Implied Warranty of Habitability

The implied warranty of habitability is a doctrine, recognized by statute or case law in many states, holding that a landlord who leases residential property implicitly promises that the property is fit to live in, regardless of anything the lease itself says. It protects tenants, who are typically in a weaker bargaining position than landlords, and is generally understood to be breached when a rental unit lacks essential services such as heat or hot water, has serious safety defects such as missing smoke alarms or fire code violations, or, in some courts, suffers from serious structural problems such as cracked walls, peeling paint, or persistent leaks. A landlord who fails to fix a covered problem after written notice can be found to have constructively evicted the tenant, letting the tenant end the lease and pursue damages rather than remain bound to pay rent on an uninhabitable unit. Unlike some other implied warranties, the warranty of habitability generally cannot be waived or disclaimed by agreement between landlord and tenant.