Exercise an Act of God clause in a contract: Force Majeure Notice

A Force Majeure Notice allows you to alert the other signer(s) regarding a contract termination or a proposed amendment due to a Force Majeure or "Act of God", such as a hurricane, fire or pandemic. Specifically, this letter will cover why you want to change or end your contract, when the contract was entered into, and when the notice to end the contract is effective (if applicable). The letter also allows you to suggest specific contract changes and provides contact information for further negotiation.

Of course, a Force Majeure Notice requires that your contract contain a Force Majeure clause that frees both parties from liability when an extraordinary event prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their responsibilities under the contract. It is also important to understand that invoking force majeure may not automatically relieve you of your legal obligations if your contract is not worded to protect you in this situation. If you are unsure of your rights within your contract, ask a Legal Pro.

However, even if you do not have a Force Majeure clause in your contract, or the contract is worded in a way that does not cover your specific situation, it may still be valuable to provide notice to the other party and request an amendment.

• You are a landlord whose residential or commercial tenant can't pay rent.
• You have been asked by your tenant to defer rental payments because of COVID-19 and agree to this deferral.
• You want to set out the terms of the rent deferral and repayment.
• You want to temporarily reduce rent in exchange for help on the property.

If you already have a Force Majeure Notice and want to have it reviewed, or if you have questions about creating or using one, there are a few ways to get help.

Use Rocket Copilot to ask questions or review your document; this helps you better understand what it says and identify anything that may need a closer look.

If you are looking for help from a Legal Pro, you can also ask a question and receive a response within one business day, or request a more in-depth document review.