What Is An Estoppel Letter And Why Does It Matter?

If you are a tenant and your landlord has sold the building or been foreclosed upon, you may have received an estoppel letter asking you to affirm that a lease is in place and all parties are in compliance.  Ira Meislik has a post on his blog Real Estate Law and Ruminations explaining estoppel letters and how they might trump the facts.  He warns recipients who know that their landlords are violating the lease.

What’s the lesson? Don’t jump so fast to assume that an estoppel letter is innocent. It isn’t a pro forma task. It requires investigation. The party giving it has to realize that what is “says” may turn out to be a replacement for the “real facts.” 

If you have been sent an estoppel letter, Meislik's post is a good read before you sign anything.