Istanbul's Fatih district bans uncontrolled temporary rentals

Istanbul's Fatih district bans uncontrolled temporary rentals

ISTANBUL

DHA photo

Istanbul’s Fatih Municipality has banned uncontrolled rentals in the district with a decision that is expected to be submitted to the Council of Monuments for approval next month amid reports that the perpetrators of last week’s suicide attack on Istanbul Ataürk Airport had rented an apartment in the area ahead of the bombing, daily Habertürk reported.  

In the wake of reports that the three assailants in the June 28 Atatürk Airport bombings had resided in an apartment in the Fatih district for three months before the attack, together with statements by the neighborhood muhtar that there were 2,500 unrecorded apartments in the area, there has been growing criticism about the alleged lack of security controls in the rental market.

Fatih Mayor Mustafa Demir said his municipality took a step on the uncontrolled rental of apartments in the district in 2015. 

“This is not only Fatih’s problem. Yes, terrorists stayed in Fatih but they have stayed in Pendik for five months as well. They could have stayed in Taksim too. [We] conducted work in March 2015. There is a decision we took at our council: Home pensions will be made only within the borders of Eminönü. This decision we took passed through the Metropolitan Municipality Council. It will be on the agenda of the Council of Monuments in a month,” said Demir.