If my apartment manager ran a discount special on rent without the owner’s permission, am I liable to re-pay it if I was unaware that the manager had no permission to do so?
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If my apartment manager ran a discount special on rent without the owner’s permission, am I liable to re-pay it if I was unaware that the manager had no permission to do so?
I moved into an apartment about a year ago. At the time the manger was running a special , 1/3 off the rent for 3 months. I was unaware that she had not been approved by the company to do so. Now the company is trying to make me pay an extra months rent to cover it.
Asked on December 17, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Louisiana
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
No, you would not be obligated to pay it. Whether or not the manager had actual authority to offer this discount, she had "apparent authority": a reasonable outsider, like a tenant, would believe the apartment manager had the authority to do this, and it would be common or normal for a manager to have this authority. Therefore, you were entitled to rely on her offer of a rent discount, and her apparent authority binds her employer, the landlord. If the owner wants, it may be able to recover that money from the manager herself, if she clearly exceeded her authority, but that is not your concern.
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