A maintenance covenant that activates ('springs') only when a specified condition is met — most commonly when revolver utilization exceeds sim 35% of the revolving commitment. Critical caveat: a springing covenant is strictly weaker than a hard maintenance covenant because it offers no protection during the deterioration phase when the borrower is funding losses with operating cash flow rather than revolver draws. The lender effectively only gets a test once stress is already visible. Increasingly common in upper-middle-market cov-lite TLBs as a borrower–lender compromise.