Evictions

A New Jersey landlord seeking to evict a residential tenant and regain possession of the landlord’s rental property must file a summary dispossession action (eviction). The landlord may only evict a residential tenant based on one or more of the statutory grounds for eviction permitted under New Jersey’s Anti-Eviction Act.

What are the common reasons a Landlord evicts a Tenant?

Some of the most common reasons a landlord may file a complaint in the Landlord/Tenant Section:

Failure to pay rent

Cotinued disorderly conduct

Unauthorized subtenancy

Willful destruction or damage to property

Habitual lateness in paying rent

Violation of rules and regulations, after written notice to comply, as outlined in a lease or other document

Tenant’s conviction for a drug offense

Eviction actions other than non-payment of rent generally require the issuance of a pre-lawsuit written notice to terminate the tenancy. In other words, no written default notice is required to be given to the tenant when the eviction complaint is based on failure to pay rent.

In cases that do require a written notice, if the tenant continues the misconduct after the landlord issues the notice then the landlord can file eviction proceedings. 

Protected Tenantss

Additional statutory protections against eviction also apply to the following types of residential tenants:

• Senior citizens and disabled persons.

• Qualified tenants in Hudson County.

• Military service members.

• Tenants in residential dwellings being or that have already been foreclosed.