New Jersey Eviction Laws

• Non-payment of rent (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1(a)) is expressly excepted from the written-demand/notice requirement of 2A:18-61.2; the landlord may file the summary dispossess complaint without a prior notice to quit.
• Applies to tenancies covered by the Anti-Eviction Act (all residential except owner-occupied premises with not more than two rental units, hotels/motels/guest houses).

Exceptions

• Federally subsidized housing: federal rules (e.g., 30-day CARES Act notice for covered properties; HUD lease notice rules) apply — NJ DCA bulletin says a 14-day notice must be given in federally subsidized housing.
• N.J.S.A. 2A:42-6.1 (P.L.2001, c.142): five business days' grace period before rent is late for senior citizens receiving Social Security/Railroad Retirement/other governmental pensions and recipients of SSD, SSI or Work First NJ.
• Habitual late payment is a separate ground (2A:18-61.1(j)) that DOES require a written notice to cease followed by one month's notice to quit (2A:18-61.2(b)).

• Two-step process: landlord must first serve a written 'notice to cease'; if the tenant continues the conduct, landlord serves a notice to quit giving 'one month's notice prior to the institution of the action'.
• Applies to continued violation of landlord's rules and regulations (2A:18-61.1(d)), substantial breach of covenants (2A:18-61.1(e)) and habitual failure to pay rent (2A:18-61.1(j)).
• Notice to quit must 'specify in detail the cause of the termination of the tenancy'.
• The statute says 'one month', not 30 days; recorded as 30 for registry purposes — the landlord should count a full calendar month.
• No statutory cure period is stated for the notice to cease; the tenant must simply stop the conduct after receiving it.

Exceptions

• Public housing under a public housing authority: notice period for substantial breach under 2A:18-61.1(e)(2) follows federal regulations (2A:18-61.2(h)).
• Refusal to accept reasonable lease changes (2A:18-61.1(i)): one month's notice to quit (2A:18-61.2(e)), no notice to cease.
• Non-covered tenancies (owner-occupied <=2 units): 2A:18-53(c) allows a three-day notice to quit for breach of a covenant where the lease reserves a right of re-entry, disorderly conduct, or damage.

• Three days' notice to quit prior to instituting the action for: disorderly conduct after a written notice to cease (2A:18-61.1(b)); willful or grossly negligent destruction/damage to the premises (2A:18-61.1(c)) — no notice to cease required for damage; and grounds under subsections m., n., o., p., q., r. (drug offenses, assault/terroristic threats against landlord/family/employees, civil-action findings of drug/assault/theft liability, theft, human trafficking).
• Disorderly conduct still requires a prior written notice to cease; damage and criminal-conduct grounds do not.
• Notice must specify in detail the cause of termination and be served personally, by leaving a copy with a household member over 14, or by certified mail (regular mail if unclaimed).

Exceptions

• Non-covered tenancies (owner-occupied <=2 units): 2A:18-53(c) three-day notice for disorderly conduct, damage, or breach with reserved right of re-entry.

• For residential tenancies covered by the Anti-Eviction Act there is NO no-cause termination: a landlord may only recover possession on one of the enumerated good-cause grounds in 2A:18-61.1 (a)-(r), each with its own notice period under 2A:18-61.2.
• For NON-covered tenancies only (owner-occupied premises with not more than two rental units; hotels/motels/guest houses; seasonal/transient), 2A:18-56(b) requires that a month-to-month tenancy be 'terminated by the giving of 1 month's notice to quit' before judgment for holding over.
• Statute says 'one month', recorded as 30 days; the notice period should run a full calendar month ending on the rental-period boundary.

Exceptions

• Owner-occupied three-unit buildings where the owner seeks personal occupancy: covered by 2A:18-61.1(l)(3) with two months' notice under 2A:18-61.2(f).

• Covered tenancies: a tenant holding over after a fixed term cannot be removed merely for holding over; good cause under 2A:18-61.1 and 2A:18-61.3 is required.
• Exempt tenancies: 2A:18-53(a) permits removal of a tenant who 'holds over and continues in possession' after the term expires 'after demand made and written notice given by the landlord' — no minimum period stated in 2A:18-53(a); 2A:18-56 supplies the notice periods by tenancy type.