Property Management and Landlord-Tenant Practice
Residential tenancies in New Jersey
New Jersey protects residential tenants through the Anti-Eviction Act: a landlord needs good cause to evict, must serve the proper notice (Notice to Cease or Notice to Quit as the grounds require), and must file a summary dispossess action in the Superior Court, Special Civil Part. Self-help evictions - changing locks, removing belongings, shutting off utilities - are unlawful.
Security deposits
- Maximum deposit is one and one-half months' rent.
- Deposit must be held in an interest-bearing account in a New Jersey financial institution, with written notice to the tenant of the bank, branch, and account within 30 days.
- Interest is paid or credited annually, or at lease termination.
- Return the deposit within 30 days of move-out with an itemized statement of deductions; failure can expose the landlord to return of the deposit plus damages and fees.
Habitability and consumer rights
The implied warranty of habitability requires heat, hot and cold water, safe and sanitary conditions, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and compliance with local codes. The DCA's Truth in Renting statement must be distributed to tenants.
Traps
- Advising a landlord to "just change the locks."
- Applying a deposit to last month's rent without following statutory procedure.
- Treating a lease as unenforceable because it is oral; short-term oral leases can still bind.
Worked example
On a $2,000 monthly rent, the maximum security deposit is $3,000. At a 0.50% annual rate, the annual interest on a full $3,000 deposit is $15, which must be credited or paid to the tenant.