Condition vs. Warranty — What's the Difference?

Integral to the contract's purpose.

Pertains to the quality or specification of the contract subject.

Often explicitly stated as conditions in the contract.

Provides specific assurances about aspects of the contract.

Breach can terminate the contract.

Often relates to the quality, condition, or legal title.

Gives the aggrieved party a right to end the contract.

Breach results in a claim for damages.

Establishes the main contractual duties.

Breach does not invalidate the entire contract.

The state of something with regard to its appearance, quality, or working order

In contract law, a warranty is a promise which is not a condition of the contract or an innominate term: (1) it is a term "not going to the root of the contract", and (2) which only entitles the innocent party to damages if it is breached: i.e. the warranty is not true or the defaulting party does not perform the contract in accordance with the terms of the warranty.

The circumstances or factors affecting the way in which people live or work, especially with regard to their well-being

A representation, especially in writing, made by a seller or company to a purchaser of a product or service that a refund, repair, or replacement will be made if the product or service proves defective or unsatisfactory, especially within a given time period.

A situation that must exist before something else is possible or permitted

An assurance by the seller of property that the goods or property are as represented or will be as promised.

Have a significant influence on or determine (the manner or outcome of something)

The insured's guarantee that the facts are as stated in reference to an insurance risk or that specified conditions will be fulfilled to keep the contract effective.

Bring (something) into the desired state for use

A covenant by which the seller of land binds that seller and the seller's heirs to defend the security of the estate conveyed.

Apply a conditioner to (the hair)

A judicial writ; a warrant.

Set prior requirements on (something) before it can occur or be done

Justification or valid grounds for an act or a course of action

A mode or state of being

To provide a warranty for.

Conditions Existing circumstances

(countable) A guarantee that a certain outcome or obligation will be fulfilled; security.

(Archaic) Social position; rank.

An obsolete legal agreement that was a real covenant and ran with the land, whereby the grantor and his heirs of a piece of real estate held in freehold were required to officially guarantee their claim and plead one’s case for the title. If evicted by someone with a superior claim (paramount title) they were also required to hand over other real estate of equal value in recompense. It has now been replaced by personal covenants and the covenant of warranty.

A state of health

A covenant, also called the covenant of warranty, whereby the grantor assures the grantee that he or she not be subject to the claims of someone with a paramount title, thereby guaranteeing the status of the title that is being conveyed.

A state of physical fitness

A legal agreement, either written or oral (an expressed warranty) or implied through the actions of the buyer and seller (an implied warranty), which states that the goods or property in question will be in exactly the same state as promised, such as in a sale of an item or piece of real estate.

A disease or physical ailment

(countable) A written guarantee, usually over a fixed period, provided to someone who buys a product or item, which states that repairs will be provided free of charge in case of damage or a fault.

One that is indispensable to the appearance or occurrence of another; a prerequisite

A stipulation of an insurance policy made by an insuree, guaranteeing that the facts of the policy are true and the insurance risk is as stated, which if not fulfilled renders the policy void.

One that restricts or modifies another; a qualification

Justification or mandate to do something, especially in terms of one’s personal conduct.

(Grammar) The dependent clause of a conditional sentence; protasis.

To warrant; to guarantee.

(Logic) A proposition on which another proposition depends; the antecedent of a conditional proposition.

A covenant real, whereby the grantor of an estate of freehold and his heirs were bound to warrant and defend the title, and, in case of eviction by title paramount, to yield other lands of equal value in recompense. This warranty has long singe become obsolete, and its place supplied by personal covenants for title. Among these is the covenant of warranty, which runs with the land, and is in the nature of a real covenant.

A provision making the effect of a legal instrument contingent on the occurrence of an uncertain future event.

An engagement or undertaking, express or implied, that a certain fact regarding the subject of a contract is, or shall be, as it is expressly or impliedly declared or promised to be. In sales of goods by persons in possession, there is an implied warranty of title, but, as to the quality of goods, the rule of every sale is, Caveat emptor.

The event itself.

A stipulation or engagement by a party insured, that certain things, relating to the subject of insurance, or affecting the risk, exist, or shall exist, or have been done, or shall be done. These warranties, when express, should appear in the policy; but there are certain implied warranties.

To make dependent on a condition or conditions

Justificatory mandate or precept; authority; warrant.

To stipulate as a condition

Security; warrant; guaranty.

To cause to be in a certain condition; shape or influence

To warrant; to guarantee.

To accustom (oneself or another) to something; adapt

A written assurance that some product or service will be provided or will meet certain specifications

To render fit for work or use

To improve the physical fitness of (the body, for example), as through repeated sessions of strenuous physical activity.

(Psychology) To cause (an organism) to respond in a specific manner to a previously unrelated stimulus, as in operant conditioning or classical conditioning.

To treat (the air in a room, for example) by air-conditioning.

To replace moisture or oils in (hair, for example) by use of a therapeutic product.

A logical clause or phrase that a conditional statement uses. The phrase can either be true or false.

A requirement or requisite.

(law) A clause in a contract or agreement indicating that a certain contingency may modify the principal obligation in some way.

The health status of a medical patient.

A certain abnormal state of health; a malady or sickness.

The state or quality.

A particular state of being.

(obsolete) The situation of a person or persons, particularly their social and/or economic class, rank.

To subject to the process of acclimation.

To subject to different conditions, especially as an exercise.

To make dependent on a condition to be fulfilled; to make conditional on.

(transitive) To place conditions or limitations upon.

To shape the behaviour of someone to do something.

(transitive) To treat (the hair) with hair conditioner.

(transitive) To contract; to stipulate; to agree.

(transitive) To test or assay, as silk (to ascertain the proportion of moisture it contains).

To put under conditions; to require to pass a new examination or to make up a specified study, as a condition of remaining in one's class or in college.

To impose upon an object those relations or conditions without which knowledge and thought are alleged to be impossible.

Mode or state of being; state or situation with regard to external circumstances or influences, or to physical or mental integrity, health, strength, etc.; predicament; rank; position, estate.

Essential quality; property; attribute.

Temperament; disposition; character.

That which must exist as the occasion or concomitant of something else; that which is requisite in order that something else should take effect; an essential qualification; stipulation; terms specified.

A clause in a contract, or agreement, which has for its object to suspend, to defeat, or in some way to modify, the principal obligation; or, in case of a will, to suspend, revoke, or modify a devise or bequest. It is also the case of a future uncertain event, which may or may not happen, and on the occurrence or non-occurrence of which, the accomplishment, recission, or modification of an obligation or testamentary disposition is made to depend.

To make terms; to stipulate.

To impose upon an object those relations or conditions without which knowledge and thought are alleged to be impossible.

To invest with, or limit by, conditions; to burden or qualify by a condition; to impose or be imposed as the condition of.

To contract; to stipulate; to agree.

To put under conditions; to require to pass a new examination or to make up a specified study, as a condition of remaining in one's class or in college; as, to condition a student who has failed in some branch of study.

To test or assay, as silk (to ascertain the proportion of moisture it contains).

Train; acclimate.

A state at a particular time;

A mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing;

An assumption on which rests the validity or effect of something else

(usually plural) a statement of what is required as part of an agreement;

The state of (good) health (especially in the phrases `in condition' or `in shape' or `out of condition' or `out of shape')

Information that should be kept in mind when making a decision;

The procedure that is varied in order to estimate a variable's effect by comparison with a control condition

Establish a conditioned response

Train by instruction and practice; especially to teach self-control;

Specify as a condition or requirement in a contract or agreement; make an express demand or provision in an agreement;

Put into a better state;

Apply conditioner to in order to make smooth and shiny;

While rare, some terms might be treated as conditions or warranties depending on the breach's context and severity.

The remedies include contract termination and compensation for any losses incurred.

In some cases, what is normally a warranty can be elevated to the status of a condition if it becomes fundamental to the contract's purpose.

The determination depends on the term's importance to the contract's purpose and the parties' intentions.

A breach of warranty allows the aggrieved party to seek damages but does not permit them to terminate the contract.

Yes, the aggrieved party can choose to waive the breach and continue with the contract, particularly in the case of minor breaches.

While not always necessary, explicit labeling helps clarify the parties' intentions and the terms' importance.

Consumer protection laws often stipulate mandatory conditions and warranties to protect consumers, even if not explicitly stated in the contract.

A breach of warranty does not affect the contract's overall validity; the contract remains in effect, and the non-breaching party can claim damages.

Courts consider the contract as a whole, the term's importance to the contract's purpose, and any relevant legislation or case law.