I. DEFINITION
With the Presidential Decree No. 8112 published in the Official Gazette dated 18 January 2024 and numbered 32433, with the Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Qualifications of Tourism Facilities, subparagraph (t) was added to come after subparagraph (ş) to the first paragraph of Article 4 of the Regulation on the Qualifications of Tourism Facilities (Official Gazette Date: 01.06.2019, Number: 30791). According to this amendment, mobile house is defined as ;
“A vehicle subject to the Highway Traffic Law dated 13/10/1983 and numbered 2918, which has an O2 type approval certificate in accordance with the relevant legislation, designed to be towed by a motor vehicle, arranged in the form of an accommodation unit, with a living area, bed and bathroom-toilet”
The issues related to the O2 class type approval certificate are regulated by the Regulation on Type and Market Surveillance and Inspection of Motor Vehicles and Trailers and Their Parts, Systems and Separate Technical Units (EU/2018/858) (Official Gazette Date: 19.04.2020, Number: 31104).
II. TOURISM INVESTMENT CERTIFICATES WILL NOT BE ISSUED FOR MOBILE HOUSES
Tourism investment certificate, which is the certificate issued during the investment phase for the facilities whose qualifications are specified in the Regulation on the Qualifications of Tourism Facilities, will not be issued for mobile houses. With the amendment made to the second paragraph of Article 6 of the Regulation on the Qualifications of Tourism Facilities, mobile houses were also included.
“Tourism investment certificates are not issued to private facilities, gastronomy facilities, apart-hotels, hostels, mobile houses and private accommodation facilities that are not located in buildings that are cultural properties that need to be protected”.
III. ACCOMMODATION UNITS OF ACCOMMODATION FACILITIES WILL NOT BE PARTIALLY OR COMPLETELY MADE UP OF MOBILE HOUSES, OTHERWISE CERTIFICATE REQUESTS WILL BE REJECTED
The following paragraph has been added to Article 18 of the Regulation on the Qualifications of Tourism Facilities titled “Minimum qualifications of accommodation facilities”:
“(2) Except for those explicitly permitted in the article where the qualifications of the type are specified, the accommodation units of the accommodation facilities cannot be partially or completely composed of mobile houses, regardless of whether the mobility is eliminated or not. Certificate requests for these facilities will be rejected.”
IV. QUALIFICATIONS OF FACILITIES CONSISTING OF MOBILE HOUSES TO BE ORGANISED IN AREAS RESERVED FOR CAMPING OR RURAL/ECO-TOURISM USES
Article 35/A titled “Mobile Houses” has been added to the sixth section of the Regulation on the Qualifications of Tourism Facilities titled Rural Tourism Facilities. According to this article;
ARTICLE 35/A- (1) Mobile houses are facilities organised in areas allocated for camping or rural/eco-tourism uses in zoning plans, excluding allocated public properties, consisting entirely of mobile houses and containing at least five and at most forty-nine accommodation units. These facilities have the following qualifications:
a) At least two hundred and fifty square metres per accommodation unit.
b) Isolation of the facility area from the environment with arrangements such as fences, walls, greenery and lighting.
c) Car parking at the entrance for one vehicle per accommodation unit, reception-administration unit.
ç) The registration certificate of all mobile houses must be issued in the name of the owner or certificate holder or operator.
(2) Accommodation units are organised in a way to receive natural light. They shall be decorated in a way to provide comfortable use with suitable furniture items. These units shall be equipped with a bed, one pillow per person, pillowcase, bed sheet, pique or quilt according to climatic conditions, valuables safe, minibar, equipment and service equipment allowing hot beverage preparation, general lighting, socket, trash can, curtain or similar arrangement. Bathrooms are equipped with sanitary ware, armatures, faucets, shower equipment, mirrors, sockets, trash cans, soap, shampoo, hand and bath towels. Each accommodation unit is for two persons.
(3) In the event that a restaurant, a la carte restaurant, cafeteria, bar lounge, pastry parlour, café and breakfast room are organised in these facilities within the scope of the fifth paragraph (Indoor and outdoor general spaces and their qualifications) of Article 14 (Arrangement of spaces), the total capacity of these units cannot exceed one hundred people; meeting rooms and multi-purpose halls cannot be built.
(4) Arrangements cannot be made to eliminate the mobility of accommodation units.
(5) In the application for tourism operation certificate for these facilities, the registration certificate shall be submitted. It is mandatory to have a valid technical inspection within the scope of Law No. 2918 as of the application date. After obtaining the tourism management certificate, a valid inspection certificate stating that technical inspections have been carried out shall be submitted to the Ministry.”