If a judgment has already been entered against you, act today —
call the Special Civil Part clerk and legal aid
now. Options may remain, but they shrink by the day.
What is true in almost every New Jersey eviction
These do not depend on your answers below, so they are here rather
than three screens in.
A landlord cannot lock you out — and doing it is a criminal
offence. Entry into a home occupied by the person living there
cannot be made “without the consent of the party in possession unless
the entry and detention is made pursuant to legal process”, and a
landlord who violates that as to residential rental property “shall
be a disorderly person” (N.J.S.A. 2A:39-1). If you have been locked
out, had the locks changed, or had utilities cut to force you out,
call legal aid today and consider calling
the police — that is a different and faster route than the one below.
Eviction must go through the court
Eviction goes through the court, on a listed ground. No covered
residential tenant “may be removed by the Superior Court … except
upon establishment of one of the following grounds as good cause”
(N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1).
“The lease is up” is not a legal reason to evict you. For a
covered residential tenancy the landlord must prove one of the
good-cause grounds listed in the statute, and lease expiration is not
one of them (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1). A month-to-month or renewed
tenancy continues unless a listed ground exists.
If the case is about unpaid rent
If the case is about unpaid rent, paying stops it. At any time on
or before the day final judgment is entered, pay the clerk of the
court all rent claimed plus accrued court costs and the statute says
proceedings shall be stopped (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-55). Get the clerk’s
receipt — that receipt is your proof.
Money you spent keeping the utilities on may not count as unpaid
rent. If you paid for electric, gas, water or sewer after a shutoff
warning caused by your landlord’s nonpayment, that is not unpaid
rent (2A:18-61.1(a)). Bring the utility notice and your receipts.
Notices the landlord has to give first
Conduct-based grounds require a written notice to cease first.
Disorderly conduct, rule violations and lease breaches are grounds
only if they continued after a written warning
(2A:18-61.1(b), (d), (e)). No notice, or nothing after it — no ground.
A vague notice is a defense. The notice must state the cause with
particularity (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2).
Your security deposit
Deposit back within 30 days, or double. After the tenancy ends the
landlord has 30 days to return your deposit with interest and an
itemized list of deductions; withhold it wrongly and the court awards
double the amount plus costs and attorney fees — no need to prove
bad faith (N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.1).
Where these protections do not reach
Exceptions to all of the above: owner-occupied premises with not
more than two rental units; a hotel, motel or guest house rented to a
transient or seasonal guest; and certain immediate-family or
family-trust units — all sit outside the Anti-Eviction Act’s
good-cause list (2A:18-61.1). A court order is
still required, but the strong protections above may not apply — that
is the situation where a call to legal aid matters most.
This site does not file anything for you and is not legal advice.
For a hearing already scheduled, call
legal aid today.
A few questions, then the steps for your situation with the statute
behind each one.