For decades, Canan lived a fairly comfortable life as a school teacher in Istanbul. She even managed to help send her 23-year-old daughter off to study abroad, and retired earlier this year to live off a monthly pension of around 7,600 Turkish lira (£335), more than enough to pay her rent and living expenses – and leave a little for some extra.
The shock came in November, when her landlord demanded she vacates her 2,000-lira (£88) a month flat. She has been looking around for other housing in her Bakirkoy neighbourhood, but rents there have skyrocketed to between 5,500-lira (£242) for a tiny space to 11,500 (£506) a month for a flat comparable to hers. She dreads the prospect of moving to a cheaper flat in a different neighbourhood and spending nearly all her money on housing.
