Short answer. Yes, but the presumption can be rebutted. Under Article 1666, when the lease says nothing about the condition of the thing at the start, the law presumes the lessee received it in good condition — unless there is proof to the contrary. So a silent contract works against a tenant who later claims the unit was already damaged, without evidence.
What the law says
In the absence of a statement concerning the condition of the thing at the time the lease was constituted, the law presumes that the lessee received it in good condition, unless there is proof to the contrary.
Civil Code, Article 1666 — Presumption of Good Condition. Read the full provision →
Silence is read against the tenant
Article 1666 fills a gap that leases often leave open. It provides that in the absence of a statement concerning the condition of the thing at the time the lease was constituted, the law presumes that the lessee received it in good condition, unless there is proof to the contrary. When the contract does not describe what shape the unit was in at move-in, the law supplies a default: it assumes the tenant got it in good order. This matters most at the end of a lease, when a tenant is asked to answer for damage and wants to say the problem was there all along.
Why the presumption exists
The rule reflects ordinary experience and fairness. A landlord who hands over a unit is usually delivering something fit for use, and a tenant who accepts it without noting defects is treated as having received it that way. The presumption also encourages people to record the condition up front. Because the law will otherwise assume good condition, the burden lands on whoever later says the truth was different. It is a disputable presumption, not an unbreakable rule — the phrase unless there is proof to the contrary says so plainly — but until such proof appears, the tenant is taken to have started with an undamaged unit.
How a tenant can overcome it
A tenant is not trapped by the presumption if the real condition can be shown. Proof to the contrary can take many forms: dated photographs or video taken at move-in, a signed inventory or condition report, messages to the landlord flagging pre-existing damage, or credible witnesses. The safest protection is to insist that the lease itself describe the unit's condition, or to attach a checklist both sides sign. Once condition is stated in the contract, Article 1666 does not apply at all, because it operates only where the lease is silent. Documenting the start of the tenancy is the single best way to avoid paying for damage you did not cause.
What the presumption does not settle
The presumption fixes a starting point; it does not decide every dispute. It says the tenant received the thing in good condition, which then supports the tenant's duty to return it in a comparable state, allowing for normal wear from ordinary use. It does not make the tenant liable for deterioration that is the natural result of proper use, nor for damage caused by the landlord's failure to make repairs he was bound to make. And it never overrides clear evidence. Read together with the landlord's duties to deliver and maintain a usable unit, Article 1666 simply allocates who must prove what when the contract left the opening condition unrecorded.