Lease dictionary
Severability clause
If one clause of the lease is illegal, the rest still stands.
A severability clause says that if a court strikes down one part of the lease, the remainder survives. It's why landlords can stuff leases with unenforceable clauses at little risk - the bad ones fall away, the rest keeps working.
For renters it cuts both ways: an illegal clause doesn't void your whole lease (usually good), but it also means the lease's scary-looking clauses cost the landlord nothing to include.
Watch out
Never assume a clause is enforceable just because it's printed in the lease - severability is the landlord's admission that some may not be.
See it in action
The Lease red-flag checker puts this term to work for you.