Checking whether rent-payment evidence is still current and authoritative
Payment evidence becomes stale in two different ways. The transaction record itself can be outdated because later rent has been paid, and the rule used to judge that record can be outdated because documentation requirements have changed. A source-freshness review must test both. It should identify the newest payment period available and confirm that the evidentiary standard being applied comes from current official guidance.
Use the current GİB rule as the documentation baseline
The Revenue Administration’s current material states that rent collections and payments for residences and workplaces, regardless of amount, must be evidenced by documents issued by banks or PTT. It also recognizes bank transfers, EFT, cheques, card transactions and internet-banking records as documentary routes and explains special treatment for payments through court or enforcement channels and payments in kind. Older guidance may contain earlier monetary thresholds. For a 2026 review, do not apply an old threshold simply because an old article remains online; use the current GİB guidance.
Check the age of the actual payment records
A bank statement that ended three months ago cannot prove the tenant has paid the latest three months. Identify the latest rent period, then obtain evidence through that period. If the seller supplies a static PDF, confirm the statement date and whether the account continued afterward. Where a payment account has changed, review both accounts across the transition so the gap is not mistaken for arrears.
Confirm that the evidence still corresponds to the current lease
The amount paid may have changed since the older statement because of a lawful rent adjustment, new agreement or dispute. Compare the latest payment with the current signed lease set. Article 344 of the Turkish Code of Obligations governs rent determination for residential and roofed workplace leases; a current bank record does not itself prove the legal basis of a new rent amount. Freshness therefore has two dimensions: recent transaction evidence and recent contract evidence.
Prefer source documents over summaries
For payment fact, a bank/PTT document is stronger than a spreadsheet prepared by the seller. For the legal documentation rule, current GİB material is stronger than a broker blog or an old tax article. For contract obligations, the current text of the Turkish Code of Obligations is the proper legal source. A due-diligence note may summarize these materials, but it should retain the source date or access date so a later reviewer can tell which rule was applied.
Identify records that expire operationally even if they remain historically true
An old payment receipt remains true evidence that a past payment occurred, but it stops being sufficient evidence of current performance. Preserve it as history while adding later periods. The same principle applies to an arrears statement: it can be accurate on its issue date and wrong today after a later payment or settlement. Never delete the historical document; update the status with a newer source.
Record the freshness conclusion explicitly
For each source record, mark the period covered, issue/download date, account or transaction identifier, and whether a newer record is required before reliance. The final conclusion should state the latest month independently evidenced and any period still supported only by seller assertion. This prevents a buyer from treating an authentic but stale document as proof of present rent performance.