The first big mission on your Erasmus journey in Istanbul? Finding a place to live. The apartment hunt can be very challenging, but it is definitely not impossible. I have put together this guide to help you find your perfect home, an most importantly, to avoid making a crucial mistake: choosing a neighbourhood where you cannot get your residence permit.

The Golden Rule: Check Your Neighbourhood First

You may be already of where of this, but not every neighbourhood in Istanbul is open for foreigners that want to apply for a residence permit. It is important that you will not stay in one of these neighbourhoods if you need a residence permit. In your search for a place to live, keep these closed neighbourhoods in mind, so that you don’t make the mistake of renting in a closed neighbourhood. For more information about this topic, click here.

Important disclaimer: This is information gathered to help you, but it may be outdated. Therefore always check official websites.

Where to Look: The Platforms

• University Housing: Some universities offer the opportunity to get a place on the campus. This might be a dormitory for example. This is a very safe and easy option. But be aware that if your university offers this option, it might have limited spots. I would advise contacting your university early in the process.
• Facebook Groups: There are many groups on Facebook where you find an accommodation. You can put out your own preferences in a post on the site, and multiple owners will react on this post. Or, you can scroll through the page and respond on advertisements of owners. It is important that you are more aware with this method, because it is a Facebook group it could possibly be a scam. So be careful when using Facebook. Some of the groups where I searched were:
  • ISTANBUL APARTMENTS/ROOMS/HOUSES for RENT SHORT AND LONG TERM / SALE
  • Erasmus in Istanbul
  • Erasmus Istanbul
• Online Websites: There are many online websites where you can search a place. The two most well-known are
  • Sahibinden.com
  • Hepsiemlak

These websites are mostly for finding private apartments and studios. You can find almost everything within your budget. But also here, be aware of potential scams. Remember that it looks too good to be true, it is probably too good to be true. On these websites there might be a language barrier, so also be aware of that. Both sites are very user friendly and available in English.

Other useful websites could be:

• Erasmusplay.com
• AirBnb
• Uniplaces.com
• Erasmusu.com
• Real Estate Agents: If you are in Istanbul already or you know a real estate agency, you can also get in contact with them. Be aware that not every real estate agency want to rent short term.

Important: on sites like sahibinden.com the owner might not want to rent the place to you long beforehand. The housemarket in Istanbul works very fast. It is not like the market in Western Europe for example. So if you search 5 months before arrival, the changes are big that nobody wants to rent out their place, unless you pay for the next 5 months too. However, I would still recommend to start searching early. This can help you make contacts that will help you when the time has come.

What to Look For: The Checklist

• Location: Make sure you are in a safe neighbourhood, close to all the facilities you need, and close to the university or at least public transport.
• Lease Terms: Make sure the terms of your lease are acceptable, your lease contract will very likely be in Turkish. So make sure you have a good translation of the document before you sign it. In Istanbul it is very normal to pay one month rent deposit, and if you are making use of a real estate agency there might be a month commission fee.
• Utilities: Check if the utilities are included or excluded.
• Reality Check: Photos might be completely different then how the place look in person. If it is possible visit the place beforehand, but most likely this is not possible, so only rent if you really trust the owner. Ask for photos, videos, official documents (ID card + Certificate of the Owner: Tapu).

Another tip: Check the owner/real estate agency online. If you look for the owner look on Instagram or Facebook and scroll through their account. Is it an old account or just created? Be aware of the person you are talking to. For real estate agencies, you can check the online reviews.

My House Hunting Adventure

My search for an apartment was quite stressful. I was searching for a private apartment or studio in Istanbul. The search began multiple months prior to my arrival. Someone told me that it could also be quite useful to look at sites like Booking.com or Airbnb. So that is what I did. I found some places close to Taksim that could be good. I booked these places (with the option to cancel for free) and got more contact information. The place that was likely going to be my place, had a very grumpy owner that didn’t want to help me at all. So I canceled this one, the other apartment that was a good option was in a neighbourhood that is not open for foreigners, so I also canceled this.

Then I found out about sahibinden.com and it looked like this was the site where I would find a place to stay that is comfortable and safe. In my search I made a list of potential places, and I contacted many owner through their WhatsApp number that is on the website. Here I made a few contacts, and find some really good options. However, nobody wanted to rent to this early. If I wanted the place, I had to rent it from the moment I contacted them until I depart from Istanbul. This was not an option, so I asked if I could come back to them when it was possible to rent. Often they said, that is okay but then this apartment will probably be gone. But it would be possible to check the options at that moment together.

Then only three weeks before I would arrive, I contacted one of the real estate agents from before, they still had some good options. I checked everything and one day later I signed the contract for this apartment. The process itself was very easy, and the agent helped me good through it.

What is important here, is that I followed my feeling. Beforehand I searched the agency on Google. It got something like 3/5 stars, and quite some very negative comments. However, the agent that was helping me, was specifically mentioned to be nice and good multiple times. I had a good feeling with this agent, and during my time here I still have a good feeling about this agent. The apartment is good, and I have everything that was promised to me.

You Can Do This!

From my own experience I can know that finding a place to stay can be very stressful. But if you are careful and follow your feeling, you will find a good place to stay.

And if you have any questions regarding this topic or anything else comment down below, or you can contact me.

Email: erasmusstudentinistanbul@gmail.com

Or on my socials down below

Thank you for reading, and I hope this guide helped you out in some way.