Estoppel

Estoppel is a legal principle that prevents someone from arguing something contrary to a previous claim or behavior if it would be unfair to change positions. Essentially, if a person has made a representation or acted in a way that another person relied on, they cannot later take a different stance that would harm the other party. For example, if a landlord tells a tenant that they can stay an extra month without paying rent, the landlord cannot later demand rent for that month if the tenant relied on that assurance. Estoppel promotes fairness and consistency in agreements.