Is a lease valid if a non-owner sigend as landlord?
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Is a lease valid if a non-owner sigend as landlord?
We signed a lease for a rental property last month. We noticed it is in the daughter’s name as landlord/property owner but the mother is the one who signed her own name with no power of attorney attached. The daughter did buy the property 7months ago.
Asked on December 30, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If the mother was acting as the employee or agent of her landlord daughter, the lease is valid; an employee or agent can bind her employer or principal.
The lease would also be valid if she had "apparent authority" to bind her daughter; that is, if a reasonable person would conclude in this case that the mother would have had the authority and would have been acting as either an employee or agent.
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