In the current digital age, property owners are understandably concerned about negative online reviews. This has led some landlords and property managers to consider including a non-disparagement clause in their lease agreements, essentially trying to prevent tenants from leaving bad reviews. However, this practice is largely prohibited by federal law.
The Consumer Review Fairness Act
Including a general clause in a lease that prohibits a tenant from leaving a bad review is likely illegal. This is due to a federal law called the Consumer Review Fairness Act (CRFA) of 2016.
The CRFA prohibits provisions in form contracts—like a standard lease agreement such as the common Texas Association of Realtors (TAR) lease—that restrict a consumer’s ability to communicate truthful reviews about a company’s products, services, or conduct. Since a lease is a form contract between a business (the landlord) and a consumer (the tenant), a blanket non-disparagement clause is likely in violation of this Act.
Focus on Form Contracts
The law is clear that you cannot simply sneak this kind of provision into a standard, pre-printed lease agreement. Any clause in a form contract that bans, penalizes, or requires the transfer of intellectual property rights for a truthful consumer review is void and unenforceable.
This means that while landlords want to protect their reputations from unfair criticism, they cannot use the lease to silence a tenant’s honest opinion of the property or the service they received.
The Exception for Custom Agreements
There might be a narrow exception in cases where an individualized, custom contract is negotiated, such as a settlement agreement. For instance, if a current tenant is unhappy and negotiating an early lease termination or a partial refund, the landlord might be able to include a non-disparagement provision as a specific, negotiated term of that custom settlement, as long as it does not attempt to prohibit truthful statements. However, the safest preliminary answer is to avoid inserting these clauses into any standard residential lease to prevent running afoul of the CRFA.