The Rights of a Foreign Tourist Renting a Car on Holiday in Türkiye After an Accident or Damage: Rental Company, Insurance, Deposit and Compensation

The first distinction in a car rental dispute: liability arising from the traffic accident and liability arising from the rental agreement are not the same thing

An accident involving a rental car can give rise to several legal relationships at the same time. On one side are bodily or material losses caused to third parties by the traffic accident; on the other are the damage to the rented vehicle itself, a deduction from the deposit, the collision insurance excess (kasko), loss of use and claims of breach of contract.

For this reason, for a foreign tourist the question "who was at fault in the accident?" is not enough on its own. In the same file, the following questions must be answered separately:

• Which driver caused the accident, and to what degree of fault?
• Under which insurance or coverage does the damage to the rented vehicle fall?
• Has the renter fulfilled the notification and documentation obligations in the agreement?
• Did the damage claimed by the rental company really occur during this rental period?
• Has the damage amount, diminished value or lost rental income been documented technically and financially?
• Is the deduction from the deposit consistent with the agreement and with consumer law?
• Is part of the damage the responsibility of a third party or another insurer?

Different claims arising from the same event may have different legal grounds. Without drawing this distinction, no sound conclusion can be reached by looking only at one clause of the rental agreement or only at the traffic accident report.

A foreign tourist's car rental in Türkiye may be a consumer transaction

If the tourist rents the vehicle not for commercial or professional purposes but for a holiday and personal transport, he or she acts, as a rule, as a consumer. In that case the car rental company may be treated as the "provider" and the car rental service as a consumer transaction under Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection.

This characterization matters for the review of the agreement terms as unfair terms, for pre-contractual information, for defective performance of the service, for additional charges and for the available avenues of application. However, third-party losses arising from a traffic accident and claims relating to insurance law cannot be explained by consumer law alone; the Highway Traffic Law, the Turkish Code of Obligations and the relevant general insurance conditions apply together with it.

The 2026 monetary limit for the Consumer Arbitration Committee

For consumer disputes with a value below TL 186,000 in 2026, an application must be made to the Provincial or District Consumer Arbitration Committees (tüketici hakem heyeti). For consumer disputes of TL 186,000 and above, subject to the exceptions in the law, an application to the consumer court comes into question after mediation as a condition precedent to litigation.

For a foreign tourist, the practical method of application, the absence of residence in Türkiye, a foreign identity number or the power of attorney situation must also be planned for separately. In determining the value of the dispute, not only the deposit but the total of all the deductions and loss items claimed may be taken into account.

What to do first at the time of the accident: safety, notification and evidence

After an accident, the priority is always personal safety and medical care. At the same time, in a rental dispute it is very important to preserve the evidence in the first hours.

Depending on the specific case, the following steps should be considered:

• If there is an injury, having 112 and the health facility records created.
• Notifying the police or gendarmerie where a law enforcement report is required.
• Having a traffic accident report drawn up if the conditions allow.
• Notifying the rental company without delay, in writing or through a channel that can be recorded.
• Taking photos/videos of the vehicle from all four sides, of the license plate, of the existing damage and of the scene, preserving the date and time information as far as possible.
• Recording the plate, driver, insurance and contact details of the other vehicles.
• Obtaining the contact details of witnesses, if any.
• Recording on whose instruction the towing and parking steps were taken.
• Keeping the accident procedure, the assistance number and the insurance documents provided by the rental company.

The rental agreement may contain provisions such as "notification within 24 hours", "law enforcement report", "alcohol report" or submission of certain documents. A breach of these obligations may affect the discussion of insurance or contractual liability; however, it cannot be concluded that every breach automatically eliminates all insurance protection or all consumer rights.

Existing damage must always be recorded when taking delivery of the vehicle

A significant share of car rental disputes arise not from the accident but from "new damage" claims raised after the return. For this reason, when taking delivery of the vehicle, it is important to enter on the delivery form and photograph existing scratches, dents, rim damage, glass cracks, tire condition and interior damage.

Under the law in force today as well, the delivery and return records, photo and video recordings, card pre-authorization records, the rental agreement and the expert appraisal documents are decisive as evidence.

In its decision of 22.10.2015, E. 2014/11570, K. 2015/8880, the Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay 6. Hukuk Dairesi) examined the accident notification and collision insurance (kasko) provisions of a car rental agreement and stressed that whether the damage resulted from normal use must be determined technically. This approach shows that merely listing repair invoices will not be sufficient in every case, and that the nature and source of the damage must be examined separately.

Why do the photos and the record at the time of return matter?

When a company employee inspects the vehicle at return and creates a "returned undamaged" record, this can significantly affect damage claims raised later. By contrast, in cases such as a night-time return, leaving the car at a key drop box or an unattended return, the image and time record of the vehicle at the moment it was left take on separate importance.

What is the deposit taken for, and which deductions can be disputed?

The deposit is an amount taken, or blocked on a card, to secure the renter's financial obligations that may arise from the rental agreement. However, the deposit does not give the rental company the authority to collect any amount it wishes unilaterally.

If the rental company makes a deduction from the deposit, it must be able to explain which contract provision and which concrete loss the deduction is based on. In particular, the following items should be examined separately:

• The cost of damage that has genuinely newly occurred on the vehicle.
• The excess of the collision insurance/operator's coverage (kasko) regulated in the agreement.
• The fuel or energy replenishment fee.
• Late return or excess mileage.
• Highway/bridge tolls and traffic/parking violations.
• Towing, parking or assistance expenses.
• The claimed diminished value of the vehicle.
• Lost rental income during repair, or a claim of loss of use.
• Additional fees collected under the name of administrative processing or service charges.

For each item, the contractual basis, the actual loss, causation and proof must be assessed separately.

Collision insurance (kasko), operator's coverage and compulsory traffic insurance do not provide the same protection

One of the common mistakes in car rental is generalizations such as "if the vehicle is insured, the renter pays nothing" or, conversely, "if the renter caused the accident, the renter pays the entire damage".

Compulsory financial liability insurance

Under the Highway Traffic Law, compulsory traffic insurance secures, within the set limits, the operator's legal liability for losses caused to third parties by the operation of a motor vehicle. As a rule, this insurance is not the collision insurance (kasko) that covers the rented vehicle's own damage.

Collision insurance and operator's coverage

Collision insurance or the damage cover offered by the rental company is important for covering the rented vehicle's own loss. However, the scope, the excess, an unauthorized driver, alcohol, gross violations, loss of keys, tires-glass-rims, wrong fuel and similar special conditions may vary according to the policy and the agreement.

The names of products offered to the renter with foreign terms such as "full insurance", "zero excess", "CDW" and "super cover" are not sufficient on their own. Which damage is covered up to which limit, which situations are outside the cover and what the excess is must be checked in the written terms.

If the renter was at fault in the accident, can the company claim every kind of loss?

No. The renter's fault in the accident does not mean that every item put forward by the rental company will automatically be accepted.

At a minimum, the following matters are examined regarding the loss claimed by the company:

• That the damage occurred during the rental period.
• That there is an appropriate causal link between the damage and the accident.
• That the portion covered by insurance or contractual coverage has been separated out.
• That the excess or the out-of-cover item for which the renter is responsible can be clearly identified.
• That the repair cost is consistent with market and technical reality.
• Whether any payment has been received from the insurer or the other party for the same loss.
• That indirect losses such as diminished value or lost rental income are separately proven.

In the car rental dispute that was the subject of the decision of the Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay 3. Hukuk Dairesi) of 02.03.2020, E. 2020/371, K. 2020/1875, the emphasis was that whether the damage to the vehicles resulted from ordinary use or from abusive use must be determined through an expert examination. This approach shows that a damage claim directed at the renter must lend itself to technical examination and be documented.

"Diminished value" and "lost rental income" must be proven separately

Rental companies sometimes claim, in addition to the repair cost, the diminished value of the vehicle and the loss of income arising from being unable to rent it out during the repair.

These claims differ from the repair cost. Diminished value is the claim that, even though the vehicle has been repaired, its second-hand market value has fallen. Lost rental income is the claim of income lost because the vehicle could not be rented out during a reasonable repair period.

For both items, the duration, the market value, the vehicle's earlier damage, the season, the rental capacity and actual usage data are important. A standard table prepared unilaterally by the company alone may not always be sufficient, particularly for a high-value claim.

If a third party was at fault, collection by the rental company directly from the renter may be disputed

If the accident resulted from another driver's fault, avenues of compensation may arise against the operator and driver of the other vehicle and its compulsory traffic insurer. If the rental company is in a position to claim its own vehicle's loss from the other party or through insurance mechanisms, its attempt to also collect the same loss from the renter without any set-off may give rise to a double-recovery dispute.

That said, it may be argued that the company lost its insurance or recourse possibility because the renter breached the notification or documentation obligations in the agreement. In that case, whether the breach genuinely caused that loss, the company's duty to mitigate the loss and the validity of the contract terms under consumer law must be assessed separately.

The bodily injuries of a foreign tourist involved in a rental car accident are assessed separately

A foreign tourist may be injured after the accident. In that case, in addition to the vehicle damage and deposit dispute, different claims arise for the tourist's own bodily losses.

If there is an at-fault opposing vehicle, items such as treatment expenses, temporary or permanent incapacity for work, impairment of economic future and non-pecuniary damage may be directed at separate liable parties. If the accident involved only the one vehicle, factors such as a technical defect, lack of maintenance, or a tire or brake problem in the rented vehicle may be investigated.

The rental company's duty to deliver the vehicle in a safe and fit condition is important. The effect of a defect or lack of maintenance on the accident may require a technical expert examination. The tourist's driving error and the vehicle's technical fault may be assessed together in the same file.

A technical defect and driver error must be distinguished from each other

If it is alleged that the vehicle had a brake, steering, tire, electronic system or maintenance-related problem before the accident, one should not rely only on the traffic accident report.

Service records, periodic maintenance history, tire production date, fault codes, the towing delivery record, expert appraisal, vehicle telematics and any in-vehicle system records may be important.

If the renter noticed a warning light or unusual behavior but kept driving the vehicle, the renter's contribution to the increase of the loss may also be discussed. By contrast, if the company failed to remedy a safety deficiency that was known beforehand or that could have been noticed in reasonable maintenance, the liability assessment changes.

Foreign driver's license, additional driver and unauthorized use

For a foreign tourist to drive in Türkiye, the validity of the driver's license in Türkiye and the translation or international driving permit requirements must be checked according to the specific country and document.

The rental agreement may authorize only certain drivers to drive the vehicle. Use of the vehicle by a person not added to the agreement may have serious consequences, particularly for collision insurance (kasko) and damage coverage. However, which agreement and policy provision the company's "unauthorized driver" defense is based on, and the relationship of that use to the damage, must be examined separately.

How should later charges to a credit card be examined?

After returning to his or her country, the tourist may see on the credit card a high-value charge for damage, a fine, a highway toll, an expert appraisal or an "administration fee".

In such a case, instead of only filing a bank dispute, the legal file must also be prepared. First of all, the following documents should be requested:

• The rental agreement and all its annexes.
• The delivery and return form.
• Damage photos.
• The full report of the independent or authorized expert appraisal, if any.
• The repair invoice or quotations.
• The insurance company's payment/rejection information.
• Receipts for the deposit and the later charges.
• An explanation showing which agreement clause the charge is based on.
• The relevant official record, if a traffic fine or toll fee is claimed.

Disputing the card transaction through the bank does not remove the legal assessment of the principal claim or refund claim against the rental company.

Using credit card details from earlier rentals may also raise KVKK and unfair-term issues

A car rental company's reuse of credit card information obtained during a past rental to collect an HGS (automatic toll system) charge, damage, fine or other amount arising from a later rental is not lawful in every case.

In its decision of 27.02.2020, No. 2020/166, the Personal Data Protection Board (Kişisel Verileri Koruma Kurulu) examined a case in which a car rental company attempted to use a different credit card's details, obtained in a previous rental, to collect an HGS charge in a later rental. The Board treated the standard contract provision allowing collection from the cards notified in previous agreements as an unfair term to the detriment of the consumer in the specific case, and concluded that retaining and using the old card details in this way was not compatible with the principles of lawfulness and fairness under the KVKK nor with the principles of being related to the purpose, limited and proportionate.

For this reason, if a foreign tourist, after returning to his or her country, sees an attempted charge from a card he or she does not recognize or has not authorized, he or she should examine not only the "chargeback" process but also the following:

• During which rental the card used was given to the company.
• Which card was approved for use in the current agreement.
• For what purpose and for how long the old card details were retained.
• Whether the collection provision is a standard, non-negotiated unfair term.
• Whether a condition for data processing exists under the KVKK.
• Whether it can be requested that the company delete/destroy the card data and explain its data processing activity.

This heading may create a personal data law dimension separate from the deposit and damage dispute.

A KABİS record, an additional driver and liability for traffic fines are not the same concept

For car rental businesses, the Rental Vehicle Notification System (Kiralık Araç Bildirim Sistemi, KABİS) and the identity notification obligations are among the important means of determining who actually used the vehicle and who is the addressee in certain traffic/misdemeanor proceedings.

In its decision of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay 19. Ceza Dairesi), E. 2020/6831, K. 2021/7110, it was accepted that an administrative fine cannot automatically be imposed on the car rental operator because the renter later allowed an unlicensed third person to drive a vehicle that had been duly rented to a person holding a driver's license and registered in the system. This decision shows that the mere status of vehicle owner or lessor is not sufficient for criminal and misdemeanor liability.

However, this decision does not mean that use of the vehicle by a person not named in the rental agreement has no consequences under private law or insurance law. Use by an unauthorized/additional driver must be assessed separately as regards collision insurance (kasko), damage coverage, breach of contract and the claims directed at the renter.

Loss of use of a vehicle and a rental company's "lost rental income" claim are not the same thing

The loss of use (araç mahrumiyeti) damage claimed by a vehicle owner who suffered damage in a traffic accident, because he or she could not use the vehicle, and the commercial loss of income that a car rental company claims arose from being unable to rent out a vehicle in its fleet during repair do not follow the same calculation logic.

For a private vehicle, loss of use is most often discussed on the basis of the cost of a substitute vehicle for the reasonable repair period. By contrast, in a rent-a-car business's claim of commercial loss of income, whether the vehicle could genuinely have been rented out, the season, the fleet occupancy rate, the vehicle class, the possibility of a substitute vehicle, the necessary expenses and the net income must be investigated.

With respect to compulsory financial liability insurance, loss of use/substitute vehicle cost, unlike diminished value, is generally treated as an indirect loss and may fall outside the insurance coverage. For this reason, the amount that a rental company asks a foreign tourist to pay under the name of "lost rental income" must not be confused with the diminished value that may be claimed from the insurer.

If the vehicle is heavily or totally damaged, the time needed to acquire a new vehicle, rather than the repair period, may be discussed

If the rented vehicle becomes a write-off/total loss, a calculation of "lost rental income for the repair period" may not always be correct. If repair is not economically or technically possible, the period needed to replace the vehicle with the same or a similar vehicle within a reasonable time may be discussed in calculating the loss.

In the case of heavy/total damage, the following distinctions must also be made:

• The vehicle value or the loss of market value.
• The salvage/scrap value.
• Whether a diminished value claim arises separately.
• Loss of use/income for the reasonable period needed to acquire a new vehicle.
• Set-off of the insurance payment and any third-party payments.

In the case of total loss, since there can no longer be a second-hand value decrease of a repaired vehicle, diminished value and the vehicle value cannot be claimed twice within the same loss.

What will change in car rental law on January 1, 2027?

The Regulation on the Rental of Motor Land Vehicles, published in the Official Gazette of August 15, 2026, will enter into force on January 1, 2027. The Regulation regulates in detail many issues that are scattered today with respect to short-term consumer car rentals.

For this reason, disputes from 2026 and disputes from 2027 onward must not be assessed as though the same rules applied.

Upper limits on the deposit and the seven-day refund process

Under Article 14 of the Regulation, the business will be able to take a deposit of at most three days' rental fee for rentals of six days or less, and at most seven days' rental fee for rentals of seven to twenty-nine days or weekly rentals.

As a rule, the steps for refunding the deposit will be completed within seven days following the date on which the rental agreement ends and the vehicle is returned.

It is also regulated that no deduction can be made from the deposit for acceptable wear and tear arising from ordinary use, or for certain scratches/dents that cannot be easily detected at delivery.

Mandatory delivery and return record

Article 12 of the Regulation provides for a delivery record showing the vehicle's existing damage and faults, and a return record showing the damage status at the time of return.

From 2027 onward, this provision will be important in "damage noticed later" disputes.

Independent expert appraisal for the damage amount

Article 16/5 of the Regulation makes it mandatory, for a damage or fault amount to be claimed from the renter, that the damage and its cost be documented by an authorized and independent expert appraisal report. It is regulated that reports prepared by the business's own personnel or by persons/entities connected to it cannot be used as evidence.

The sixth paragraph of the same article provides that no amount can be claimed from the renter for rentals in which no delivery and return record has been drawn up and for damage not stated in the return record.

Unilateral collection for diminished value will be restricted

Under Article 16/9 of the Regulation, except by agreement of the parties, no amount can be claimed or collected from the renter for diminished value without an insurance arbitration decision or another decision in the nature of a final judgment.

This provision is an important change with respect to one of the most contested additional charges in the car rental sector.

No mandatory extra fee may be charged for collision insurance and insurance

Article 13/5 of the Regulation provides that the renter and the additional driver named in the agreement will benefit from the vehicle's collision insurance, operator's coverage and compulsory financial liability insurance merely by paying the rental fee, and that benefiting from them cannot be made subject to any other condition or fee.

It must be specifically stated that this provision will take effect as of January 1, 2027. A rule that is not yet in force cannot be applied automatically retroactively in the legal assessment of agreements made in 2026.

New rights for prepaid reservations and intermediary platforms

The new Regulation does not regulate only damage and the deposit. Prepaid reservations made electronically and the liability of intermediary platforms are also separately regulated.

From January 1, 2027, if a reservation is canceled earlier than twenty-four hours before the vehicle delivery time, a cancellation fee cannot, as a rule, be charged to the consumer. It is also envisaged that the rental and other service fees paid under the reservation and the deposit will be refunded within seven days following the date of cancellation.

There are provisions envisaging joint liability between the business and the intermediary platform as regards pre-contractual information and sending the agreement to the renter where the rental agreement is formed through an intermediary platform. Thus, for rentals made by a foreign tourist through an international or domestic reservation platform, the defense that "the platform is only an intermediary" will not produce the same result in every case; the specific liability will be determined according to the limits of the Regulation and the role of the platform.

The new Regulation will not cover every car rental

The scope of the new rules must also be read carefully. Long-term rentals, short-term rentals where the renter is not a consumer, shared rentals and camper vehicle rentals are left outside the scope of the Regulation. The short-term holiday rentals made by a foreign tourist as a consumer, on which this article focuses, are as a rule within the main target area of the new regime.

Can the 2027 Regulation be applied directly to an accident in 2026?

As a rule, no. The legal outcome of a dispute is determined according to the rules in force at the date of the event and the agreement. Unless there is an explicit retroactivity provision, the Regulation that will enter into force on January 1, 2027 is not expected to be applied retroactively and directly to a rental completed in 2026.

That said, the new regulation is important in showing the clear standards the sector will have to comply with in the future. However, it is not correct to present these standards in a 2026 file as definite obligations as though they were in force.

What happens if the rental company has not taken out insurance suited to "rent a car" use?

If a vehicle is actually used in the rental business but the insurance policy's usage type has not been arranged accordingly, serious disputes may arise between the insurance company and the vehicle owner/rental company.

In the Court of Cassation's past decisions, whether the vehicle was in rental use and the effect of the conditions on the policy's usage type on the damage coverage have also been examined. The important point for the renter is this: a deficiency in the rental company's own insurance structure is not a loss item that can automatically be passed on to the consumer in every case. The specific agreement, the information provided, fault and the insurance provisions must be assessed together.

Which documents should a foreign tourist keep after leaving Türkiye?

The dispute often arises after the tourist has returned to his or her country. For this reason, a digital copy of all of the following documents should be made:

• The rental agreement and the reservation confirmation.
• The delivery and return records.
• The photos of the vehicle at delivery and return.
• The accident report and law enforcement documents.
• Hospital and treatment records.
• Towing and parking records.
• Correspondence with the insurer and assistance provider.
• Credit card pre-authorization and charge records.
• E-mail, WhatsApp or app correspondence with the rental company.
• The damage expert appraisal and repair invoices.
• Details of the other vehicle and its insurance policy.
• Flight and return-to-country information; in particular, the relevant expenses where the injury affected the travel.

Documents in a foreign language may need to be translated for administrative or judicial applications in Türkiye. The content of the power of attorney and the need for an apostille/translation must be planned separately according to the nature of the application.

How are the competent authority and the avenue of application determined?

A consumer who rents a car for personal/tourist purposes can, as a rule, have a dispute with the rental company over the deposit, an unjustified deduction, a service fee or contractual damage assessed within consumer law.

For consumer disputes below TL 186,000 in 2026, the consumer arbitration committee (tüketici hakem heyeti) comes into question; for disputes of this amount and above, the consumer court after mediation as a condition precedent to litigation comes into question.

However, for third-party compensation arising from a traffic accident, a direct claim against the insurance company, bodily injury, or disputes with more than one respondent, jurisdiction, venue and conditions precedent to litigation must be examined separately. Mechanically moving all the claims to the same avenue of application can lead to a loss of rights.

Common mistakes in practice

Not photographing the damage before taking delivery

Failing to record existing scratches and dents at delivery leads to a problem of proof after the return.

Settling for oral notification to the rental company

Even if a phone call was made, it is useful to confirm the event and the notification by e-mail, an app message or another written record.

Relying on the phrase "full insurance" without reading the policy

This phrase does not mean the same coverage in every country and with every company. The excess and the out-of-cover situations must be examined.

Seeing the amount charged to the card and only disputing it with the bank

Disputing with the bank can be important; however, for the underlying dispute, the rental agreement, the damage and the expert appraisal documents must also be examined separately.

Not collecting documents before leaving Türkiye

It may be harder later to obtain damage photos, reports, service records or law enforcement documents.

Related articles: Travel Insurance for Foreign Tourists Injured in an Accident on Holiday in Türkiye: Treatment Expenses, Exclusions, Claims to the Insurer and Compensation; Injury at a Hotel Mini Club or Children’s Activity: Supervision, Handover and the Operator’s Liability; Accidents on Jeep Safari, ATV and Buggy Tours: The Liability of the Tour Organizer, Vehicle Operator and Guide

Conclusion

The liability of a foreign tourist who rents a car in Türkiye after an accident cannot be determined merely by looking at the driver's degree of fault. Liability for the traffic accident, the rented vehicle's own damage, collision insurance and operator's coverage, the deposit deduction, diminished value, lost rental income and the consumer dispute must be kept separate from one another.

For events in 2026, the consumer, obligations, traffic and insurance law provisions currently in force and the agreement terms form the basis. The new Regulation on the Rental of Motor Land Vehicles, published on August 15, 2026, will enter into force on January 1, 2027 and will bring clearer protections as regards delivery-return records, independent expert appraisal, deposit limits and damage claims.

For a foreign tourist, the safest approach is to document existing damage when taking delivery of the vehicle, to carry out the correct report and notification steps at the time of the accident, to record the moment of return, and to ask for the contractual, expert-appraisal and insurance basis of every later deduction. Even if damage, bodily injury and deposit claims arise from the same event, each must be assessed within its own legal ground and system of proof.

Frequently Asked Questions

I had an accident in a rental car; do I pay all of the vehicle damage?

No. Fault, collision insurance/operator's coverage (kasko), the excess, the agreement terms, the other party's liability and the proof of the damage are assessed together.

Can the rental company deduct my entire deposit?

Only deductions that are based on the agreement and on a genuine debt or loss, and that can be proven, are legally defensible. The deposit is not an unlimited authority for the company to collect.

How do I prove that I returned the vehicle undamaged?

The return record, dated photos/videos, the record of the employee who took delivery, e-mails or app messages and card/deposit records can be used together.

I bought "full insurance"; do I still have to pay for damage?

It depends on the policy and coverage terms. There may be exceptions such as the excess, an unauthorized driver, alcohol, loss of keys, tires-glass-rims or wrong fuel.

If the accident was the other driver's fault, can the rental company still ask me for money?

Each claim is assessed separately. Losses that can be covered by the other party or by insurance cannot be collected twice from the renter; however, if the renter breached a contractual obligation, the effect of that is examined separately.

Can they charge diminished value directly to my credit card?

As of November 9, 2026, the existing agreement and legal rules apply. The new Regulation, which will enter into force on January 1, 2027, contains an explicit provision that prevents the collection of diminished value, absent an agreement, without an insurance arbitration decision or a decision in the nature of a final judgment.

Will there be an upper limit on the deposit in 2027?

Yes. Once the new Regulation enters into force, a deposit of at most three days' rental fee is envisaged for rentals of six days or less, and at most seven days' rental fee for rentals of seven to twenty-nine days.

Can the rental company claim the damage amount with its own service report?

From January 1, 2027, the new Regulation will require the damage and cost to be documented by an authorized and independent expert appraisal report. For events in 2026, the existing law of evidence and the agreement terms apply; the evidentiary value of a unilateral report is assessed in the specific file.

I went to the hospital after the accident; who pays my treatment expenses?

It varies according to the fault in the accident, the other vehicle and its traffic insurance, the insurance structures of the rented vehicle and any travel insurance. The bodily injury file must be examined separately from the vehicle damage file.

After leaving Türkiye, can I dispute an unjustified card charge?

Yes. A bank dispute, a consumer application and, where necessary, legal enforcement avenues can be assessed together. It is important to keep the documents complete.

Can a foreign tourist apply to the consumer arbitration committee?

It may be possible if the dispute is a consumer transaction and within the monetary limit. The foreigner's identification, power of attorney and method of application must be arranged according to the specific situation.

My friend, who is not named in the agreement, was driving at the time of the accident. What happens?

This may be important for collision insurance (kasko) and contractual coverage. However, the outcome is determined by the authorized-driver provisions in the policy and the agreement, and by the cause of the event.

The vehicle's brakes or tires may have caused the accident. What should I do?

The vehicle's service and maintenance records, the towing record, the tires and the technical systems need expert examination. A technical defect claim should, as far as possible, be supported by objective records and not only by the driver's statement.

The company is asking for an additional fee under the name of "lost rental income". Do I have to pay?

Not automatically. The reasonable repair period, the vehicle's actual income potential, fault, insurance and the contractual basis must be separately proven.

Can the rental company charge a different credit card that I used in an earlier rental?

Not in every case. In its decision No. 2020/166, the KVKK Board assessed, in the specific case, a standard provision on using card details obtained in a previous rental for a later rental debt, in terms of an unfair term and unlawful data processing. For which card and for which transaction approval was given must also be examined separately.

If an unlicensed person not named in the agreement drove the rented vehicle, does the rental company automatically receive a fine?

No. In a case with a proper rental and a KABİS record, the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay 19. Ceza Dairesi) accepted that the rental business cannot automatically be held liable for an administrative sanction because the renter later allowed an unlicensed third person to drive the vehicle. However, the consequences of that use under the rental agreement and insurance are assessed separately.

If the vehicle is a total loss, can the rental company claim both the full vehicle value and diminished value?

The same loss cannot be compensated twice. In a total loss/write-off, the vehicle value, salvage and insurance payments are the basis; diminished value, which refers to the second-hand value decrease of a repaired vehicle, and the full vehicle loss cannot be claimed twice.

What happens if I cancel a vehicle reservation made on an internet platform from 2027 onward?

After the new Regulation enters into force, a cancellation fee, as a rule, cannot be charged for cancellations made more than twenty-four hours before the delivery time; a seven-day refund process will apply to the rental/service fees paid and the deposit. Whether the specific reservation falls within the scope of the Regulation must be checked separately.

Sources and legal bases

1. Law No. 6098 Turkish Code of Obligations (6098 sayılı Türk Borçlar Kanunu), provisions on lease agreements, breach of contract, tort and compensation.
2. Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection (6502 sayılı Tüketicinin Korunması Hakkında Kanun), provisions on consumer transactions, unfair terms, defective services, consumer arbitration committees and consumer courts.
3. Law No. 2918 Highway Traffic Law (2918 sayılı Karayolları Trafik Kanunu).
4. General Conditions of the Compulsory Financial Liability Insurance for Motor Vehicles (Karayolları Motorlu Araçlar Zorunlu Mali Sorumluluk Sigortası Genel Şartları).
5. Regulation on the Rental of Motor Land Vehicles (Motorlu Kara Taşıtlarının Kiralanması Hakkında Yönetmelik), Official Gazette 15.08.2026/33341; effective date 01.01.2027.
6. Communiqué setting the 2026 monetary limit of the consumer arbitration committees under Article 68 of Law No. 6502 (6502 sayılı Kanunun 68 inci maddesi kapsamında 2026 yılı tüketici hakem heyeti parasal sınırını belirleyen Tebliğ), Official Gazette 23.12.2025/33116.
7. Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay 6. Hukuk Dairesi), E. 2014/11570, K. 2015/8880, dated 22.10.2015.
8. Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay 3. Hukuk Dairesi), E. 2020/371, K. 2020/1875, dated 02.03.2020.
9. Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay 3. Hukuk Dairesi), E. 2017/5676, K. 2019/909, dated 11.02.2019.
10. Civil General Assembly of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay Hukuk Genel Kurulu), E. 2020/83, K. 2022/697, dated 18.05.2022.
11. T.R. Ministry of Trade (T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı), Information Text on Consumer Arbitration Committees, 22.01.2026.
12. Personal Data Protection Board (Kişisel Verileri Koruma Kurulu), Decision Summary No. 2020/166, dated 27.02.2020.
13. Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay 19. Ceza Dairesi), E. 2020/6831, K. 2021/7110, dated 23.06.2021.