As elaborated in the section on Types of Accommodation, the only Reception and Accommodation Centre is in Yozgat and has a modest capacity of 100 places. Little is known by civil society about the conditions in the centre.
While the current capacity of Reception and Accommodation Centre is extremely limited as compared to the size of the population seeking international protection in Türkiye, Article 95 LFIP and the Regulation on the Establishment of Reception and Accommodation Centres and Removal Centres (“Removal Centres Regulation”), dated 22 April 2014 lay down the parameters for the operation and organisational structure of these facilities and Removal Centres.
“Persons with special needs” shall have priority access to free accommodation and other reception services provided in these facilities.[1]
Reception services provided in the reception and accommodation centres may also be extended to international protection applicants and status holders residing outside the centres,[2] although in practice because of the dispersal policy, only applicants registered and residing in the same province as the centre would be able to access any such services.
However, Article 4 of the Removal Centres Regulation provides that a list of 9 general principles must be observed in all functioning and provision in the Centres, including prioritisation of persons with special needs, best interest of the child, confidentiality of personal data, due notification of residents and detainees on the nature and consequences of all proceedings they undergo, respect for right to religious affiliations and worship and non-discrimination.
Currently, almost all international protection applicants pay for private accommodation in their assigned provinces out of their own resources. Access to housing remains deeply challenging due to a range of factors, including high rental prices and onerous advance payment requirements from owners. Rent prices are very high, resulting in two or three families living together in one place to be able to afford rent. Deposits are not paid back when the tenancy contract ends. As a result, a large number of applicants, likely temporary protection beneficiaries (see Temporary Protection: Housing) remain exposed to destitution and homelessness, or accommodation in substandard makeshift camps.
The economic downturn increased living expenses, including rental fees. This had a larger effect on refugees because of their vulnerability. According to NGOs, they provided often provided advice to refugees regarding the state law regulating rent for new tenants, in which the rental increase limit is 25% and the property owner cannot file a lawsuit based on the rejection of a rent increase exceeding 25%.[3]
Another obstacle affecting applicants’ accommodation stems from marginalisation from local communities or other refugee populations, whereby people are forced to live in districts far from the city centre, hospitals, education centres and public buildings. Although the types of challenges vary depending on the province and the profile of the applicant, the most common problem is finding a suitable place to live in highly conservative Central and Eastern Anatolian cities. For instance, due to pervasive racism, applicants of African descent appear to be more discriminated when searching for accommodation. They primarily reside in shared residences in Esenyurt, Istanbul, and face significant discrimination when looking for a home.[4] In other provinces such as Hatay, Afghan asylum seekers live in an isolated community far away from the centre of Antakya, due to discrimination from both local and Syrian populations. In Ankara, however, they generally reside in the Altındağ neighbourhood together with Syrian refugees. In İstanbul, an increasing number of Afghans have settled in Küçüksu and Yenimahalle[5] and Zeytinburnu.[6] In Adana and Mersin, they mostly live in rural areas under precarious conditions with together with Syrians.[7]
[1] Article 95(3) LFIP.
[2] Article 95(4) LFIP.
[3] Information provided by a stakeholder, April 2023.
[4] Burgün, ‘Esenyurt’u ‘yurt’ edinen göçmenlerin öyküsü: Kimsesizler mezarlığına gömülmek istemiyoruz’, 27 July 2022, available in Turkish at: https://bit.ly/3pQ7CLt.
[5] Information provided by a stakeholder, May 2023.
[6] Information provided by a stakeholder, May 2023.
[7] Information provided by a stakeholder, May 2023.