What Is a Force Majeure Clause in a Lease?
The rule
"Force majeure" is French for "superior force." In contract law, a force majeure clause says: if some extraordinary event outside our control prevents one of us from performing, that party is excused from performance (or has more time to perform) until the event is over.
The text in residential leases is typically generic and pulled from boilerplate. It might say something like:
"Neither party shall be liable for any delay or failure to perform under this Lease caused by acts of God, war, terrorism, riot, fire, flood, hurricane, earthquake, government order, or other event beyond such party's reasonable control."
The clause is one of the older provisions in commercial and residential contracts. It's been litigated extensively, especially after natural disasters (Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy) and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The case law produces a few consistent lessons.
How courts read these clauses
Three principles control most analyses:
Narrow construction. Courts read force majeure clauses strictly — only the events specifically listed, or events truly comparable to them, qualify. A clause that lists "hurricane, flood, and earthquake" probably doesn't cover a pandemic. A clause that lists "any other event beyond the parties' reasonable control" is broader, but courts still won't stretch it to cover ordinary business risks or financial hardship.
Actual impossibility, not just hardship. The event must genuinely prevent performance — not just make it harder or more expensive. A landlord who can't deliver a unit because it burned down can invoke force majeure. A tenant who lost their job and can't easily pay rent typically can't.
Causation matters. The party invoking force majeure must show that the listed event is what caused the inability to perform. "I couldn't pay rent because of COVID" wasn't enough in most cases — courts wanted to see that the specific listed event (rather than the tenant's general financial situation) caused the specific non-performance.
What COVID-19 taught us about force majeure
The pandemic produced hundreds of court decisions on force majeure. The lessons:
Commercial leases sometimes worked. Cases like In re Hitz Restaurant Group (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2020) held that a government-ordered restaurant closure triggered a force majeure clause that listed "governmental action." The court reduced the rent for the closure period.
Residential leases mostly didn't. Residential tenants who tried to invoke force majeure to avoid rent generally lost. The reasoning: (a) most residential force majeure clauses don't list pandemics, (b) the tenants could still occupy and use the unit, and (c) the financial impact of the pandemic on a specific tenant's income isn't the kind of event force majeure clauses cover. The major COVID-era relief for residential tenants came from eviction moratoriums, federal rent-assistance programs, and state-level utility-shutoff bans — not from contractual force majeure clauses.
Specificity now matters more than ever. Post-COVID, force majeure clauses in newer leases often specifically list "pandemic," "epidemic," "public health emergency," and "government order." If a future event triggers that list, the clause may apply where COVID-era clauses didn't.
Red flag clause language
A force majeure clause that's drafted strategically against the tenant looks like this:
"Landlord shall be excused from any obligation under this Lease, including delivery of the Premises, repair obligations, and maintenance, in the event of any act of God, war, terrorism, riot, fire, flood, government order, pandemic, labor shortage, supply-chain disruption, or any other event beyond Landlord's reasonable control. Tenant's obligations under this Lease, including the payment of rent, shall not be affected by any such event."
The asymmetry is the problem. The landlord gets force majeure protection; the tenant doesn't. Whatever happens, the tenant still owes rent — even if the landlord's failure to perform was the result of the same event. A reasonable force majeure clause is bilateral, applying equally to both parties' obligations.
A balanced clause:
"Neither party shall be liable for any delay or failure to perform under this Lease caused by acts of God, war, terrorism, riot, fire, flood, hurricane, earthquake, government order, or other event beyond such party's reasonable control. Each party shall use reasonable efforts to mitigate the impact of any such event and resume performance promptly when possible."
Bilateral, focused on actual impossibility, with a mitigation duty for both sides.
What this clause does NOT do
A few common misconceptions worth clearing up:
- It doesn't excuse personal financial hardship. Losing a job, having unexpected medical expenses, or general inability to pay rent are not force majeure events under nearly any clause.
- It doesn't excuse ongoing obligations during normal disruptions. A landlord experiencing supply-chain delays for a renovation is not excused from collecting rent; a tenant experiencing inconvenience is not excused from paying it.
- It doesn't waive habitability. Even when a force majeure event delays the landlord's performance, the underlying obligation to provide a habitable unit doesn't disappear.
- It doesn't apply retroactively. A clause invoked in good faith covers ongoing inability to perform; it doesn't excuse past breaches.
What to do if the landlord invokes force majeure
If your landlord cites force majeure to excuse a delay or failure to perform:
- Ask for the specific event and the specific language. The clause has to list (or clearly cover) the event being invoked. Vague "force majeure" assertions don't qualify.
- Ask whether the event actually prevents performance. Most claims fail at this step. A landlord whose ability to repair is delayed by supply-chain issues might have a partial claim; a landlord who just doesn't want to perform doesn't.
- Document the timeline. When did the event start? When did the landlord notify you? When is performance expected to resume?
- Insist on mitigation. Force majeure isn't a permanent excuse — the party invoking it has a duty to mitigate the impact and resume performance promptly.
The bigger picture
Force majeure is an old contract concept that's been getting fresh attention since 2020. The principles haven't changed much, but the specific language in newer leases — particularly around pandemics, government orders, and supply-chain issues — reflects lessons from recent litigation. If you're signing a lease today, expect to see more specific force majeure language than appeared in pre-2020 forms. The presence of those provisions isn't necessarily bad; what to watch for is asymmetry — clauses that excuse the landlord but not the tenant.
Frequently asked questions
Does a force majeure clause let me skip rent if I lose my job?
Almost certainly not. Force majeure is about events outside human control that prevent performance — natural disasters, war, government shutdowns of the building itself. Personal financial hardship, even unexpected job loss, doesn't qualify. Courts have been very clear about this: economic hardship, even severe, isn't force majeure unless the lease specifically defines it that way (which residential leases almost never do).
What kinds of events typically count as force majeure?
The classic list: natural disasters (hurricane, earthquake, flood, fire originating outside the unit), war or terrorism, government orders that prevent occupancy (a condemnation, a building-wide shutdown), epidemic or pandemic if specifically listed, strikes, riots. The key is that the event must be (a) extraordinary, (b) outside the affected party's control, and (c) actually prevent performance. A hurricane that damages the building qualifies; a hurricane that just makes life harder doesn't.
Did COVID-19 count as force majeure for residential rent?
For commercial leases, sometimes — particularly when the lease specifically listed pandemics or government orders. For residential leases, mostly no. Tenants who tried to invoke force majeure to avoid paying rent during COVID generally lost, because (a) most residential leases don't list pandemics, (b) the tenant could still occupy the unit, and (c) financial hardship isn't typically a force majeure event. The major COVID-era relief came from eviction moratoriums and rent-assistance programs, not from force majeure clauses.
Can my landlord use force majeure to avoid making repairs?
Possibly, but narrowly. A landlord whose ability to perform — for example, to deliver a unit on the lease's start date because of fire damage — can invoke force majeure to delay performance. But force majeure doesn't excuse ongoing maintenance obligations. A landlord who claims 'pandemic' as a reason for not fixing a broken heater would almost certainly lose: the obligation is still there, and the event didn't actually prevent performance.
What's the difference between force majeure and the doctrine of impossibility?
They're closely related. A force majeure clause is the contractual version — the parties specify upfront what events excuse performance. The doctrine of impossibility is the common-law backstop that applies even without a clause: performance is excused when an unforeseen event makes it objectively impossible. The doctrine is generally narrower than most force majeure clauses are drafted, but the force majeure clause is read against that backdrop.
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This guide is general information, not legal advice. Tenant law varies by jurisdiction and changes over time. For high-stakes situations — disputes, evictions, illegal lockouts — talk to a licensed tenant attorney where you live. Published May 28, 2026.