Definition
A condition expressed is a condition that has been explicitly stated in a deed, contract, or other legal instrument — as opposed to a condition implied by law or arising by construction from the circumstances. The parties themselves have set it out in words, and its existence depends on what was actually written, not on what the law infers.
In property law, the term has particular historical weight: a condition expressed in a deed is one the grantor has articulated within the instrument itself, typically to limit or qualify the estate conveyed. If the condition is not performed or is violated, the grantor may have the right to re-enter and reclaim the property, depending on whether the language created a condition subsequent, a determinable fee, or some other qualified estate.
In contract law more broadly, an express condition is one stated explicitly — in writing or orally — as a prerequisite to a party's duty to perform. It contrasts with an implied condition (inferred from the nature of the agreement) and a constructive condition (imposed by courts to do justice regardless of the parties' intent).
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Common Confusion
CONDITION EXPRESSED is sometimes used interchangeably with EXPRESS CONDITION, and for most research purposes the terms are synonymous. The distinction, when one is drawn, is primarily one of grammatical construction in the source instrument: "condition expressed" tends to appear in older deed-based property contexts, while "express condition" is the more prevalent modern contract law formulation. Researchers working across both bodies of law should treat the terms as functional equivalents but check the context — a condition expressed in a deed carries property-law consequences (forfeiture, right of re-entry) that differ substantially from the consequences of an express condition in a commercial contract (discharge of the dependent duty to perform).
Do not confuse either term with a CONDITIONAL LIMITATION or a LIMITATION expressed in a deed, which operates by different mechanics and does not require re-entry by the grantor.
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Core Elements
For a condition expressed in a deed or instrument to be operative, courts historically looked for:
1. Express language: The condition must appear on the face of the instrument in terms sufficient to identify it as conditional rather than absolute. Words of condition ("on condition that," "provided that," "but if") signal a condition expressed; language of limitation ("until," "so long as," "during") signals a determinable fee instead.
2. Identification of the triggering event: The instrument must state what act, omission, or event activates or defeats the condition.
3. Connection to the estate or obligation: The condition must attach to the grant, conveyance, or duty it qualifies — not appear as a collateral recital.
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Why It Matters in Research
The phrase "condition expressed" appears most heavily in pre-twentieth-century deed and property sources. Researchers working in historical real property records, title chains, or early equity cases will encounter it as a term of art distinct from the modern "express condition" formulation that dominates contract casebooks and Restatements.
The key research trap: historical sources use "condition expressed" almost exclusively in the property context, where the consequence of breach is potential forfeiture of the estate. When the same concept migrates into general contract commentary — particularly after the rise of the Restatement (First) of Contracts in 1932, which organized conditions systematically — the language shifts toward "express condition" and the consequences differ. Conflating the two bodies of authority can produce error in either direction.
A second trap: older sources do not always distinguish cleanly between a condition expressed and language of limitation. Courts in equity leaned toward construing ambiguous language as a covenant (enforceable by damages) rather than a condition (enforceable by forfeiture), on the ground that forfeitures are disfavored. This canon of construction is well-documented in equity treatises but easy to miss if a researcher reads only the legal treatises on property.
Connections within the Law Mind corpus: this term connects directly to the broader taxonomy of conditions (precedent, subsequent, concurrent) treated in the Contracts Encyclopedia, and to the mechanics of qualified estates and re-entry in property materials. Researchers tracing easement-creation doctrine may also encounter the phrase in older grant language.
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Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary preserves the term with the property-instrument framing intact: "A condition expressed in the deed by which it is [created]" — the entry is incomplete in the available source but the structure confirms the deed-centric usage. This aligns with the classical property law treatment in which a condition expressed stood alongside "condition implied" as the primary binary, with the deed as the natural home of the expressed form.
What historical dictionaries largely omit is the modern contract-law dimension. Older legal dictionaries treat conditions expressed as a property concept; the synthesis with general contract doctrine — producing the unified category of "express condition" — is a twentieth-century development that postdates most of the historical dictionary literature. Researchers should not expect pre-1900 dictionary entries to reflect the Restatement-era framework.
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Jurisdictional Note
The consequences of a condition expressed in a deed vary by jurisdiction based on each state's treatment of qualified estates, rights of re-entry, and the cy-pres or charitable-trust doctrines that may modify enforcement. Some states have limited or abolished the right of re-entry for condition broken by statute. Researchers should verify current state law before relying on historical common-law rules about forfeiture.
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Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
Contracts & Commercial Law Encyclopedia — Interpretation: Conditions (Express, Implied, Constructive; Precedent, Concurrent, Subsequent)
Property Law Encyclopedia — Easements: Creation by Express Grant or Reservation
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