Estoppel Certificate

It is common in many business type transactions to request that another person give you a written signed statement confirming that a particular fact is true. This type of document can be called an "estoppel certificate". A common example is if you are buying a property, or making a loan on a particular property, you request that the tentant give you a written statement, an estoppel certificate, confirming that at a particular date the lease they are subject to is in force, and not in default. The tenant's signing an estoppel certificate would prevent them from later claiming to you that they are not bound by the lease which you relied on in making the deal. See "Estoppel".