Moravec et al. (2011) clarified the taxonomy and distribution of the Hemidactylus turcicus species complex, elevating the subspecies H. t. lavadeserticus to specific level and describing the new species H. dawudazraqi. Subsequently, Šmíd et al. (2013) resurrected H. granosus from synonymy. Šmíd et al. (2015) synonymised H. t. spinalis within H. t. turcicus.

European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)
EU 27 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)

The species is widespread across much of the European Mediterranean region. Although it is probably not native anywhere within the European region it is thought to have been introduced before 1500 in most of its European range. It is assessed as Least Concern for both Europe and for the EU 27 Member States in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of extensive habitat modification, presumed large and increasing population.

In the European region, this species occurs (apparently as a long-naturalised non-native species, presumably introduced in antiquity) in southwestern Portugal, southern and eastern Spain (and as a historical introduction to the Canary Islands), southern France, much of coastal Italy, and coastal Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, southern Montenegro, southeast through the Balkans to western Albania and most of Greece, as well as European Türkiye. It has been recently introduced to Serbia (Urošević et al. in prep.). It is found on numerous islands in the Mediterranean, including the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, Crete and Cyprus, and many smaller islands in the Tyrrhenian, Adriatic and Aegean Seas. This is a lowland species, typically occurring below 300 m, that is occasionally found up to 1,200 m asl (Speybroeck et al. 2016), and can be be found in higher altitudes in warm Mediterranean islands such as Cyprus, where 1,600 m asl -  is reported in www.herpatlas.cy.

This species occurs throughout the Mediterranean Basin, probably as a result of human-assisted dispersal from an origin in the Levant (Moravec et al. 2011). It has also been introduced to North America, from which it was first recorded in 1910 and where it is now known from more than 15 US States (Dallas et al. 2022). In mainland Asia it is found in western and southern Türkiye (coastal zones, as far inland as Afyon, with an isolated population at Samsun on the north coast), and western Syria. Records from Jordan, Israel and Lebanon represent other species (Moravec et al. 2011), however, the occurrence of the Mediterranean house gecko in Sinai suggests that it may occur in or have been introduced to the intervening countries. In mainland Africa it is found from in northern areas of Morocco and Tunisia (Moravec et al. 2011).

The species is abundant over much of its distribution and the population is increasing.

It is an extremely adaptable species, found in a range of habitats including shrubland, rocky areas, salt marshes, coastal areas, cliffs, caves, on stone walls in agricultural areas, and it is common in urban environments, including inside buildings. The females lay two to three clutches per year of one to two eggs.

There are no major threats to this very adaptable species. Animals are occasionally persecuted in tourist resorts and there is some collection of the species for the pet trade, although this does not seem to have a significant impact on the overall population.

The species is found in the pet trade, but the origin of individuals is uncertain.

It is listed on Annex III of the Bern Convention and is present in a number of protected areas. Further taxonomic studies on this species are needed for parts of the global range.