internal installation is normally required before the supply is opened. That inspection can add time, and if the property has been empty for a long period or the internal pipework has been altered, it can add work as well. Build this into your timetable if you are completing in autumn and expect to need heating.
Internet — the one you can actually shop for
Internet is the exception: a genuinely competitive market, with Turkish operators offering fibre and DSL packages across most urban areas. It is also the utility where a foreign customer is most likely to be asked for a residence permit or Turkish ID number, because the provider is selling a contract with a minimum term rather than connecting a regulated supply. Contracts commonly run for a fixed commitment period with an early-termination charge, so read the term before you sign for a property you may only use seasonally.
Two practical points. First, check what infrastructure actually reaches the building rather than what is advertised for the district — fibre coverage in Turkey is good but not uniform, and a neighbouring street is not a guarantee. Second, if the property will sit empty for months at a time, compare a fixed-line contract against a mobile data plan honestly; for a holiday apartment used a few weeks a year, the fixed line is often the worse deal.
Setting up utilities, in order
Each step exists because the step after it will ask for the thing it produces. Run them out of order and you will be sent away to fetch something.
Obtain a Turkish tax number
Every utility application asks for it, as does the bank account you will pay the bills from. Foreign nationals receive an identification number beginning with 99, which functions as the tax number. It is free and quick to obtain, and it is the first document in the chain. Our guide to the Turkish tax number for foreigners covers how to get one.
Confirm the DASK policy is valid and in your name
You will normally have arranged DASK for the title transfer, but check three things: that it has not lapsed, that the address and declared square metres match the property as registered, and that it is in your name rather than the seller’s. A policy that fails any of those will be rejected at the utility counter.
Assemble the property documents
Owners need the title deed and the building’s occupancy permit. Tenants need a notarised rental contract. Bring your original passport plus a photocopy; if your passport is not printed in Latin characters, expect to be asked for a notarised translation. A Turkish mobile number is required for the account and for bill notifications.
Get the meter numbers before you leave the property
Electricity, water and gas each have their own meter identifier, and no application can proceed without the right one. Photograph every meter for the unit at handover, along with the current readings. If the meters are in a locked communal cupboard, the building manager or site management will have the numbers.
Have the outgoing holder close their accounts
Ask the seller or outgoing tenant to close each subscription with a final meter reading on the handover date, and note those readings yourself. This is the single step that prevents someone else’s arrears becoming your problem, and it also releases their deposit to them rather than leaving it entangled with your new account.
Apply to each provider in your own name
Electricity and water can usually be completed the same day; gas may require an installation inspection first. A refundable security deposit is payable on opening. Where all documents are in order, activation typically follows within one to three business days.
Set up automatic payment from a Turkish account
Turkish utilities issue monthly bills and are unforgiving about late payment; supply can be cut and reconnection charged. Automatic payment instructions from a Turkish bank account are the standard solution, and essential if you are not in the country. See our guide to opening a bank account in Turkey.
Register the address, and hand over to a manager if you are abroad
Address registration matters for residence applications and for official correspondence. If you will not be in Turkey regularly, arrange for a property manager or a holder of a power of attorney to deal with meter faults, closures and disputes — these cannot usefully be handled from overseas by email.
Six things that catch foreign owners out
None of these is exotic. All of them are cheaper to prevent at handover than to unwind three months later.
Inheriting the seller’s account
Taking over a live subscription can carry the previous holder’s arrears and leaves the contract in their name. Close theirs, open yours.
A lapsed or mismatched DASK
The policy must be current, in your name, and show the right address and declared size. Any mismatch stops the application at the counter.
No meter number
Not derivable from the address. Photograph the meters and readings at handover, or ask the building manager before you make the trip.
Assuming gas exists
Many coastal and older buildings have no natural gas connection at all. Establish what actually heats the property before you buy.
Bills going unpaid while you are away
Supply is cut for non-payment and reconnection is chargeable. Set up automatic payment from a Turkish account from the start.
Confusing utilities with aidat
The building service charge is a separate bill for shared costs. Budget for both, and ask what the aidat already covers.
What each utility asks for
The document lists overlap heavily, but the proof of occupancy differs — and that is where tenants most often get turned away.
| Requirement | Владелец | Tenant | Примечания |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title deed (tapu) | Требуется | Not applicable | Proof that you are the registered owner of the unit |
| Notarised rental contract | Not applicable | Требуется | A plain signed lease is generally refused, particularly for water |
| Valid DASK policy | Требуется | Требуется | No residential electricity, water or gas subscription without it |
| Turkish tax number | Требуется | Требуется | Foreign identification number beginning with 99 |
| Passport + copy | Требуется | Требуется | Notarised translation if not printed in Latin characters |
| Occupancy permit (iskan) | Требуется | Требуется | Without it, only temporary construction supply is available |
| Meter / installation number | Требуется | Требуется | From the meter itself, the building manager or a previous bill |
| Turkish mobile number | Требуется | Требуется | Used for the account record and bill notifications |
| Refundable security deposit | Payable | Payable | Returned on closure after a final meter reading |
| Residence permit | Not generally required | Not generally required | May be requested by gas distributors and internet providers |
The pattern is straightforward once you see it. Everything in the list except the proof of occupancy is common to owners and tenants alike, and the two rows that differ — the title deed and the notarised lease — are simply two answers to the same question: on what basis are you entitled to hold this supply? The row worth reading twice is the residence permit. It is not a formal requirement for the regulated supplies, but it does surface with gas distributors and internet providers, which is why those two are usually the last to be arranged rather than the first.
If you are renting rather than buying, the notarisation requirement is the one to plan around: it means a trip to a notary with your landlord, and it cannot be done afterwards from a photograph of the lease. Our guide to renting an apartment in Istanbul covers the tenant side of this in more detail.
Living with the bills
Turkish utilities bill monthly, and the billing cycle is tied to the meter reading date rather than the calendar month, so your first bill will usually cover an odd number of days. Payment is straightforward: mobile banking applications, the provider’s own app, PTT offices and authorised payment points all accept payment, and most banks will set up a standing instruction that pays each bill automatically on presentation.
Set that instruction up. It is the single most useful thing a non-resident owner can do, because Turkish suppliers disconnect for non-payment more readily than many owners expect, and reconnection involves both a charge and a wait. An unpaid water bill on an empty apartment is a nuisance; an unpaid one discovered the day guests arrive is worse.
Consumption itself varies enormously with the property and how it is used. A well-insulated apartment in a new development on the Aegean coast, occupied for eight weeks a year, bears very little resemblance to a 1990s Istanbul flat with electric heating occupied year-round. Rather than quote averages that would mislead, the useful exercise is to ask the seller or the building manager for copies of the last twelve months of bills for that specific unit. That is real data for the property you are actually buying, and it takes one email to request. For the wider picture of household budgeting, see our guide to the cost of living in Turkey.
Finally, remember that the utilities are only part of what a Turkish apartment costs to run. The building service charge is a separate monthly obligation, annual property tax is another, and DASK renews yearly. If you let the property, some of these shift between you and the tenant by agreement rather than by law, so the allocation belongs in the lease rather than in an assumption. Owners running a property from abroad often find it simpler to hand the whole administrative bundle — bills, service charge, insurance renewals, meter disputes — to a manager; our overview of property management in Turkey sets out what that typically covers.
Buying in Turkey and want the handover handled properly?
We arrange DASK, meter readings, subscription transfers and automatic payment set-up as part of completion.
Utilities in Turkey — frequently asked questions
The questions foreign owners and tenants ask most often about getting the supply switched on and keeping it on.
Where to go next
The rest of our owner and buyer library, from insurance and service charges to running a property from abroad.
- DASK earthquake insurance — the policy every subscription depends on.
- Iskan: the habitation certificate — why permanent supply needs it.
- Aidat and service charges — the bill that is not a utility.
- Turkish tax number for foreigners — the first document in the chain.
- Opening a bank account in Turkey — for automatic bill payment.
- Cost of living in Turkey — where utilities sit in a household budget.
- Property management in Turkey — running a home from abroad.
- Turkey property guides — the full library for foreign buyers.
Have the handover managed for you
Tell us about the property and we will arrange the DASK policy, take the meter readings at handover, close the outgoing subscriptions, open yours and set up automatic payment from a Turkish account — so the apartment works from the day you arrive.
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