Issues relating to Landlord Tenant Law and to New Jersey

    Landlord tenant law has changed significantly since the middle of the last century in New Jersey. Before the Anti-Eviction Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1, was passed in 1974, a tenancy could come to an end at the time the original lease term came to an end. That no longer is the case. Today, a tenancy comes to an end based on good cause only for all multi-dwelling houses and apartment. That presents significant challenges to landlords and other owners of property, but it also presents an opportunity.

    The challenge is that a tenant can be evicted only based on the limited and enumerated causes established under the Anti-Eviction Act. There are 18 different causes for eviction and only those 18 are a valid basis for eviction, the end of the original lease term is not one of them. Each cause has specific procedural and substantive requirements that have to be met by the landlord, for which he or she has the burden of proof, before the tenant can be evicted. The legislation was passed because NJ recognized that there is an acute shortage of housing in the state and that in order to reduce the inequities of eviction and the importance housing has in the state, that there had to be clear rules as to when a tenant can be evicted. Subsequent NJ court decisions, like Montgomery Gateway v. Herrara, 618 A.2d 865 (N.J. App. Div. 1992),  have construed the Anti-Eviction Act liberally in order to ensure the greatest protection possible to the tenant in order to keep him or her from eviction as much as possible. This is in order to ensure that NJ continues to have the best possible approach to preventing and reducing the critical shortage of housing in the state.

    The opportunity for owners who wish to or who do rent their properties in New Jersey is that in order to evict a tenant, the 18 causes of eviction clearly spell out what needs to be done in order to evict a tenant, whether there is a housing shortage or not. If the requirements for a cause for eviction are clearly met by an owner then there is little that a tenant can do in order to prevent the eviction. What the Anti-Eviction Act has done is to shift the risk of an eviction that was not clearly established, absent non-payment of rent, to the tenant. It was hard to establish the other 17 causes of eviction unless there was some applicable case law that by 1974 were few and far between as to eviction for other than non-payment of rent. Once the 17 other causes of eviction were enshrined by statute in the Anti-Eviction Act, there was no need for case law to establish the eviction.

    As an attorney with extensive experience in landlord-tenant law, I am an expert in finding which of the 17 other causes of eviction apply to any particular tenancy. Many tenants have used the Anti-Eviction Act as a sword instead of a shield, something that NJ did not necessarily have in mind when the law was passed in 1974. The law has been used as a basis for some tenants to continue a relationship that the landlord as the owner of the property no longer wishes to maintain. While on the one hand that presents a more stable housing market compared to other states, on the other hand the less freedom to alienate one’s property has a corresponding negative effect on the overall value of the property. That is why it is important to have a good attorney in order to maximize the possibility that one’s property can continue to be alienable and profitable for the owner. After all, the owner has his or her own obligations that he or she must meet as an owner, which includes property taxes and possible mortgages. That is why it is so important that a landlord have a good tenant that will help the owner each his or her goal of being a responsible owner while providing safe and adequate housing to the tenant. A good landlord-tenant attorney knows how to achieve that balance for his or her client.

    But just as landlords often need a good attorney to represent their interests, so do tenants. While the Anti-Eviction Act is not a sword that tenants can use to ensure that the landlord upholds his end of the tenancy, New Jersey has adopted several statute that place of proof on the landlord to show compliance or face a penalty. I am an expert as to what those violations are, what the potential remedies would be, and any potential settlement with the landlord could look like. If an irresponsible landlord is not willing to comply with his or her obligations under the lease there is no reason why you should have to be evicted nonetheless, even if you were not able to uphold your responsibilities under the lease to pay rent. Even though there is no mutual dependence between you paying your rent and the landlord upholding his obligations under the lease in NJ, except for the warranty of habitability, I will at least create or attempt to create leverage for negotiation and settlement. As the saying goes sometimes the best defense is offense and in the case of a delinquent tenant one of the best defense, even though not an established one, is to sue the landlord for significant damages for statutory violations so that the purported damages sought are at least as great or if not more than the rent that is owed. In this way, I assure that the landlord has the greatest inclination to enter into a repayment plan with the tenant or otherwise face a potential stiff penalty for not doing so. When a tenant is facing an eviction, he or she has nothing to lose so suing the landlord should not be an option that is taken off the table. 

    The point is that whether I am representing the tenant or the landlord, I intend to represent my client to the best of my abilities as is ethically and morally required. But in addition, as it has already mentioned, a good attorney is necessary in order to ensure that everyone plays by the same rules and is held accountable for it. This is because in the state that has the densest population of the country, avoiding a landlord-tenant relationship in one form or another is next to impossible at some point in time for almost every resident.