hello !
i'm vincent, i've been working in istanbul for one year, and this is my second year. i've been living in the same flat since my arrival (1 sept 2005), with a 550 YTL rent.
yesterday, my owner sent me a letter : he says he raises the rent by 150 YTL, "according to our agreement from 01-09-06"
the problem is :
- when i took the flat i was told by the estate agent that 'may be' the rent would be increased by 10% (ie. 55 YTL) after one year
- i didn't saw my owner or talk to him on the 01-09-06 (i wasn't even in istanbul), so there's no 'agreement from 01-09-06'
- i saw him in october or november (because of some water problems in the building) and he didn't mentioned this raise
- he says the raise is retroactive, so i'm in debt of 750 YTL
- and he wants me to pay a 700 YTL rent starting from february
so i have some questions for the lawyers here :
- i believe he has the right to do this raise ? but isn't it limited ?
- can he inform me 5 months after and ask to be paid at once ?
thanks for the help !

PS: when i signed for the flat, i was told the renting contract was a standard one. the only handwritten information are names, addresses, rent, deposit, bank id.