Contract Question Ledger
For the method in Reading a Lease or Contract for Questions, Not Legal Conclusions. Keep the exact clause wording next to every paraphrase. This ledger asks questions — it does not answer legal ones.
Not for
Determining enforceability, legal rights, or a dispute strategy. Anything unresolved below needs a qualified lawyer or a tenants’/consumers’ rights service, not this ledger.
Clause ledger
| Clause # / heading | Exact quote | Plain-language paraphrase | Ambiguous or cross-referenced? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ Clear ☐ Ambiguous | |||
| ☐ Clear ☐ Ambiguous | |||
| ☐ Clear ☐ Ambiguous | |||
| ☐ Clear ☐ Ambiguous | |||
| ☐ Clear ☐ Ambiguous | |||
| ☐ Clear ☐ Ambiguous |
Dates, fees, and notice periods
| Item | Amount / deadline | Clause it comes from |
|---|---|---|
Questions for a professional or the counterparty
Phrase each as a specific, answerable question — do not attempt to answer these yourself.
| Question | Who to ask (lawyer / rights service / counterparty) | Answered? |
|---|---|---|
| ☐ Yes ☐ No | ||
| ☐ Yes ☐ No | ||
| ☐ Yes ☐ No |
The three prompts to reuse
1. Build the clause ledger
Here is the text of a [lease / service contract], copied directly
from the document: [paste text]. For each clause that involves an
obligation, a date, a fee, a notice period, or a right to change
terms, produce a row with: the exact quoted clause text, a
plain-language paraphrase, and a note on anything that seems
ambiguous or that references another section not included here. Do
not state whether a clause is enforceable, fair, or legal — only
paraphrase and flag ambiguity.
2. Extract dates and fees
From this clause ledger [paste], build a table of every specific
date, deadline, fee amount, and notice period mentioned in the
contract, with the clause number or heading each one comes from. Do
not add interpretation — just extract what is explicitly stated.
3. Draft professional questions
From this clause ledger [paste], list every clause marked ambiguous
or cross-referencing missing text, plus any clause whose real-world
consequence is unclear to me. Phrase each as a specific question for
a lawyer, a tenants'/consumers' rights service, or the other party.
Do not attempt to answer these questions yourself.
Before you sign
- Re-read every money, date, or change-of-terms clause against the original text
- All ambiguous or cross-referenced clauses resolved with a professional or the counterparty
- Confirmed this is the actual document being signed, not a template found elsewhere