How to verify lease-agreement records for a Turkish rental property
The central problem in a rental file is often not the absence of a document labelled lease agreement. It is the inability to prove which version controls and what the parties actually performed after signing. Article 299 of Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 defines a lease as the landlords obligation to allow use or use and benefit of an asset in exchange for the tenants obligation to pay the agreed rent. A reliable acquisition file therefore links three things: the identity and authority of the parties, the exact property and the financial and operational records showing how the agreement has been performed.
1. Reconcile landlord, tenant and property
Confirm the identity and capacity of the landlord at signing and whether that person was the owner or an authorised representative. Reconcile the tenant to identification data, payments and correspondence. The property description should prevent confusion between units in the same development by using the address, independent-unit number and other available identifiers. If ownership changed after the lease was signed, add the title-transfer evidence because Article 310 makes the new owner a party to the existing lease.
2. Identify the controlling version
Collect the original agreement and every amendment, protocol, extension, agreed rent change or payment-account change. Put them in date order and determine the latest text actually signed or formally approved. A newer PDF is not automatically an amendment. Compare term, rent, deposit, furniture, permitted use and allocation of aidat. Where a signature or page is missing, leave the issue open rather than borrowing the missing clause from another version.
3. Use e-Devlet verification for electronic rental records
The Ministry of Treasury and Finance currently provides Kira Sözleşmesi İşlemleri on e-Devlet. The ministry service page explains that owners or co-owners, and within the available scope authorised persons or real-estate advisers, can create contracts while a tenant or guarantor can approve a contract prepared for them. A separate Kira Sözleşmesi Belge Doğrulama service verifies barcoded rental documents. Where the parties used this system, preserve the verifiable document and reference rather than relying only on an image or exported screenshot.
4. Reconcile written rent with performance
Build a month-by-month schedule of agreed rent, due date, amount received, recipient account and variance. Article 313 establishes the tenants duty to pay rent and Article 314 provides a default timing rule unless the contract or local custom says otherwise. If the seller alleges arrears, review formal notices as well. Article 315 provides a written notice and cure-period mechanism when due rent or side expenses are not paid. Do not label a tenant in default merely because one bank transfer differs before understanding adjustments, set-offs or disputes.
5. Separate rent, use expenses and aidat
Article 341 addresses use expenses such as heating, lighting and water in residential and roofed workplace leases where the contract or local custom does not provide otherwise and requires the paying party to provide supporting documents on request. Aidat can also engage condominium law. Keep rent, consumption expenses, aidat, optional services and any other item in separate ledger columns. A single monthly total can hide the legal nature of an arrear and make closing reconciliation unreliable.
6. Check the security deposit under Article 342
Where security is agreed for a residential or roofed workplace lease, Article 342 caps it at three months rent. If money or negotiable instruments are given as security, the statute contains a bank-deposit mechanism under which release is restricted and later tied to joint consent, final enforcement or a final court decision, with a further rule after the lease ends. In an acquisition, identify the amount, location and documentary status of the security and set out how the seller will transfer or settle the economic responsibility with the buyer.
7. Review notices and dispute records
Collect notices concerning non-payment, rent changes, defects, repair requests, assignment, termination or possession, together with mediation, litigation and enforcement records. Informal messages may explain facts, but they do not replace a formal notice where statute requires writing or a deadline. Date the documents so a reviewer can see whether a later notice cured, replaced or contradicted an earlier position.
8. Check handover and inventory records
If the property was rented furnished or with equipment, review the delivery record, inventory and dated photographs where available. This matters to the deposit and to identifying which items belong to the landlord. If the inventory in the lease no longer matches the unit, document the difference before transfer so the buyer does not inherit an undisclosed argument about missing or damaged property.
9. Build a buyer handover package
At closing the buyer should receive the controlling lease, amendments, payment ledger, deposit evidence, handover inventory, formal correspondence and any open dispute file. Record the last rent received and allocate rent for the period in which the transfer date falls inside a payment cycle. One PDF is not an adequate handover where years of amendments, payments and notices determine the current relationship.
Red flags
- The agreement does not adequately identify the property or parties.
- Several conflicting versions exist with no chronology.
- Monthly transfers materially differ from the written rent with no explanation.
- The deposit is excessive or its location is unknown.
- An important amendment lacks a signature or page.
- A lawsuit or notice is asserted but no document is produced.
- An electronic lease is shown only as a screenshot rather than a verifiable record.
Frequently asked questions
Can an official electronic lease be checked? Yes. e-Devlet provides rental-contract transaction and barcoded-document verification services.
How much security can a residential lease require? Article 342 caps agreed security at three months rent.
Does a change of owner cancel the lease? No. Article 310 makes the new owner a party to it.