Any landlord or owner may institute summary dispossess proceedings in the Special Civil Part of Superior Court against a tenant who fails to pay rent when due, or who holds over after the expiration of their term. The complaint shall be filed in the county where the rental property is located. Upon judgment for possession, the court shall issue a warrant of removal directing a Special Civil Part officer to evict the tenant.
No landlord may evict or fail to renew the lease of any residential tenant, whether the tenancy is written or oral, without good cause. Good cause for eviction is limited to the following 16 grounds: (a) Failure to pay rent; (b) Disorderly conduct disturbing the peace of other tenants or the landlord; (c) Willful or negligent destruction or damage to the premises; (d) Conviction of or guilty plea to a violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-1 et seq. (drug offense on premises); (e) Substantial violation of lease covenants where a right of re-entry is reserved; (f) Habitual failure to pay rent or habitually late payment; (g) Landlord seeks to permanently board up or demolish the premises due to health and safety citations; (h) Substantial rehabilitation; (i) Tenant's refusal to accept reasonable changes in lease terms at renewal; (j) Discontinuance of use — owner no longer wishes to rent; (k) Termination of employment where tenancy was conditioned on employment; (l) Owner or immediate family seeks to personally occupy the unit; sale of property to buyer who seeks personal occupancy; conversion to condominium, cooperative, or fee-simple ownership; (n) Drug offense on premises (conviction or guilty plea); (o) Illegal activity including assault, theft, or human trafficking on the premises; (p) Material health or safety violation by tenant. No action for possession shall be brought against a senior citizen tenant or disabled tenant with protected tenancy status as long as that status has not been terminated.
The following notice periods are required before a landlord may file an eviction complaint: (a) Nonpayment of rent: no notice required before filing; (b) Disorderly conduct: Notice to Cease required first; then 3-Day Notice to Quit; (c) Destruction of property: Notice to Cease required first; then 3-Day Notice to Quit; (e) Substantial lease violation: Notice to Cease required first; then 30-Day Notice to Quit; (f) Habitual late payment: Notice to Cease required first; then 1-month Notice to Quit; (g) Demolition/board-up: 3-Month Notice to Quit plus DCA notification; (h) Substantial rehabilitation: 3-Month Notice to Quit; (i) Lease change refusal: 30-Day Notice to Quit; (j) Discontinued use: 18-Month Notice to Quit; (k) Employee eviction: 3-Day Notice to Quit after employment termination; (l) Owner occupancy or sale: 2-Month Notice to Quit; condominium conversion: 3-Month Notice to Quit (up to 3 years for senior and disabled tenants with protected status); (n)(o) Drug offense or illegal activity: 3-Day Notice to Quit; (p) Health/safety violation by tenant: Notice to Cease then Notice to Quit.
Failure to pay rent when due is ground (a) for eviction under the Anti-Eviction Act. No Notice to Cease or Notice to Quit is required before filing a Complaint for Summary Possession for nonpayment of rent. However: (1) Senior citizens and tenants receiving public assistance are entitled to a 5-business-day grace period before rent is considered late; (2) If the landlord has previously accepted late rent payments from the tenant, a 30-Day Notice to Quit is required before filing for current nonpayment — prior acceptance of late payments waives the right to proceed without notice; (3) Rent is defined as base rent plus utilities and recurring charges specified in the lease; it excludes late fees, court costs, attorneys' fees, and damages unless these are specifically designated as 'additional rent' in the lease; (4) A tenant may stop the eviction by paying all rent owed plus court costs to the court clerk within 3 business days of a judgment of possession — the court must dismiss the complaint upon such payment; (5) If a rental assistance program or charity agrees to pay the overdue amount, the landlord cannot refuse that payment.
No action for possession shall be brought pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1 against a senior citizen tenant or disabled tenant with protected tenancy status as long as the agency has not terminated the protected tenancy status or the protected tenancy period has not expired. To obtain protected tenancy status, the tenant must apply to the designated administrative agency. Qualifying tenants include senior citizens (age 62 or older) and disabled persons meeting income and other eligibility requirements. In condominium conversion situations, qualifying tenants with protected status are entitled to notice of up to 3 years (versus 3 months for other tenants). Landlords must provide all required notices to the designated agency simultaneously with service on the tenant.
Qualified tenants under the Tenant Protection Act of 1992 are entitled to enhanced protections in connection with conversion of rental housing to condominium, cooperative, or fee-simple ownership. A qualified tenant is one who: (a) has a household income at or below the applicable income limit; and (b) has resided in the unit for a minimum period as defined by the Act. Qualified tenants are entitled to a protected tenancy period during which they cannot be evicted as a result of the conversion. The protected tenancy period may extend up to 40 years in certain circumstances for low-income tenants.
No landlord shall serve a notice to quit upon any tenant or institute any action against a tenant to recover possession of the premises, in retaliation for: (a) the tenant's good faith complaint to a governmental authority concerning a violation of a health or safety law or regulation; (b) the tenant's participation in a tenant's organization; (c) the tenant's good faith request for repairs or habitability improvements; (d) the filing of a lawsuit against the landlord; (e) the tenant's withholding of rent due to the landlord's failure to maintain habitable conditions; or (f) any other exercise of a legal right. Proof of any retaliatory motive, even where only one of the reasons for the eviction is retaliatory, is a complete defense to the eviction action and the landlord's complaint shall be dismissed.
There shall be a rebuttable presumption of retaliation if the landlord takes any adverse action within 90 days of a tenant's exercise of a protected right as defined in N.J.S.A. 2A:42-10.10. The tenant may recover: (a) actual damages; (b) punitive damages where the landlord's conduct is willful or malicious; (c) reasonable attorney's fees; and (d) any other appropriate equitable or injunctive relief. The court may also order the landlord to pay the tenant's relocation costs where the tenant has been wrongfully displaced.
A person who takes title as a result of a sheriff's sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure to a residential property containing one or more dwelling units occupied by residential tenants shall provide notice to the tenants in both English and Spanish no later than 10 business days after the transfer of title. The notice shall inform tenants: (1) that the former owner has lost the property through foreclosure; (2) to whom rent should be paid going forward; (3) that foreclosure alone is not grounds for eviction — the new owner cannot evict a tenant without good cause under the Anti-Eviction Act; (4) that the tenant is protected by law even without a written lease; and (5) that the new owner cannot evict without a court process and cannot remove the tenant without a court officer with a court order.
(a) No landlord shall require as a condition of a rental agreement a security deposit in excess of one and one-half times the monthly rent. (b) Every landlord who accepts a security deposit shall: (1) place the deposit in a separate interest-bearing account in a federally insured financial institution in the State of New Jersey; (2) not commingle the deposit with personal funds or operating accounts; (3) within 30 days of receiving the deposit, notify the tenant in writing of: the name and address of the financial institution where the deposit is held; the current rate of interest; and the account number. (c) The landlord shall pay to the tenant annually the interest or earnings accumulated on the security deposit, or shall credit such amount toward the tenant's rent. (d) Annual increases to the security deposit to coincide with rent increases shall not exceed 10% of the current security deposit amount.
(a) Within 30 days after the termination of a tenancy, the landlord shall return the security deposit to the tenant, together with the tenant's portion of any interest or earnings accumulated, less any charges lawfully deducted. (b) The landlord shall provide the tenant with an itemized written statement of any deductions, delivered by personal delivery or certified/registered mail to the tenant's last known address. (c) Special deadlines: where the tenant is displaced due to fire, flood, condemnation, or evacuation ordered by a public authority, the deposit must be returned within 5 days; where the tenant vacates due to domestic violence, the deposit must be returned within 15 days. (d) If the tenant fails to provide a forwarding address, the 30-day deadline begins to run from the date the forwarding address is received by the landlord.
If a landlord fails to return a security deposit within the time required by N.J.S.A. 46:8-21 or fails to provide the required itemized statement, the tenant may bring a civil action. Upon a finding that the landlord wrongfully withheld the deposit or any portion thereof, the court shall award: (a) the return of the security deposit; (b) damages in an amount equal to twice the amount wrongfully withheld (double damages); (c) reasonable attorney's fees; and (d) court costs. The landlord bears the burden of proving that any deductions were lawful.
Every landlord of residential rental premises shall provide each tenant, at the time of signing a lease or rental agreement, with a copy of the statement of legal rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants in New Jersey prepared and published by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA). The statement shall be in plain language and shall summarize the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants under New Jersey law. A landlord who fails to provide the required statement is subject to a civil penalty.
Effective March 20, 2024, every landlord shall disclose to a prospective tenant, before execution of a lease or rental agreement, whether the rental property is located in a Special Flood Hazard Area or Moderate Risk Flood Hazard Area as designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The disclosure shall be made in writing on a form prescribed by the Department of Community Affairs. A landlord who fails to provide the required flood risk disclosure is liable to the tenant for actual damages caused by the failure to disclose, plus reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
All persons renting residential premises must register with the municipality in which the property is located. The registration must include: the landlord's name and address; the name and address of the landlord's designated agent for service of process and receipt of notices; and such other information as the municipality may require. For buildings containing three or more residential dwelling units, the landlord must also register with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Registration must be renewed annually or as otherwise required by the municipality or DCA. A certificate of registration must be made available to tenants upon request.
The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) prohibits discrimination in housing and rental transactions based on: race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, familial status, disability, nationality, sex, gender identity or expression, source of lawful income, and any other characteristic protected by law. Landlords may not: refuse to rent or negotiate for rental; impose different terms and conditions; falsely represent that a rental unit is unavailable; or evict or threaten to evict a tenant based on any protected characteristic. Source of lawful income is a specifically enumerated protected class — landlords may not refuse to rent to tenants because their income comes from public assistance, housing vouchers, Social Security, veterans' benefits, or other government programs.
Under Rule 6:10 of the New Jersey Rules of Court, any landlord that is a corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, limited partnership, or any other business entity must be represented by a licensed New Jersey attorney in all landlord-tenant proceedings in the Special Civil Part. Non-attorneys, including property managers, shareholders, members, and employees, may not appear in court on behalf of a business entity landlord. Under Rule 1:21-1(c), appearance by a non-attorney for a business entity constitutes the unauthorized practice of law and is grounds for immediate dismissal of the eviction complaint.
Rule 6:3 governs the procedure for landlord-tenant actions filed in the Special Civil Part of Superior Court. Key procedural requirements: (1) The complaint must be filed in the county where the property is located; (2) New mandatory summons and complaint forms are required as of September 2025 — the forms require disclosure of rent control status, housing subsidy status, and the specific ground(s) for eviction; (3) Upon filing, the court schedules a hearing typically within 10-20 days; (4) The summons and complaint are served by the court officer, not by the landlord; (5) The tenant may file a written answer raising any defenses before or at the hearing; (6) At the hearing, the landlord must prove both the factual ground for eviction and that all procedural requirements (proper notices, service, registration) were followed; (7) If the landlord prevails, a Judgment for Possession is entered; (8) After judgment, the landlord must apply for a Warrant for Removal, which is served and executed only by a Special Civil Part officer.
Certain grounds for eviction under the Anti-Eviction Act require significantly longer notice periods: (g) Demolition/Board-Up: Landlord must serve a 3-Month Notice to Quit and simultaneously notify the NJ Department of Community Affairs. The landlord must demonstrate that the property has been cited for substantial health and safety violations and that it is economically unfeasible to eliminate the violations; (h) Substantial Rehabilitation: 3-Month Notice to Quit required. The rehabilitation must bring the property into code compliance; (j) Discontinued Use: Where the owner no longer wishes to rent the property, an 18-Month Notice to Quit is required for residential tenants; (l) Condominium/Cooperative Conversion: 3-Month Notice to Quit for most tenants; up to 3 years for senior citizens and disabled tenants with protected tenancy status under the Senior Citizens and Disabled Protected Tenancy Act or the Tenant Protection Act of 1992; Owner/Family Occupancy or Sale to Buyer-Occupant: 2-Month Notice to Quit.
New Jersey has no statewide rent control statute. Landlords are free to set rents at market rates and increase rents at lease renewal without limitation under state law — subject only to the Anti-Eviction Act's procedural requirements when a tenant refuses to accept reasonable changes in lease terms. However, dozens of New Jersey municipalities have enacted local rent control ordinances that significantly restrict rent increases. Municipalities with active rent control include (but are not limited to): Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken, Trenton, Camden, Asbury Park, Fort Lee, Hackensack, East Orange, and Irvington. Each ordinance has different caps, exemptions, registration requirements, and procedural rules. Landlords must research and comply with the specific ordinance for every municipality in which they own rental property.
The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) administers numerous regulations affecting landlords and tenants including: (1) Landlord registration requirements and procedures; (2) Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Law standards for habitability, maintenance, and inspections; (3) Security deposit regulations; (4) Truth in Renting publication and distribution requirements; (5) Procedures for notification to the DCA in demolition and displacement situations; (6) Regulations governing the heating season (October 1 through May 1) during which landlords must provide adequate heat of at least 68°F during the day and 65°F at night; (7) Standards for common area maintenance and safety in multi-unit dwellings.
Under the landmark New Jersey Supreme Court decision in Marini v. Ireland (1970), there is an implied warranty of habitability in all residential rental agreements in New Jersey. This warranty requires landlords to provide and maintain premises that are safe and habitable for human occupancy throughout the duration of the tenancy. The warranty is non-waivable — a tenant cannot agree in a lease to accept uninhabitable conditions, and any lease provision purporting to waive the warranty of habitability is void and unenforceable. Landlord obligations under the Marini Doctrine include: maintaining all structural elements (roof, walls, floors, windows, doors); maintaining all electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in working order; providing adequate heat (68°F day, 65°F night during heating season); providing hot and cold running water; keeping common areas clean and safe; and exterminating pests and vermin.
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