Contract trap · Lease
Repairs shifted to tenant
The tenant declares the property is in 'good and substantial repair' or accepts it 'as-is' (inventory deemed correct unless disputed within 24-72 hours), is responsible for 'all repairs' including structure, boiler, plumbing and the first £/$100 of every repair, waives habitability, and the landlord excludes liability for loss or injury 'howsoever caused' including its own negligence while the tenant indemnifies it and answers for damage by vandals or weather.
- Severity
- Serious
- How often it turns up
- Common
- Holds up?
- Often void
- Clause phrases
- 24
What it looks like in a contract
Redline matches these phrases against your document verbatim. Drafters rarely invent new wording — they copy it, which is why the same sentences turn up across unrelated contracts.
In English-language contracts
- tenant acknowledges that the premises are in good and habitable condition
- accepts the premises as-is
- inventory shall be deemed correct unless
- tenant shall be responsible for all repairs
- structural repairs
- waives the warranty of habitability
- the first £100 of any repair
- annual servicing of the gas boiler
- landlord shall not be liable
- howsoever caused
- hold harmless
- caused by vandals or any other person or thing
In Russian-language contracts
- принял квартиру в исправном состоянии
- претензий к состоянию квартиры и имущества не имеет
- замечания после подписания акта не принимаются
- текущий и капитальный ремонт за счёт Нанимателя
- все неисправности устраняются Нанимателем за свой счёт
- ремонт бытовой техники и сантехники осуществляет Наниматель
- Наймодатель не несёт ответственности за состояние инженерных систем
- Наймодатель не несёт ответственности
- за аварии инженерных сетей и затопление
- Наниматель обязуется возместить все убытки
- независимо от вины
- Наниматель несёт полную материальную ответственность за любой ущерб
Check your own contract
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Why it bites
Every pre-existing scuff becomes a deposit deduction and repair claims are pre-empted by the tenant's own 'acknowledgement'; a boiler or roof failure becomes the tenant's bill; burst pipes from unmaintained plumbing and break-ins through broken locks are pushed onto the tenant; most of this is void but works as a bluff.
Is it enforceable where you are
The same clause can be routine in one country and void in another. What follows is what the law says where you are — not advice on your particular contract.
In the US, deposit deadlines and entry notice are set state by state; in England and Wales the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the deposit protection schemes apply, and in the EU national tenancy law sits on top of Directive 93/13.
United States
The implied warranty of habitability cannot be waived in nearly all states (NY RPL 235-b; CA Civ. 1941-1942); exculpatory clauses for landlord negligence void by statute in many states (NY GOL 5-321; URLTA 1.403); Wisconsin ATCP 134.08 voids habitability waivers, clauses relieving the landlord of liability for its own negligence and tenant liability for third-party or natural damage; condition declarations are evidence only; many states require a move-in checklist.
- Cited
- ATCP 134.08
- NY GOL 5-321
European Union
93/13 Annex 1(a)/(b)/(i) for professional landlords; Germany: landlord must maintain (BGB 535), Kleinreparaturklausel valid only with per-repair (~€100-120) and annual caps, BGB 309 Nr. 7 voids exclusions for gross negligence/injury, Übergabeprotokoll evidential only; France: état des lieux mandatory and amendable within 10 days (loi 89-462 art 3-2), landlord bears all repairs except réparations locatives (décret 87-712), exonerating clauses réputées non écrites (art 4).
- Cited
- 93/13 Annex 1(a)/(b)/(i)
- BGB 309 Nr. 7
- BGB 535
- décret 87-712
- loi 89-462 art 3-2
United Kingdom
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11 repairing covenant cannot be excluded (s.12); Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018; CRA 2015 s.65 — no exclusion of death/personal injury from negligence; OFT/CMA: transfer-of-repair terms are 'void, unenforceable and misleading', condition declarations only a surveyor could verify and 'vandals or any other person' liability are unfair; deposit schemes put the burden of proving damage on the landlord.
- Cited
- CMA
- CRA 2015 s.65
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1985
Russia
ГК ст. 681 — текущий ремонт на нанимателе, капитальный на наймодателе «если иное не установлено договором»; ст. 676 — наймодатель обязан передать пригодное помещение и обеспечивать эксплуатацию дома, аварии инженерных систем и замену изношенного оборудования практика относит к наймодателю; ст. 678 — наниматель отвечает за ущерб сверх естественного износа; ст. 401 п. 1, 4 и гл. 59 ГК — ответственность без вины за третьих лиц и исключение вреда жизни/здоровью оспоримы; акт «без претензий» затрудняет доказывание скрытых дефектов.
- Cited
- ГК ст. 681
- гл. 59
- ст. 401 п. 1
- ст. 676
- ст. 678
Where this has actually happened
Regulator actions, court rulings and the contracts they were fought over.
- OFT356 (2005) unfair examples: 'The tenant acknowledges that at the date of this lease the property is in substantial and good repair'; tenant liability for 'the annual Corgi certificate and servicing of any gas boiler', 'the first £100 plus VAT of any major repair', damage 'caused by vandals or any other person or thing'
- BGH 18.03.2015, VIII ZR 185/14: renovation clause void where flat handed over unrenovated without compensation
- Wisconsin ATCP 134.08: clauses relieving the landlord of liability for its own negligence or imposing tenant liability for damage caused by third parties or natural disasters are void
- Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 ss.11-12 (UK): repairing covenant cannot be excluded
What to do
In order, from the thing that takes a minute to the thing that takes a letter.
- Do not sign a condition declaration — attach a dated photo/video inventory and defects list signed by both parties (RU: подробный акт приёма-передачи с описью и фото)
- Limit tenant duties to minor upkeep and tenant-caused damage, landlord keeps structure, installations, appliances and capital repairs
- Delete 'howsoever caused', 'all risk', 'indemnify', 'vandals or any other person'
- Report defects in writing and keep a log
- RU: явно указать «капитальный ремонт и замена инженерного оборудования — за счёт Наймодателя» (ст. 681 диспозитивна).
Traps that travel with it
Drafters who use one of these usually use several.