Lease compliance is the first step toward maintaining your tenant rights once you have taken up residence in a rental unit. If a landlord is violating your rights and you are complying with your lease, there are legal steps that can be taken to address the situation. While the first step should be to discuss the issue with the landlord, that does not always end well. The New Jersey tenant rights lawyers of Pagliara Law Group can help you understand exactly what your rights are and can determine if they are being violated.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR LEASE AND LEASE VIOLATIONS

Most people are so excited to move into a new rental that they barely skim the lease before signing. However, it’s important that tenants examine and read through their lease carefully before signing. Once you sign it, both you and the landlord need to comply with the terms described therein. However, the landlord may change the terms of the lease when it is up for renewal or may not uphold his or her obligations under the existing lease. If this happens, you should address the situation in writing so that there is documentation. If you never read through your lease to begin with, however, you may not catch changes or violations later. Our lawyers can create any necessary documents and help you remedy the situation before it becomes any worse. If you need help understanding the terms of your lease, we can help ensure your rights aren’t violated.

LEGAL ACTION AND TENANT RIGHTS

In some instances, it is the right of the tenant to withhold rent when the landlord fails to meet the agreed upon conditions of the lease. For example, New Jersey law states that tenants have a right to live in a unit that is fit for human habitation. This means that, for example, if the roof falls in, the landlord needs to fix it in order to remain in compliance with New Jersey law as well as the terms of the lease. If the landlord fails to fix the roof, the tenant may not be obligated to pay the rent and legal action may follow.

WHY YOU NEED A TENANT RIGHTS LAWYER

Tenants often feel as if they are at the mercy of the landlord. However, our New Jersey tenant rights lawyers can make sure you retain your rights as a tenant and receive fair and legal treatment. The landlord-tenant relationship should be a simple matter of following the terms of the lease and any applicable laws, but there are circumstances that complicate the simplicity of this relationship. Take back the power from the Landlord. 

YOUR RIGHTS AS A TENANT IN NEW JERSEY

Under New Jersey and federal law, it is illegal for a landlord or real estate agency to refuse to rent to a tenant because of race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation or perceived orientation, marital status, source of income, military service or status, cellular or blood traits, disability or perceived disability, age or having children under the age of 14.

If a landlord lies to you by saying there are no units available for rental or treats you discourteously or denies you services granted to other tenants, such actions may violate the fair housing laws.

A landlord is not required to rent to you if he can prove that you cannot afford the rent or that your family is larger than the number of people permitted to live in the apartment.

Before signing a lease, be sure you understand the terms. The lease should specify the length of time for which the property is being rented, the amount of security and rent you must pay, how to renew or terminate the lease, any late charges or legal fees you may be responsible for, and other rules and regulations of the landlord.

When you sign your lease, you agree to adhere to all of the rules and regulations. If you break the rules, do not pay your rent on time or violate other terms of the lease, your landlord may take you to court to have you evicted.

There are several other important aspects of landlord-tenant law for which there are common misconceptions and require careful consideration. These include the handling and limits of security deposits, required statutory notices, landlord registration statements, rent increases and habitability concerns.

HUDSON COUNTY RENTERS’ RIGHTS WHEN MOVING IN

One of the rights which renters fail to employ is the right to inspect their home before moving in. There are certain standards which must be met prior to tenants moving into a rental property. Check all of the following as soon as possible:

• Kitchen
• Bathroom
• Walls and Ceilings
• Floors
• Smoke detectors
• Windows and doors
• Heating and cooling systems if applicable
• Water and electrical services
• And more

If there are any issues present at the property, it is wise to take pictures as evidence and send them to your landlords or realty company immediately. They should fix any legitimate issues as soon as possible. Get these promises to fix items in writing to avoid future conflict.

SECURITY DEPOSIT LAWYERS JERSEY CITY, NJ

Many of the most common causes of disputes between renters and landlords revolve around security deposits. Thankfully, New Jersey statutes provide specifics which govern limits, notices, how to get your security deposit back, and much more. Our rental agreement lawyers believe in keeping our clients informed about state and federal laws so they can approach security deposit disputes with confidence. Regulations to protect tenants and landlords include:

Limits on security deposits – pursuant to N.J.S.A. 46:8-21.2, security deposit amount may not exceed one and a half (1.5) times the monthly rent amount of your agreement. Additionally, “Whenever an owner or lessee collects from a tenant an additional amount of security deposit, the amount collected annually as additional security shall not be greater than 10 percent of the current security deposit”.

Notice of Security deposit – landlords are legally obligated to put security deposit funds into a separately operated bank account which pays interest. At this point, the landlord has a maximum of 30 days to inform the tenant of the name and address of the bank where their security deposit is being held.

Getting the security deposit back – at the end of your lease term, landlords have 30 days to return a security deposit unless tenants owe outstanding funds. If the landlord makes any deductions from your security deposit, they must provide a list of items and dollar amounts.

Landlord-Tenant Disputes

In New Jersey, there are several laws governing various aspects of the landlord-tenant relationship. From security deposits to evictions to abandoned property, it is important that both landlords and tenants clearly understand their rights and obligations under the relevant provisions of the law. Based in New Brunswick, NJ, the Law Office of Craig Rothenberg is experienced in landlord-tenant laws and other real estate issues.

For our landlord clients, we provide “soup to nuts” services from the first step in the creation of the landlord-tenant relationship, i.e., preparing the lease agreement, to the final step in lawfully removing the tenant and his or her property from the premises.

Grounds for Eviction in New Jersey

New Jersey’s Anti-Eviction Act strictly prohibits “self-help evictions,” which are situations in which a landlord changes the locks, shuts off utilities, or otherwise prevents the tenant from entering or living in the premises. Landlords are required to adhere to the legal process when attempting to evict a tenant and take possession of their own property. The Act sets forth different grounds for eviction, including:

• Failure to pay rent
• Habitual late payment of rent
• Violation of the terms of the lease (for example, smoking or pets)
• Disorderly conduct
• Damaged or destroyed property
• Drug or other criminal charge convictions

The Act sets forth the process for eviction based on each ground. For example, in a non-payment of rent case, the landlord is not required to provide the tenant with any prior written notice before filing the complaint for eviction. But if the landlord is seeking to evict based on the tenant’s violation of some other term in the lease (i.e., pets, smoking, disturbances), then certain notices are required as a prerequisite to filing the complaint. If the landlord fails to follow the procedures set forth in the Act, the landlord’s complaint may be subject to dismissal. The Act can be confusing to the average reader so it is critical that your attorney understands the many nuances contained therein. The

Off-Campus Evictions for NJ College Students

It is important to remember that college students living in off-campus housing at Rutgers University, or surrounding Middlesex County towns such as Highland Park, Edison, Piscataway, or any other school have the same rights as other tenants when it comes to evictions. Landlords must abide by the same laws and follow the same procedures when attempting to evict a college student as they would with any other tenant.

Likewise, if you are a tenant in New Jersey, knowledge of both landlords’ and tenants’ rights and obligations under a lease and New Jersey law is essential.