Can property managers authorize emergency repairs without notifying the owner?
That's a great question that can usually be answered by a close reading of your contract with the property management company. Since no contract can anticipate every possible emergency or special situation that can come up, it's quite standard for a landlord to delegate a certain amount of authority to their property management company to act decisively in the event of a maintenance emergency, especially when it's necessary to prevent further damage to the unit.
That said, this authority to act decisively is delegated by the landlord. You could choose not to delegate this authority or, as rental property owners more commonly do, delegate the authority to spend only up to a certain amount of money on a repair before getting further approval.
At any rate, there are two important follow-up questions here:
Was the repair an emergency?
Can the property management company charge you for repairs you didn't want them to make?
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