Orak: We do not expect the minimum wage increase to improve tenants' standard of living

Evaluating the impact of the 49 percent increase in the minimum wage on tenants, Birevim General Manager Attorney Mahir Orak said, “We do not expect the increase in the minimum wage to improve the standard of living for tenants. This is because the effect of inflation will continue until the second half of the year, and rental prices will be updated accordingly. We have established a system without interest, down payments, or intermediate payments so that everyone can have a home and a car. Citizens who join this system can become homeowners with monthly installment payments equal to the minimum wage.”

While minimum wage, retiree, and civil servant salary hikes occupy the country's agenda, a statement on the matter also came from representatives of the Savings Finance sector. Birevim General Manager Attorney Mahir Orak stated, “Evaluating the minimum wage increase, as well as retiree and civil servant raises, from the perspective of tenants is the fundamental issue of the sector we are in. We do not expect the increase in the minimum wage to improve the standard of living for tenants. The effect of inflation will continue until the second half of the year, and rental prices will be updated accordingly. Today, under these conditions, we are thinking about how we can expand the comfort zone of our citizens and how we can ensure they own their own homes and vehicles without disrupting their monthly expenditure balance. The fact that rent in metropolitan cities has risen to 1.5 times the minimum wage turns into a serious expense item for a household trying to get by on two minimum wages. With Savings Finance, we have established a financing system without interest, down payments, or intermediate payments so that everyone can have a home and a car and get rid of the burden of rent. Citizens who join this system can become homeowners with monthly installment payments equal to the minimum wage. In short; in the Savings Finance system, owning a home with the minimum wage is easier than being a tenant.”