Mark & Galusha, Landlord Tenant Attorneys - Basking Ridge, Somerset County, New Jersey

Information is the key to any good landlord/tenant relationship. Being fully informed of your rights as a tenant and what exactly a landlord's duties and obligations are will help to make sure you are treated properly and fairly as a tenant.

In New Jersey, a tenant can only be evicted for cause and if a landlord follows each of the steps in the eviction process. A tenant can successfully defend themselves against eviction if they can show a cause for eviction does not exist or the landlord did not properly follow each of the steps in the eviction process. Additionally, there are several other defenses a tenant can argue to challenge an eviction in court:

• Unauthorized practice of law - If your landlord is a corporation, the corporation must be represented by an attorney. If the eviction complaint is prepared by someone who is not an attorney, the judge must dismiss the complaint (Rule 6:10 and Rule 1:21-1(c)).
• The Landlord Registration Act - Landlords are required to register with the town where the leased premise is located and in certain cases they must also register with the Department of Community Affairs in Trenton (N.J.S.A. 46:8-28 and 29).
• Failure to register - If the building has not been properly registered or the tenant has not been given a copy of the registration, a judgment to evict cannot be entered (N.J.S.A. 46:8-33 and Iuso v. Capehart, 140 N.J. Super. 209 (App. Div. 1976)).
• Improper notice or no notice - An eviction complaint will be dismissed if the landlord does not provide the tenant the proper statutory notice (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.2)
• Failure to follow federal notice requirements and procedures - Tenants in public housing and other subsidized buildings are afforded extra protections above those provided by state law.
• Improper eviction complaint - An eviction complaint can be dismissed by the judge if not prepared correctly.
• Paying the rent - Evidence of payment of rent is a defense to eviction for nonpayment of rent.
• Paying for utility bills - If the landlord is supposed to pay the utility bills and does not, a tenant may pay the bill and deduct the amount paid from their rent (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(a)).
• Failure to obtain a certificate of occupancy - In some towns, a landlord is required to obtain a certificate of occupancy ("C.O."). Tenants may be able to use the absence of a C.O. to show the landlord's has not meet his duty to provide habitable housing (McQueen v. Brown and Cook, 342 N.J. Super. 120, aff'd 175 N.J. 2000 (2002)).
• Failures to provide safe and decent housing - Landlords' have the duty to provide safe and decent housing.
• The landlord is wrong or is lying
• Waiver by the landlord - If a landlord knows a tenant is violating the terms of the lease but still accepts a tenants rent payment during the time of the violation, the landlord waives their right to evict the tenant.
• Retaliation by the landlord - A landlord cannot evict a tenant simply because they asserted their rights.

It is important to understand that even if there is no available defense to the cause for eviction a landlord cannot simply "evict" a tenant by changing the locks or forcing the tenant out of the leased premise. A landlord must first go through all the steps in the eviction process and a judge must then enter a judgment evicting the tenant before a legal eviction can take place.

Mark & Galusha, Lawyers handling landlord tenant matters in Bridgewater, Somerset County, New Jersey

If you are a tenant seeking to redress your wrongful eviction, please contact Mark & Galusha, your landlord tenant attorneys in Bridgewater and Basking Ridge, New Jersey. For your free consultation with a lawyer from our Firm, contact us at 908-626-1001 or 973-440-2311, or tell us your story by clicking the contact us page.