keiyaku wo isoganakute mo ii to kanrinin ga itte ita.

急がなくてもいい is a very common grammar pattern meaning you don’t have to hurry or it’s okay not to hurry.

It breaks down like this:

• 急ぐ = to hurry
• 急がなくて = not hurrying / without hurrying
• もいい = is okay / is fine

Together:

• 急がなくてもいい = it’s okay even if you don’t hurry
• more natural English: you don’t have to hurry

This pattern is:

• verb nai-form stem + なくてもいい

Examples:

• 行かなくてもいい = You don’t have to go.
• 食べなくてもいい = You don’t have to eat it.
• 心配しなくてもいい = You don’t have to worry.

It does not mean a prohibition.
For example:

• 急がなくてもいい = You don’t have to hurry.
• 急いではいけない = You must not hurry.

The も is part of the fixed grammar pattern なくてもいい.

Literally, ても / でも often carries the idea of even if.

So:

• 急がなくてもいい literally feels like
  Even if you don’t hurry, it’s fine.

That is why the natural English meaning becomes:

• You don’t have to hurry.

So in this sentence, も is not being used as a simple also/too. It is part of the grammar structure.

を marks the direct object of the verb 急ぐ here.

So:

• 契約を急ぐ = to hurry the contract / to rush the contract / to rush into the contract

In more natural English, this often means:

• to rush signing the contract
• to hurry with the contract
• to rush into the agreement

A learner might expect a verb like する after 契約, but Japanese often allows expressions like:

• 仕事を急ぐ = hurry the work
• 返事を急ぐ = hurry the reply
• 契約を急ぐ = hurry the contract

So 契約を belongs with 急がなくてもいい.

Because that would mean something different.

• 契約を急がなくてもいい = You don’t have to hurry the contract / You don’t need to rush into the contract.
• 契約をしなくてもいい = You don’t have to make/sign the contract.

The original sentence is not saying the contract is unnecessary.
It is saying there is no need to rush.

That difference is important.

Here, と marks the content of what was said or thought.

So:

• 急がなくてもいい と 言っていた = was saying that you don’t have to hurry = had said “you don’t have to hurry”

This と is extremely common after quoted or reported speech.

Examples:

• 行くと言った = He said that he would go.
• 大丈夫だと思う = I think that it’s okay.
• 来なくてもいいと言われた = I was told that I don’t have to come.

So in your sentence, と connects the message 契約を急がなくてもいい with the verb 言っていた.

It is grammatically marked like a quotation with と, but in English it can be translated either way depending on context.

Japanese often uses と for both:

• direct-style reporting: The manager said, “You don’t have to rush the contract.”
• indirect-style reporting: The manager said that we didn’t have to rush the contract.

Japanese does not always make the same strict distinction English does.

So と does not force you to imagine exact quotation marks in every case. It just marks the content of what was said.

が identifies 管理人 as the person who did the saying.

So:

• 管理人が言っていた = the manager/caretaker was saying / the manager said

Using が here often feels natural because it answers the implicit question:

• Who said that?
• The manager did.

If you used は instead:

• 管理人は言っていた

it would sound more like you are setting up the manager as the topic, possibly contrasting them with someone else.

For example:

• 大家さんは反対していたけど、管理人は急がなくてもいいと言っていた。
  The landlord was against it, but the manager said there was no need to hurry.

So が is very natural when introducing or identifying the speaker.

言っていた is the -te iru form of 言う, in the past.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• was saying
• had said
• used to say
• said with a sense that the statement existed as remembered/reported information

In this sentence, the most natural English is often:

• The manager said that there was no need to rush the contract.
• The manager had said not to rush the contract.

Why not 言った?

• 言った = simply said
• 言っていた often sounds like the speaker is recalling or reporting what someone had said earlier

It can have a slightly more indirect, report-like feel.

So:

• 管理人が言った = The manager said it.
• 管理人が言っていた = The manager had said / was saying that.

Not necessarily.

Although -te iru can show ongoing or repeated action, with speech verbs like 言う, 言っていた often just means:

• was saying
• had said
• said earlier

So it does not automatically mean repetition like:

• He kept saying it over and over.

If the context suggests repetition, it can mean that. But by itself, it may simply be a softer or more report-like past reference.

That is a very common feature of Japanese: the subject is often omitted if it is understood from context.

So 契約を急がなくてもいい does not explicitly say who doesn’t need to hurry. It could mean:

• I don’t have to hurry
• you don’t have to hurry
• we don’t have to hurry
• they don’t have to hurry

depending on the situation.

In English, you usually have to choose a subject. In Japanese, it is often left unsaid when obvious from context.

管理人 literally means a person who manages or looks after a place.

Depending on context, it could be translated as:

• manager
• building manager
• caretaker
• superintendent
• sometimes something close to property manager

It does not always mean the same thing in every situation. If this sentence is about housing or a building, building manager or caretaker may be the best fit.

The sentence structure is:

• 契約を急がなくてもいい = there’s no need to rush the contract
• と = that
• 管理人が = the manager
• 言っていた = said / had said

So the overall pattern is:

• [quoted/reported content] と [person] が 言っていた

In more natural English order:

• The manager said that there was no need to rush the contract.

Japanese often places the quoted content before the verb of saying.

Yes, that is a possible natural translation depending on context, but it is slightly interpretive.

More literally, the Japanese says:

• don’t hurry the contract
• don’t rush the contract
• no need to rush into the contract

If the context is specifically about signing, then English may naturally become:

• The manager said I don’t have to sign the contract right away.

That is a good example of how Japanese can be slightly broader, while English often chooses a more specific phrasing.

Yes, that nuance is built into the grammar.

Literally it means:

• It is okay not to hurry.

So it can feel like both:

• lack of obligation: you don’t have to hurry
• permission/reassurance: it’s fine if you don’t hurry

In real use, it often sounds gentle or reassuring.

For example:

• そんなに急がなくてもいいよ。
  You don’t have to hurry so much. / No need to rush.

So in your sentence, the manager is not just stating a rule. It can also sound like reassurance.

Yes.

Compare:

• 急がなくてもいい = You don’t have to hurry.
• 急がなくてはいけない = You have to hurry.

This is a very useful contrast:

• Vなくてもいい = don’t have to do V
• Vなくてはいけない / Vなければならない = have to do V

Examples:

• 行かなくてもいい = You don’t have to go.
• 行かなくてはいけない = You have to go.

So your sentence uses the not necessary pattern, not the obligation pattern.