Legal Definitions - dependent covenant

A dependent covenant is a type of covenant that imposes a duty that depends on the other party's prior performance. This means that until the other party performs their duty, the party with the dependent covenant does not have to perform. This is different from a concurrent covenant, where both parties must perform at the same time, and an independent covenant, where the duty does not depend on the other party's performance.

For example, let's say that John and Jane enter into a contract where John agrees to deliver a product to Jane, and Jane agrees to pay for the product upon delivery. If John fails to deliver the product, Jane does not have to pay. This is a dependent covenant because Jane's duty to pay depends on John's prior performance of delivering the product.

Another example of a dependent covenant is a lease agreement where the landlord agrees to make repairs to the property, but only after the tenant has notified them of the need for repairs. The landlord's duty to make repairs depends on the tenant's prior performance of notifying them of the need for repairs.