How Is the Dues Increase Rate Calculated? A Current Guide

What Drives the Dues Increase Is Not Inflation but the Expense Items

Every year, in December and January, apartment and residential complex managements face the same question: "By how much should we raise the dues?" Most managers take the announced inflation figure and apply it directly to the dues. Yet this method often gives the wrong result. What determines the dues is not an abstract inflation figure but your building's concrete expense items: doorkeeper salary, electricity, water, elevator maintenance, cleaning, insurance and the repair fund.

The correct approach is this: first, itemize next year's estimated expenses line by line, then divide the total by the number of units or by land share. Inflation is only a guide for estimating how much these items will rise; it is not, on its own, the dues rate.

Calculating the Dues Increase Step by Step

1. List Last Year's Expenses

From your operating ledger, list all of the previous year's expenses item by item. The largest item is usually staff (doorkeeper/cleaning) salary and the related SGK premium. The rise in the minimum wage directly affects this line.

2. Estimate the Increase for Each Item Separately

Instead of applying a single rate, evaluate each item on its own: staff salaries rise with the minimum wage increase; electricity and water tariffs depend on public price adjustments; elevator and maintenance contracts are usually indexed to CPI. This item-based approach yields a far more realistic budget than applying one flat rate.

3. Add a Repair and Reserve Fund Share

Well-managed buildings set aside a reserve fund for unexpected repairs. For events such as an elevator breakdown, a burst water pipe or a roof repair, adding a small share to the monthly dues is better than being forced to collect a "supplementary dues" contribution mid-year.

4. Divide the Total by the Number of Units or by Land Share

Under Article 20 of the KMK, unless the management plan provides otherwise, common expenses are shared in proportion to the land share. Many buildings, however, adopt the equal-share method for practicality. Which method you use is written in your management plan.

A Worked Example

Consider a 20-unit apartment. Say last year's total monthly expense was 40,000 TL. After evaluating the upcoming staff wage rise, energy tariffs and maintenance contracts item by item, you project that total expenses will rise by roughly 45%. New monthly expense: 40,000 x 1.45 = 58,000 TL. Under the equal-share method, dues per unit: 58,000 / 20 = 2,900 TL.

As can be seen, this calculation differs from simply saying "last year it was 1,500 TL, let's raise it by 45% to 2,175 TL" — and it actually covers real expenses.

How Is the Dues Increase Decision Taken?

The dues amount is set by majority vote of the unit owners' assembly. A manager cannot raise the dues on their own; the decision must be taken at the general assembly and recorded in the decision book. A unit owner who did not attend the meeting or voted against the decision may file an action for its annulment; but they remain liable to pay the new dues until the case is concluded.

Common Mistakes

• Applying a single flat rate: Raising all expenses by the same rate leaves the budget short in years when the minimum wage rises sharply.
• Not setting aside a reserve fund: Requesting a lump sum from unit owners for an unexpected repair is both difficult and disruptive.
• Increasing dues without a decision: An increase applied without a general assembly decision is legally invalid and open to challenge.

Related Topics

We covered the legal limits on the increase in our "is a dues increase legal" article, the impact of inflation and the minimum wage in our "2026 dues hike" article, and the foundation of the budget — the operating project — in our "operating project" article.

This content is for informational purposes. For legal and financial decisions specific to your building, rely on your management plan and, if needed, the opinion of a legal or financial advisor.