In common law jurisdictions, an implied warranty is a contract law term for certain assurances that are presumed to be made in the sale of products or real property, due to the circumstances of the sale. These assurances are characterized as warranties irrespective of whether the seller has expressly promised them verbally or in writing. They include an implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, an implied warranty of merchantability for products, and an implied warranty of habitability for a home. This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... A contract is any promise or set of promises made by one party to another for the breach of which the law provides a remedy. ... Real property is a legal term encompassing real estate and ownership interests in real estate. ... In business law, a warranty is a promise that something sold is in good condition. ...

Fitness for a particular purpose

An implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, sometimes referred to simply as a warranty of fitness, is a warranty implied by law that if a seller knows or has reason to know of a particular purpose for which some item is being purchased by the buyer, the seller is guaranteeing that the item is fit for that particular purpose. This differs from a warranty of merchantability in two ways:

• First, the warranty of fitness applies to all sellers, not just professional merchants; and
• Second, the warranty of fitness requires the seller to know or have reason to know of a specific purpose to which the property sold is going to be put.

For example, if Joey buys four end-tables from Susan (a non-merchant) and then uses them to prop up his car while he works on the muffler, Susan is not liable for any injury that occurs to Joey - unless Joey told Susan that he was buying the end-tables for that purpose.

Merchantability

An implied warranty of merchantability is a warrantly implied by law that if a merchant (meaning someone who makes an occupation of selling things) sells something, that merchant is guaranteeing that the goods are reasonably fit for the general purpose for which they are sold. Merchants function as professional traders, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves. ...

Habitability

An implied warranty of habitability is a warranty implied by law that by leasing a residential property, the lessor is promising that it is suitable to be lived in, and will remain so for the duration of the lease.

Disclaimer of an implied warranty

An implied warranty can be expressly disclaimed in a contract to purchase by the inclusion of the words, "as is" or "with all faults". Such language must appear distinctly in the contract, however, in a different kind of print or font that makes it stand out. A contract is any legally-enforceable promise or set of promises made between parties. ...

Contractual language can also limit the remedies available for breach of an implied warranty - for example, capping recoverable damages or limiting the remedy to a replacement of a defective item. However, such a term can be found to be unconscionable. For example, if a defective product causes a personal injury, a contractual provision limiting recovery in such a case will be deemed prima facie unconscionable. Unconscionability is a term used in contract law to describe a defense against the enforcement of a contract based on the presence of terms unfair to one party. ... Prima facie is a Latin expression meaning at first sight, used in common law regions to denote a case that is strong enough to justify further discovery and possibly a full trial. ...