President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday oversaw the launch of what he described as Türkiye's biggest social housing project ever to build around half a million residential units, mainly targeting low- and middle-income citizens.
"We are launching the Housing Project of the Century, initiating a mobilization to build 500,000 social housing units," Erdoğan told the event in Istanbul.
The properties will be built by the state's Housing Development Administration (TOKI) and will feature affordable prices and long-term payment plans. The project also seeks to stabilize excessive rent increases, particularly in Istanbul, and facilitate access to safe and durable rental housing.
"Our citizens will become homeowners through long-term, low-installment and secure payment plans. We will establish a strong shield against the extraordinary rise in rental prices," Erdoğan said.
Of the total, 100,000 units will be built in Istanbul, 30,000 are planned for Ankara, 21,000 for Izmir, 13,000 each for Bursa, Gaziantep and Konya, and 12,000 units each for Hatay and Diyarbakır, he noted.
TOKI has built 1.74 million social housing units to date.
The new initiative advances the construction drive in earthquake-prone regions into a nationwide mobilization to provide safe housing against disaster risks.
The homes to be built will consist of two- and one-bedroom units of 55, 65 and 80 square meters in size. They will be designed in accordance with low-rise architecture and traditional aesthetics, Erdoğan said.
The starting sale price will be TL 1.8 million ($43,000), and properties will be offered under state guarantee with a 10% down payment and 240-month installment plans, according to the president.
Monthly installments will start from TL 6,750, he said.
Special quotas will be allocated for families of martyrs, veterans, retirees, young people and families with at least three children.
"We are allocating 20% of the homes in our housing project to young people aged 18 to 30," Erdoğan said.
"We have also reserved a 10% quota for families with three or more children," he added.
A 5% quota has been allocated for families of martyrs, veterans, and individuals with disabilities, while 20% will be reserved for retirees.
Applications will begin on Nov. 15, and construction will commence simultaneously, according to Erdoğan.
The lottery to determine eligible homeowners will be held in December and the first deliveries are planned for March 2027.
The initiative also marks the launch of a rental housing model, which Erdoğan said will initially be implemented only in Istanbul.
Priority will be given to workers and civil servants, minimum-wage families, young couples and eligible individuals affected by urban transformation projects. Quota details will be announced in the coming days.
These homes will be rented at half the local market rate, and rental contracts will cover a period of three years, Erdoğan said.
"We will be the first to make a decisive intervention against excessive rent prices in Istanbul," he stressed.
