More than two and a half million Syrian people in Turkey live in urban areas of metropolitan cities, particularly in Istanbul. The basic needs of the Syrian population are provided by central agencies authorized by national regulations. However as the number of the refugees increase in urban areas and as they spend more time in their neighborhoods, refugee movements have inevitably gained an urban character. Thus, municipalities in Turkey are more pushed to engage in the provision of services they have no legal responsibility to provide. How should municipalities respond to these challenges? This study focuses on the case of local governments within Istanbul, and their responses to the movements of Syrian refugees. For this purpose, our research team conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with representatives from five district municipalities in Istanbul. This was then followed up by a data analysis employing a comparative approach to grasp the peculiarities of municipal-level responses to the movements of refugee. It suggests that local governments in Turkey develop varied responses. However, all local governments have been pushed to find alternative ways to bypass or interpret the rules and regulations; in some cases, they also develop discourses opposing the central government.