There are faculty housing apartments located on the Main, Middle and East Campuses. These apartments, which are of varying sizes, are well-equipped for the comfort and convenience of the residents. Allocations of the apartments are made by the relevant departments or schools with the approval of the vice rector in charge of Administrative and Financial Affairs.
MONTHLY CHARGES:
There is a minimal monthly charge for your residence, which varies according to the size of the apartment. The Housing Office will notify you of the amount in an invoice indicating charges for heating, electricity and maintenance. You are requested to make payments by the 10th of each month to the nearest Housing Office. (There are offices located on the Main, Middle and East Campuses.) For your convenience, you may want to sign a form that allows for the charges to be automatically deducted from your salary or make your payments by credit card using the link http://stars.bilkent.edu.tr/odeme. As the University is now using an electronic invoicing system, your monthly payment receipt will be sent directly to your e-mail address in the following month. However, your first payment, which is determined based on the date you move into your assigned faculty apartment, should be made directly to the Housing Office, in cash. In case of non-payment by the 15th of the month, a 10 percent fine is imposed. If the payment is not made by the end of the month, an amount consisting of the monthly charge plus the fine is deducted from the resident’s salary.
Location of the Housing Offices:
Main Campus Housing Office: Building 19 (ext. 1397, 1400, 1551)
East Campus Housing Office: Building C (ext. 5092, 5395)
Middle Campus Housing Office: Building 106 (ext. 8400)
Inventory
Within one week of your arrival, a list of all appliances, utensils and furnishings provided in the residence is produced to be signed by both parties (the employee and the Housing Office management), stating that all items are present and in good condition.
Residence Certificate
Ask for a “Residence Certificate” from the Housing Office. This is an official document verifying your residency in the assigned apartment. Along with the certificate, it is very important that after obtaining your work/residence permit card, you register your address at the Directorate General of Migration Management Office located at No. 2 Binnaz Sokak (Street), off Barbaros Bulvarı (Boulevard) in the Kavaklıdere district of Ankara. Note that you don’t need to schedule an appointment for this registration. Once you arrive at the Migration Management Office, please tell the security person that you will register your address information (“adres kaydımı yaptıracağım” in Turkish) then, you will be provided with a number to wait in line. The address registration office is located on the basement floor of the Migration Management Building.
Pets
Pets are allowed in faculty apartments (except for buildings 12,106,107). Please make sure to have the certificate issued not more than 15 days before your departure. The certificate should indicate that the animal is in good health and vaccinated against rabies, and it should be stamped by the relevant government agency in the country where you have been residing. You will need a certificate for each pet you own.
For health and safety reasons as well as the comfort of other residents, please
• do not let your pet enter the playgrounds.
• do not let your pet outside unattended.
• keep your pet on a leash at all times while walking in or around the campus area.
• do not leave your pet’s feces on the ground.
• do not leave any food items in and around your building to feed stray cats and dogs.
Note that fogging to control insect infestations may take place several times throughout the year.
For the convenience of pet owners residing on campus, the International Center has recently launched a “foster home for campus pets” service, provided on a volunteer basis by faculty members willing to take care of pets (living on campus) whose owners are gone for a short period of time. Please get in touch with Berna Örge, International Center Coordinator, if you would like your name and contact information to be added to the list of volunteer foster home providers, or if you wish to learn about foster home availability for your pet.
Traveling to and from Turkey with your pets
Before you make plans to bring your pet(s) with you, please check with the airline you will be traveling on regarding their rules and requirements for bringing an animal on a flight. Most airlines require a certificate of acclimation for each animal traveling by plane. When leaving Turkey with your pet(s), it is highly recommended that you start obtaining all necessary forms and paperwork in a timely manner, i.e., at least 3-4 months before your departure. It is also important to learn the regulations of the country you are traveling to, as they may require an animal to have an additional blood test or official document.
The following is a list of the procedures/documents required for leaving Turkey with your pet:
• Up-to-date vaccination records
• Rabies vaccine and documentation (3-4 months before departure)
• Rabies titer test and documentation (30 days after the rabies vaccine; the pet must then stay in the country an additional 3 months before departure)
• Parasite treatment and documentation (10 days before departure)
• Microchip and documentation(mostly required by the EU member countries)
• Animal health certificate, which can be obtained from the pet’s veterinarian (should be provided on an official paper, with stamps, signature, etc.)
• Confirmation notice of transfer with a hologram from the Ministry of Agriculture (48 hours before departure)
Special Note: Please make a conscious and informed decision when either purchasing an animal from a pet store or adopting a homeless one from the street or a shelter during your stay in Turkey. Do not get any animal if you are not planning to take it with you when you return home. Always keep in mind that abandoned pets suffer tremendously and rarely survive after their owners turn them out onto the streets.
Visitors
All Main and Middle Campus faculty housing residents should inform Main Campus security at 290 1700 or faculty housing security at 290 1410 about any visitors they are expecting, so that the visitors can pick up a temporary campus access card at the Main Campus entrance security post for use in opening the entrance gates. The access card will be given in exchange for the visitor’s ID card or passport, which will be returned to the visitor when he/she exits the campus.
In case of the loss of the temporary access card, the visitor must go to the Accounting Office (located in the Rectorate Building) to pay a lost card fee and obtain a receipt, to be presented to the security officers at the gate in 19 exchange for the return of the visitor’s ID card. Note that a visitor who arrives at the entrance without prior notice will be allowed to enter the faculty housing area only after security has contacted and received approval from the faculty member who is expecting him/her. Overnight guests wishing to stay in your faculty housing apartment for more than 15 days should fill out the University’s temporary entrance card form and return it to the nearest Housing Office for their convenience; otherwise they may have difficulty entering the campus and passing through security checkpoints.
Note that due to COVID-19 precautions, everyone entering the University campus will be required to present his/her HES code at the campus entrance points.
Extension of Stay
If you need to stay in your apartment after your contract with the University has expired, and your department approves of this extension, the Housing Office should be notified. The extension cannot exceed a week. Please note that until you vacate your apartment and pay off the remaining monthly payment to the Housing Office, you will not be able to receive any other payments from the University.
VACATING THE RESIDENCE:
Residents should vacate the assigned unit within 7 days of the date that after the employment contract with the University expires. Telephone, cable TV, D-Smart and Digiturk service should be disconnected before leaving the apartment. As part of the departure process, residents should complete and return an apartment inventory form, pay all bills, return library materials and remove all personal property. Keys should be returned to the Housing Office, along with all borrowed items. Residents are responsible for their personal property at all times. If a resident has not vacated the assigned apartment as scheduled (in the case of an internal transfer as well as at the end of a contract period) the Housing Office will make a reasonable attempt to contact him/her. If the resident cannot be reached within two days, all of his/her property will be put in storage for a limited time.