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Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017

Sale of goods - Formation of contract - Conditions and warranties

138: Implied condition that goods are reasonably fit for purpose

You could also call this:

“Goods should work for what you need them for when you buy them”

When you buy something, there’s an understanding between you and the seller that the item will work for what you need it for. This is especially true if you tell the seller why you’re buying it, and you trust that they know what they’re talking about. The seller should be someone who usually sells these kinds of things.

If you explain to the seller what you want to use the item for, and you’re counting on their knowledge to help you, then the item should be able to do what you need it to do. This is like a promise that comes with buying the item, even if it’s not written down.

But there’s one exception to this rule. If you’re buying something that has a special name, like a brand name or a patented product, then there’s no promise that it will work for any specific purpose you might have in mind.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6844329.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection Business > Fair trading
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137: Implied conditions or warranties as to quality or fitness, or

"Automatic promises about a product's quality or usefulness when you buy things"

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139: Implied condition that goods are of merchantable quality, or

"Items sold should be good enough to sell, unless you saw problems before buying"

Part 3 Sale of goods
Formation of contract: Conditions and warranties

138Implied condition that goods are reasonably fit for purpose

  1. This section applies if—

  2. the buyer, expressly or by implication, makes known to the seller the particular purpose for which the goods are required, so as to show that the buyer relies on the seller’s skill or judgement; and
    1. the goods are of a description that it is in the course of the seller’s business to supply (whether or not the seller is the manufacturer).

      1. There is an implied condition in the contract of sale that the goods are reasonably fit for the purpose referred to in subsection (1)(a).

      2. However, in the case of a contract of sale for a specified article under its patent or other trade name, there is no implied condition that the article is fit for any particular purpose.

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