Turkish president says "tenants tormented by house owners"

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that the increases in housing prices in Turkey within the last couple of years were essentially caused by a global crisis that had been triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and that house owners exploited this crisis to drastically push up rent prices.

In a ceremony held in the capital city of Ankara, Erdogan said:

"The increases in the house sale and rent prices that is incomparable by any economic measure have victimized our citizens. What did the opportunists do with the rent prices, the house owners? A pestering began. The house owners started tormenting the tenants. They imposed high rents. So we implemented policies to simultaneously restrict increases in rents and to increase the supply."

The housing price index, published by the Central Bank of Turkey, saw an annual increase of 185% in August. The annual increase has been 211% in Istanbul.

While Turkish authorities claim that the rising inflation in Turkey is the result of a global crisis, Turkey is among countries with the most severe inflation rises. According to highly controversial official figures, the annual inflation peaked at over 83% in September. An independent research group put the inflation at over 186%.

Turkey follows Zimbabwe, Syria, Sudan, Venezuela and Lebanon in inflation figures.