New Jersey Eviction Process

How to Evict a Tenant in New Jersey (7 Steps)

The process for evicting a tenant generally includes:

• Serving a notice if necessary.
• Filing an eviction lawsuit and serving it to the tenant.
• Going to trial.
• Receiving judgment.
• Removing the tenant if the judgment is favorable.

Complete the eviction process in seven straightforward steps.

Step 1 – Serve Applicable Notice

If an eviction notice is necessary for your situation, serve the notice by:

• Hand delivering to the tenant.
• Hand delivering to a person over age 14 living with the tenant.
• Except for the case of lease expiration, you can send it by certified mail.
• If the first piece of mail goes unclaimed, you can then send it by regular mail.

Step 2 – Wait for Tenant Action (or Inaction)

Wait out the appropriate period of time, as decided by the eviction reason, for the tenant to do one of the following:

• Pay due rent.
• Solve a curable issue.
• Move out.

If the tenant does none of the above, then you can proceed.

Step 3 – File Eviction Lawsuit

New Jersey landlords must file for eviction in a special civil part of the Superior Court. $50 in filing fees apply. At this time, you’ll file both a complaint and a summons.

Step 4 – Serve Tenant

The court will oversee the serving of the complaint and summons to the tenant. 

Step 5 – Attend Trial

An eviction hearing will be held within 10 to 30 days after the summons has been issued by the court. If the tenant fails to appear, the court may issue a default judgment in your favor. The case will be dismissed if you do not appear.

Step 6 – Get Warrant of Removal

If the court rules in your favor, a warrant of removal will be issued. This serves as the tenant’s final warning to leave before being forcibly removed. They may decide to vacate at this point to remove personal belongings before officers arrive.

This warrant is issued within three days of the judgment in your favor and has to be served by a special civil part court officer.

Step 7 – Take Possession of Property

The eviction may occur as soon as three days after the warrant of removal is issued. Tenants at this point, can file for an “order for orderly removal” to give them extra time to leave. If granted, it gives the tenant up to seven calendar days to complete the moving-out process before officials forcibly remove them.

A tenant may also file for a “hardship stay” for up to six months. They may only apply for this if all past-due rent is paid at this point.

Eviction Reasons

New Jersey law lays out rules for handling several specific situations that can lead to eviction. These include both “at-fault” evictions and “no-fault” evictions.

In at-fault situations, a tenant has violated their lease agreement in some way, such as not paying rent, breaking an explicit rule, general misconduct, or violating the law. In no-fault situations, the landlord decides to evict the tenant for their own reasons.

All grounds for tenant eviction are covered in N.J. Stat. § 2A:18-61.1.

At-Fault Evictions

When a tenant does something wrong, landlords can seek an at-fault eviction. The reasons that can be used for at-fault evictions are extensive, including:

• Not paying rent.
• Paying rent consistently late.
• Staying after a lease expired.
• Violating the lease agreement.
• Causing property damage.
• Disorderly conduct.
• Criminal activity.

1. Late or Missing Rent Payments

• Used if the tenant is late on rent.
• This may be “curable,” meaning the tenant can solve the issue by paying.
• The process differs depending on whether the tenant has paid late previously.
• If there is no history of accepted late payments, no notice is necessary unless the property is subsidized housing.
• If there is a history of accepted late payments, a 30-day notice to pay or move is required.

New Jersey has more complicated late rent payment eviction laws than most states. Whether a notice is required before seeking eviction for rent nonpayment depends on past behavior from the landlord.

If the tenant has paid late previously and the landlord accepted it without seeking eviction, then the law requires landlords give a 30-day notice to pay or leave. If not, then the landlord can file for eviction immediately. Subsidized housing also has separate rules, requiring a 14-day notice even if there is no history of accepted late payments. In addition, senior citizens have a five (5) business day grace period to pay rent that is due and payable on the first of the month per N.J. Stat. § 2A:42-6.1.  

2. Remaining on Property After a Fixed Term Lease Expires

• Used if the tenant refuses to leave after their lease is up.
• This is not curable, meaning the tenant must move.
• No notice is required unless specifically stated in the lease agreement.

If a tenant has a lease for a fixed term, like six months or a year, they must leave at the end of their lease term. If they don’t, their landlord can immediately file for eviction.

3. Lease Violations

• Used if the tenant does not follow the rules set forth by the lease agreement.
• This may be curable, meaning the tenant can fix the problem by ceasing the behavior that violates the lease.
• 30-day notice is required to give the tenant a chance to solve the issue or move out before the eviction process continues.

Common lease violations leading to eviction include:

• Smoking inside in a no-smoking unit or in non-smoking outdoor areas.
• Fixable damage to the property.
• Having a pet in a pet-free unit.
• Any other actions or omissions that specifically go against the lease agreement’s terms.

Oftentimes, tenants can avoid eviction by solving these issues within the 30-day notice period.

4. Substantial Property Damage or Illegal Activity

• Used if the tenant conducts criminal activity on the property or causes significant damage to the property.
• These are incurable offenses.
• A three-day notice to quit or leave the premises is required.

If property damage is significant, not fixable, or poses a risk to other tenants’ health and safety, the tenant responsible may be required to move out permanently. The same goes for a tenant who performs illegal acts on the property.

Examples of illegal activity on the property that are grounds for eviction:

• Drug offenses.
• Theft, violence, or assault.
• Possession and/or firing of an illegal weapon.
• Human trafficking or sex-related crimes.

N.J. Stat. §§ 2A:18-53(c) and 2A:18-61.2 list all evictable criminal offenses.

5. Repeated Disorderly Conduct

• Used if the tenant has repeatedly conducted themselves in a way that destroys the peace and quiet of other tenants or neighbors.
• If a tenant does not stop disorderly conduct after an initial notice to cease, then the landlord can serve them a three-day notice to quit.

After complaints of disorderly conduct, a landlord must give the tenant a written “notice to cease” that tells them to stop that behavior. If the tenant continues the behavior after receiving the notice to cease, the landlord can then start the eviction with a three-day notice to quit or move out.

No-Fault Evictions

New Jersey law also lays out several scenarios for no-fault evictions, in which a landlord decides to end a tenancy while the tenant is in good standing. These include:

• Ending a lease.
• Moving into the property themselves.
• Solving violations of health or safety codes.
• Selling the property.
• Converting the property to a single or set of condos.
• Deciding to stop using the property as a rental for any reason.

Since no-fault evictions are at the discretion of the landlord, these are “incurable.” This means the tenant has no course of action to remain living on the property and must leave.

1. Ending a Month-to-Month Lease

• Used to stop renting to a month-to-month tenant.
• Requires a month-long notice period prior to termination of their agreement.

In the case of a month-to-month lease, automatic renewal is assumed after each month passes unless proper notice is given by either party. The landlord must give the tenant a full rent payment period’s notice that their lease agreement is coming to an end before seeking any eviction measures. 

2. Rental Property Sold or Going To Be Used Personally

• Used if the landlord chooses to use the property personally or sells it to someone else who does not wish to rent it out.
• Requires a two-month notice period for tenants to move out.

Upon the sale of a property, tenants have the legal right to two months’ notice to move out if the new owner decides to stop renting the property. The same goes for a property that the landlord either plans to live in themselves or use to house family or friends.

3. Fixing Health or Safety Violations

• Used if renovations to solve health and safety violations require a tenant to move out either temporarily or permanently.
• Requires a three-month notice period for tenants to move out.

If the property fails any health or safety inspections, the landlord has three possible courses of action:

• If they can afford the required repairs, then they must remove tenants while these are completed.
• If they cannot afford repairs, then they must arrange for all tenants to permanently vacate and for the property to be demolished or boarded up.
• If the government owns the property, then the property will likely be demolished to allow for redevelopment.

When temporarily or permanently requiring tenants to relocate under any of these options, the landlord must serve all tenants with a three-month notice to quit.

4. Discontinued Use

• Used if the landlord decides to take the property off the rental market.
• Requires an 18-month notice period for tenants to move out.

New Jersey landlords must plan well in advance if they wish to stop renting out a property altogether. They cannot evict tenants without giving them at least a year and a half to find new places of residence and move out voluntarily.

5. Conversion to Condo

• Used if the property is to be converted into one or multiple condominium(s).
• Requires a three-year notice period for tenants to move out.

Plans to convert a rental property into a set of condominiums or similar structures require the longest notice period. Tenants have three years to find another living situation before you can evict them to actualize these plans.

Eviction Timeline

Tenant Rights in New Jersey

New Jersey law protects tenants from self-help evictions which is when landlords take matters into their own hands. This is to protect tenants from harassment or violence from their landlord that affects their livelihood.

Self-Help Evictions

In the state of New Jersey, both self-help and retaliatory evictions are illegal. Self-help evictions include actions like:

• Changing the locks.
• Shutting off utilities.
• Removing tenant belongings.
• Harassing or intimidating the tenant.

A retaliatory eviction occurs when a tenant is being evicted in response to them exercising a protected right, like complaining about their living conditions. Protected tenant actions include:

• Complaining about health or safety issues to relevant authorities.
• Filing a complaint to a government authority.
• Joining a tenant’s union or organization.

Abandoned Property

If a tenant leaves behind property after an eviction, a landlord must give written notice to the tenant. Following a 30-day time period (33 days if the notice is sent by mail) without the tenant reclaiming such belongings, the landlord may dispose of it via public or private sale or destroy it.

Resources

• New Jersey landlord/tenant information and forms from the New Jersey Courts.
• New Jersey grounds for an eviction bulletin from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
• New Jersey eviction law from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.