# Is "landlord" used to mean an employee in charge of a property? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 6, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157 "2023-08-06T20:31:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157/1 "2023-08-06T20:31:20Z")
Several years ago (Somewhere between the late 1990’s and early 2010’s) I occasionally read listings of buildings owned by a company. But amongst the information listed about the buildings, it listed a “landlord” who was obviously a single individual. I guess it’s possible that the company leased buildings from an individual, but in context it _seemed_ that “landlord” meant “the designated person to contact for issues with this particular physical property”, I’m assuming things like emergency or planned maintenance . Am I correct in assuming that this was the intended meaning? All the dictionaries I’ve checked only list “landlord” as the actual owner, (or sometimes, proprietor of a pub, but still, not an employee responsible for a building.) Perhaps this was a one-off usage that no one else took up. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157/2 "2023-08-06T20:45:14Z")
The person in charge, especially if they collect the rent, is sometimes called the ‘landlord’ even if not the owner. Renters may not know the name of the actual owner but they’ll know who they’ll talk to if the rent is late. It was a long time ago I knew a guy that used ‘landlord’ to refer to anyone in charge. I kinda remember him calling an apartment building ‘super’ a ‘landlord’ even when he was clearly known to be an employee of a corporation. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157/3 "2023-08-06T22:30:31Z")
The landlord owns the property. An individual employee who is in charge of the property is the property manager. If the landlord contracts with a company, it’s a management company. I’d never expect a “landlord” to be anything other than the owner. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157/4 "2023-08-06T23:00:39Z")
**Johnny\_Bravo** is correct: the landlord owns (and sometimes also manages) the property. However, **TriPolar** is also correct that sometimes people refer to a property manager as a “landlord” — either for simplicity, or because they don’t know any better. I’m 50+ and have been renting my entire adult life: the house I live in now is owned by my property manager’s father, making the father my landlord. I’ve never met or interacted with him, though, only the son/my property manager. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157/5 "2023-08-07T08:31:16Z")
In British English, “landlord” can also be used to refer to the person who runs a pub, even if that person does not own the building. Since many pubs are now owned by large chains and operated on a franchise system, “landlord” in that context can essentially mean a franchisee. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157/6 "2023-08-07T09:09:37Z")
But your authority comes as the actual owner-landlord’s delegate, which might be limited [I can collect the rent and enter to repair a busted toilet, but I cannot change the terms of the lease]. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157/7 "2023-08-07T10:57:00Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > In British English, “landlord” can also be used to refer to the person who runs a pub, even if that person does not own the building. Since many pubs are now owned by large chains and operated on a franchise system, “landlord” in that context can essentially mean a franchisee. This is true, although there’s a slight difference between someone classed as a ‘landlord’ and a pub manager. The former either owns the pub outright or leases the pub as a tenant, effectively running their own franchised business, whereas a pub manager runs the pub on behalf of the pub chain. So some pub managers are landlords, but not all pubs have a landlord. Clear as mud! ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157/8 "2023-08-07T11:26:10Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Clear as mud! Remind me not to drink in that pub! ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157/9 "2023-08-07T12:55:36Z")
There’s another possibility - I know of buildings that are owned by a “company” and a person ( or a couple of people) at the same time. For example, if my brother and I jointly own two or three small buildings ( 2-6 units ) , we have probably formed at least one company to actually own them but tenants would most likely still refer to us ( and our spouses) as the “landlords” ( and for 2-3 small buildings, there wouldn’t _be_ a management company) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2023, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157/10 "2023-08-07T17:20:55Z")
I would assume, in the OP’s case, that the actual “landlord”, as in owner of the property, is a company, and the individual human whose contact information is given is an agent of the company. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2023, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157/11 "2023-08-08T06:31:45Z")
Since the property manager acts as the real owner’s agent, or I assume so, could it be considered correct to call the manager the landlord, legally speaking, at least insofar as it applies to interactions with the tenants? For example, a property manager may decide to evict a tenant for nonpayment or other violations, re-rent the unit, and the real owner might not even know about it until they receive some periodic report. To be clear, I’m only asking here; I know nothing about the details of how apartment buildings are managed. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2023, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157/12 "2023-08-08T07:11:47Z")
Not in my experience. Not properly. They are the landlord’s agent and get called that. The term “landlord” is used precisely to distinguish between the actual owner and their agent. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2023, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-landlord-used-to-mean-an-employee-in-charge-of-a-property/988157/13 "2023-08-08T12:47:03Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > For example, a property manager may decide to evict a tenant for nonpayment or other violations, re-rent the unit, and the real owner might not even know about it until they receive some periodic report The last time I rented, it was through a management company. They were a literal middleman and couldn’t do much without the owner being involved. They certainly couldn’t have evicted and re-rented the apartment without the owner knowing, because I wasn’t renting from the conpany; I was renting from the owner. The management company facilitated the arrangement but the owner always had to sign the lease renewal.